Public Companies and the Big Four

Audits of large public companies continue to be the nearly exclusive province of the Big Four, the Government Accountability Office has found. According to a GAO, 82 percent of large public the Fortune 1000 saw their choice of auditor as limited to three or fewer firms, and about 60 percent said competition in their audit market is insufficient. Fees have risen, but executives generally said audit quality has increased as well. If you're interested, the report's here. Be sure to see Francine McKenna's take on the report on her blog, re: The Auditors.