Accountants hit as FTSE 100 skimps on bills
DESPITE increasing fees during 2010, top accountants in the UK have reported a three per cent decline in the amount they collected from FTSE 100 clients, new research shows.
During the 2009 to 2010 financial year, FTSE 100 companies paid £891.9m in both audit and non-audit fees, marking a drop from the previous year when clients paid £857m for accountancy services, according to information compiled by Accountancy magazine.
The drop off in revenues during the year came despite a 3.7 per cent hike in auditing fees across the big accounting firms.
Giants KPMG and Ernst & Young (E&Y) reported a decline in audit income from FTSE 100 clients for the year, the research pointed out. KPMG saw that figure go down by more than four per cent, while E&Y experienced a four per cent fall in revenues from top UK clients.
But rivals PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte have bucked the trend by reporting a rise in auditing income.
Last year, PwC billed its top FTSE 100 clients £245.7m, pushing its total audit income up 10 per cent.
Similarly, Deloitte saw auditing revenue rise 4.8 per cent.