Audit fee trends 2026: a 20-year review
Fiscal years 2006 to 2025
Audit fees have never been higher, even with a shrinking population of filers paying record fees. Our 20-year review of SEC audit fee data (fiscal years 2006 to 2025) tracks how fees, market share and audit intensity have shifted across firms, filer types and industries. This report gives finance, audit and risk teams the benchmarks they need to understand where fees are heading and why.
Key takeaways
Two decades of SEC fee data point to a market that's consolidating fast. Here's what the numbers reveal.
Fees hit a record high while the market shrinks
Total audit fees reached $18.7bn in FY2025, a new high, even as the number of SEC registrants reporting fees fell to 6,674, the lowest in the 20-year series.
The Big Four's grip hasn't loosened
PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG together held 69% of all audit fees in FY2025, a share that has stayed close to seven-tenths of the market for two decades.
The cost is concentrating on fewer, larger companies
Average total fees per company rose to $3.36mm in FY2025, up from $3.14mm the year before, marking a fourth consecutive annual increase as fees are spread across a smaller population.
Industry complexity drives a wide fee spread
Average total fees by industry range from finance and manufacturing at the top end to life sciences and real estate at the lower end, reflecting how differently complexity translates into audit scope across sectors.
Download the report
Whether you're benchmarking your own fees or tracking where the market is headed, this report gives you the full 20-year picture. Download it to see what the data means for your organisation.