|
|
12 Mar 2009
The top five auditors in London’s Alternative Investment Market saw their combined customer base shrink by more than £5bn by market cap in the three months from November to February, according to new data.
Fourteen of the top 20 auditing firms lost clients, figures from investment research company Hemscott have shown.
Grant Thornton, which has the most AIM-listed audit clients, has been hit hardest. The UK’s fifth biggest audit firm saw the market capitalisation of its customer base fall by about £1.3bn. KPMG saw its customer base shrink by £1.1bn, and Ernst & Young by £664m.
Hemscott said the dip in the AIM market was more ‘severe’ in its latest survey than the previous quarter.
‘The tide has certainly turned for perennial leader Grant Thornton, which fared best when the AIM market was expanding and is now more vulnerable to the downturn,’ the Hemscott survey said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has held its lead in the FTSE-100 and small cap markets with 39 and 98 audit clients respectively. However, Deloitte has edged ahead of PwC in the FTSE-250 market.
You may also like
Search thousands of financial jobs:
£50000 - £65000 per annum + benefits + bonus: Pro-Tax: Excellent Share Schemes role London ...
Search thousands of financial jobs:
Careers
Search for jobs
Click to search our database of all the latest accountancy roles
Create a profile
Click to set up your profile and let the best recruiters find you
Jobs by email
Sign up to receive regular updates with the latest roles suitable for you
Briefings
By looking at the reasons supplier statements became unfashionable, and the reasons why it is different today, this paper delves into the many benefits that can be obtained by automating the process.
Having a real and true view of your organisation’s current financial position, and having the right systems and processes in place, will ensure that you can make strong choices and are ready to capitalise on opportunities
AccountancyAgeInsight is a frequently updated resource centre for finance professionals, offering a free and easy-to-use digital library of briefings, white papers and other information resources. 
Visitor comments Add your comment
Top Audit Firms loose AIM Listed Clients
If this is a sign that AIM listed companies cannot afford big firm fees then surely the top audit firms should asses what else they can offer their clients to add benefit to their large fees. There are plent of other smaller audit and practices that can offer the same advice cheaper. I think its a case of looking inwards to see what can be done.
Posted by: Patrick McGinley, 07 Sep 2009 | 00:00