Similar to our previous analysis of 2020’s audit firm market share, the Big Four continued their oligopoly across the top three indexes on the Euronext Amsterdam in 2021.
EY took the lead in engagements, by auditing 28% of the companies in this market. Consequently, Deloitte ranked second, conducting 21 audits, or 27%, of the market.
In this post, we examine the auditor market share of the Euronext Amsterdam’s top three indexes: the AEX 25, AMX 25, and the AScX 25 as of 2021.
- AEX 25 consists of the 25 largest companies on Euronext Amsterdam
- AMX 25 consists of 25 mid-cap companies of Euronext Amsterdam
- AScX 25 consists of the highest 25 companies after the mid-cap
The AScX 25 can contain less than 25 companies if not enough companies meet the conditions; however, in 2021, 25 companies met the conditions.
The 2021 composition on these indexes consisted of 75 companies – three of which had a joint audit, resulting in a total of 78 audit engagements overall. The three companies with a joint audit are Air France–KLM, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and Universal Music Group NV.
AEX 25
In 2021, Deloitte and EY tied for the top audit firm with the most engagements on the AEX 25 index. Both audit firms were equally engaged by eight companies, totaling 30% each of all engagements. Consequently, KPMG declined to 22% of the market share in comparison to 27% in FY2020. PwC rounded out the index with the remaining five engagements, or 18%. The AEX 25 included two joint audits, bringing the total number of engagements in the index to 27.
AMX 25
EY has become the leading auditing firm for the AMX 25 in FY2021, accounting for 31% of the market. Last year’s leading firm, Deloitte, now holds 27% of the AMX25 index in FY2021. KPMG remained in third with six engagements (23%). PwC continued to hold the least number of engagements with 19%, the same as FY2020. The AMX 25 also included one joint audit, bringing the total number of engagements to 26.
AScX 25
The audit market composition of the AScX 25 index looks different from our previous analysis in FY2020. PwC is now the leading auditing firm with the most engagements, accounting for 32% of the market share. Deloitte and EY share the second spot, each with 6 engagements (24%). Lastly, KPMG has five engagements, representing 20% of the market share.
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