Warren Tayler, the chairman of AIM-listed direct marketing group, Themutual.net, has issued a withering assesment of the accounting profession.

In a letter to the FT, Taylor said the group's auditors had failed to explain the reasons for a trebling in fees and the need to appoint two sets of accountants.

'While many businesses have cut overhead and staff costs by the use of technology, the accounting profession, while stating that they too are moving with the times, end up greatly increasing the costs to clients,' Tayler wrote.

He questioned why auditors could not use the internet to update client accounts in real-time instead of wasting time and resources on client visits.

The last set of Themutual.net's accounts were audited by Menzies.