Accountants have all top firms covered

BRITAIN’S Big Four accountancy firms have tightened their market stranglehold, despite being slammed over a string of company scandals.

A report from industry watchdog the Financial Reporting Council revealed that between them, Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC), KPMG, Ernst & Young (EY) and Deloitte audited every single FTSE 100 company last year.

The Big Four already had a near monopoly of the FTSE 100, having number checked 98% or 99% in recent years.

The rise to 100% comes as pressure mounts to break up the Big Four after their work had been questioned in a wave of company failures.

The latest example is holiday giant Thomas Cook, where PWC and EY raked in millions of pounds in fees.

Others in recent years where auditors have been criticised include collapsed construction firm Carillion, cake chain Patisserie Valerie’s problems and the sale and subsequent demise of department store chain BHS.

The Financial Reporting Council report showed the Big Four raked in just under £11billion in fees last year, up 4.7%.

Of that, only £2.1bn was for auditing firms’ accounts, with the bulk coming from other work. PWC made the most in fees at more than £3.1bn, followed by Deloitte’s near £3.1bn, EY UK’S £2.4bn and KPMG’S almost £2.4bn.

To put that into context, the fifth biggest accountancy firm, BDO, netted a mere £469million. The total amount in fees collected by accountants outside the Big Four fell by 8.1%.

Just eight firms in the wider FTSE 250 have deals with bean counters outside the Big Four to audit their figures.

The Government is considering proposals to inject more competition into the accountancy market.

It follows a damning report by the Competition and Markets Authority earlier this year.