The past six years have seen a steady decrease in the percentage
of fee income the Big Four derive from audit, according to the UK
Public Oversight Board’s (POB) annual
Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession
report.
The Big Four’s audit fee split dropped from 26
percent in 2004 to 24 percent in 2009.
Mirroring this, the audit fee income of
non-Big Four firms grew from 30 percent of total revenue in 2004 to
33 percent in 2009.
Reflecting growing scrutiny of firms’
independence, there has been a drop in the percentage of revenue
derived from non-audit services provided to audit clients.
The Big Four’s fees from non-audit work to
audit clients dropped from 22 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in
2009.
Non-Big Four firms’ fees from non-audit
services to audit clients dropped from 18 percent in 2004 to 15
percent in 2009.
