UK Mid-Sized Auditors Fall Short Most of the Time in Inspections

New audit inspection results released by the UK’s accounting watchdog Monday have added to concern over the weak quality of mid-sized firms’ work vetting corporate financial reporting.

The Financial Reporting Council said that more than three-quarters of the audits done by medium-sized firms it reviewed in 2023-2024 weren’t up to its quality standard. That contrasts sharply with the inspection results for top-tier firms released in July, when 74% of the examined audits were deemed good or requiring only limited improvements.

Grant Thornton and RSM are among about two dozen mid-sized auditors that fall into the industry’s so-called tier two and ...