12 June 2013

FRC: Key facts and trends in the accountancy profession

This document provides statistical information on the accountancy profession as part of the context to the FRC’s work. It collates information provided by the accountancy bodies for which the FRC has oversight responsibilities, being the six Chartered Accountancy bodies and one other body that offers an audit qualification recognised by the FRC. The information in Sections One to Four relates principally to membership, students, income, costs and staffing of these bodies. Section Five contains information related to the supervision of statutory auditors that in previous years was included in the report from the Professional Oversight Board to the Secretary of State.

Section Six provides information on 36 of the largest registered audit firms which collectively audit the vast majority of UK listed companies and other public interest entities. Firms provide this information on a voluntary basis and there were a few firms that declined to do so.

Where appropriate, the FRC highlights significant trends and explain possible limitations on the data. However, the FRC does not comment on the possible reasons for particular trends. The FRC would also stress that it is often difficult to make comparisons between the different accountancy bodies or between audit firms. This can be for a number of reasons, such as differences in the way data is classified or in the differing regulatory arrangements.

Overall, the data suggests that the profession continues to attract and remains attractive. The total number of members continues to increase, both in the UK and worldwide. It is notable, however, that although student numbers have also increased worldwide, they fell in the UK in 2012. The total fee income of the largest firms has also grown in 2011/12, much more markedly for the ‘Big Four’ than for other firms.

Key messages:

• Total membership of accountancy bodies continues to grow steadily with growth rates for 2008-12 at 2.6 per cent in the UK and 3.5 per cent worldwide.
• The total number of students (UK and worldwide) has risen, but there has been a 0.7 per cent decline in student numbers in the UK in comparison to a 4 per cent growth internationally.
• Total fee income increased in 2011-12. The increase for Big Four firms was 7.7 per cent compared with 0.6 per cent for others.  Audit fee income has also increased by 4.9 per cent for Big Four firms.
• There is little change in the number of listed companies audited by firms outside the Big Four.
• Non Big Four firms’ non-audit fee income to non-audit clients has increased by 5.9 per cent in 2011-12 compared with 0.6 per cent in 2010-11, illustrating their ability to penetrate a wider client base.

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