KPMG moves up AIM auditor rankings with new client wins
KPMG picks up six new AIM clients to move into second place in AIM Adviser Rankings
KPMG has moved above Grant Thornton to become the second largest auditor of AIM-listed companies by client numbers, according to the latest statistics from Adviser Rankings.
The Big Four firm, which recently announced plans to target the SME market, picked up six new clients in the three months to 6 January. BDO retained top spot with 158 clients, while PwC remained in fourth with 119 clients. In December it was ranked the auditor of the most stock market clients, with 399.
Opportunities for further wins should flow through in the early part of the year with around £5bn expected to be raised on London’s junior and main market in the first quarter.
PwC did take top spot as the leading auditor of FTSE AIM UK 50, but there was little movement elsewhere within the AIM top-tier, although the relative standing of BDO and Grant Thornton did improve.
According to the report, there will be less work around for auditors working within the basic metals sector as the number of constituents could be pared back over the coming months as a result of the prolonged fall in commodity prices for iron ore and copper.
“That’s bad news for the advisory complex as a whole, but it’s perhaps inevitable that Chinese demand would flag from the levels seen a few years ago,” the report found.