Chartered accountant numbers rising in UK

The accounting profession is on a steady rise in UK and Ireland, according to
the latest report on key facts and trends in the accountancy profession by the
Professional Oversight Board (POB), the operating board of the
Financial
Reporting Council (FRC).

According to the report, the number of chartered accountants in the UK and
Ireland have been growing at 2.5% a year since 2002, to 277,761 in 2007 – up
2.8% on 2006.

‘Once again this report illustrates the strength of the UK accounting
profession and its continued growth, reflecting the attractiveness of the
profession to new recruits both in the UK and internationally,’ Paul George, POB
director, said.

‘Both total fee income and audit fee income for the registered audit firms
within our analysis continues to show strong growth. The larger registered audit
firms now consistently generate more income from non-audit clients than their
audit clients, reflecting more stringent independence rules and market practice.
While the Big Four firms continue to dominate the audit market for the largest
listed companies, it is interesting to note the increased market shares of
non-Big Four firms for listed companies outside of the FTSE 350.’