The UK’s top 100 listed companies have seen an 8% hike in annual audits fees to hit £726m, as Big Four dominance locks out challenger firms while investment and regulatory pressure drives up costs

As the impact of intense regulatory scrutiny and audit automation escalates, the UK’s top 100 listed companies saw an 8% hike in annual audit fees to hit £726m, amid an increasing lack of competition due to Big Four dominance, Philip Smith reports

In Accountancy Daily’s third survey of ethnic diversity within the UK’s top accountancy firms, data reveal partners and staff remain overwhelmingly white while Black Lives Matter movement forces concrete action

The long-expected hike in audit fees has finally come to pass, with FTSE 250 companies now paying on average 14% more this year to their auditors than last year, while challenger firms are beginning to make inroads, reports Philip Smith

Top 10 accounting firm RSM has named Rob Donaldson as CEO three months after the mid-tier cleared out the executive team 

As part of the exclusive Accountancy Daily Top 75 Firms trainees survey, Philip Smith analyses the driving factors shaping the recruitment market for trainees, part qualifieds and newly qualifieds based on Hays data with salaries split by qualification and geographic location 

Trainees numbers are down at the Top 75 accounting firms despite rising fee income, signalling the first slide in numbers since the fallout from the crash a decade ago

High demand for training places at the leading accounting firms belies the fact that trainee numbers are down. Philip Smith analyses hiring trends, the use of apprenticeships and attempts to improve diversity across the profession

Accountancy Daily talks to a selection of trainees about why they want to become an accountant, and the pros and cons of their training on a mix of graduate schemes, school leaver programmes and apprenticeships

Revenue at the UK’s top accounting firms is on a growth trajectory with 7% growth as income exceeds £16.8bn but stronger profitability and rising staff numbers has resulted in a decline in partner numbers as the fee to partner ratio has risen, reports Philip Smith

A decade since the financial crash, the top 25 accountancy firms look rather different to their pre-2009 counterparts, except for the ever expanding Big Four. Philip Smith assesses the cataclysmic changes of the last 10 years, with revenue comparisons 

The Financial Reporting Council is set for a complete overhaul this year and heavy criticism of the regulator has seen a purge of top management with fewer Big Four alumni in key positions