PwC, EY jointly command an estimated 35.9% of Nigeria’s corporate audit market in 2025`

PwC, EY jointly command an estimated 35.9% of Nigeria’s corporate audit market in 2025`

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ernst & Young (EY) emerged as the leading auditors among 128 major Nigerian companies reviewed in 2025, with each firm auditing 23 companies, representing 17.97% of the total.

The analysis of the 2025 auditor disclosures of selected 128 listed and unlisted companies shows that the Nigerian audit market remains concentrated around a handful of established professional services firms, although several other local and international audit practices continue to compete for corporate engagements across different sectors.

PwC and EY jointly occupy the top spot, with 23 companies each, followed by Deloitte & Touche, which audited 17 companies, and KPMG Professional Services, with 13 companies.

Together, the four firms audited 76 of the 128 companies reviewed, accounting for 59.38% of the total sample, while the top 5 companies with PKF Professional Services inclusive audited 86 companies, accounting for 67.19% of the 128 companies reviewed.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Ernst & Young (EY) each audited 23 companies, giving both firms a 17.97% share of the 128-company dataset.

In practical terms, each firm audited approximately one in every six companies covered in the review.

The narrow gap at the top highlights the intense competition among Nigeria’s largest audit firms for corporate mandates.

PwC’s 23-company portfolio cuts across several important segments of the Nigerian economy, including banking and financial services, consumer goods, industrial goods, energy, agriculture, telecommunications infrastructure and other sectors.

This is the same number of companies audited by the firm in the previous year.

PwC’s portfolio includes leading names such as BUA Cement, BUA Foods, Cadbury Nigeria, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Guinness Nigeria, Julius Berger, Providus Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Presco Plc and Seplat Energy, reflecting a strong presence across industrial goods, consumer goods, agriculture, financial services and oil and gas.

Similarly, EY maintained a diversified client base that spans Access Holdings, AIICO Insurance, Coronation Insurance, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Nestlé Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, NGX Group, Sterling Financial Holdings and Honeywell Flour Mills, reinforcing its position as one of the most influential audit firms in Nigeria’s capital market.

Although EY audited 22 companies in 2024, down from the 23 companies audited in 2025.

Together, PwC and EY audited 46 companies, accounting for 35.94% of all companies reviewed, meaning more than one in every three companies in the dataset audited either of the two firms.

Deloitte & Touche secured third place with 17 companies, representing 13.28% of the total. This firm audited 18 companies in 2024.

The firm’s engagements in the dataset span financial services, ICT, oil and gas, consumer goods, industrial goods, and other sectors.

The firm audited several major corporations including Airtel Africa, Champion Breweries, Fidelity Bank, FCMB Group, NPF Microfinance Bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Cornerstone Insurance and Jaiz Bank.

Meanwhile, KPMG Professional Services audited 13 companies, accounting for 10.16% of the sample, compared to the 15 companies it audited in the prior year.

Its client portfolio includes notable names such as Dangote Cement, First HoldCo Plc, CAP Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Nem Insurance Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, and Presco Plc.

Together, Deloitte and KPMG accounted for 30 companies, representing nearly one-quarter of all firms analyzed.

The data also reveals that audit appointments are flexible. Some companies retained Deloitte from 2024, while others changed auditors during the period covered.

Such changes, even when limited to a few companies, can influence the annual rankings, particularly when the leading firms are separated by only a small number of engagements.

Outside the Big Four, PKF Professional Services emerged as the strongest mid-tier player, auditing 10 companies or 7.81% of the total, recording the highest number of audit engagements in the dataset. The firm maintained notable engagements with companies such as Berger Paints, Chams Holding Company, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, Learn Africa, Sovereign Trust Insurance and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank.

PKF’s performance is noteworthy because it shows that the Nigerian audit market extends beyond the four largest global professional services networks.

The firm has established a significant presence across financial services, industrial goods, consumer-facing businesses, and other sectors.

Furthermore, Baker Tilly Nigeria and BDO Professional Services each audited five companies, with each accounting for 3.91% of the dataset.

Their combined presence further reinforces the fact that a considerable portion of Nigeria’s corporate audit market is served by firms outside the Big Four.

However, fifteen audit firms each accounted for just one company, translating to a market share of 0.78% each.

These included David Ugiagbe & Co., Olatunji Cole & Co., Madu, Onyekwena & Co., G. E. Osagie & Co., Crowe Dafinone, Gbenga Badejo & Co., DOC Advisory, Abiodun Aina & Co., Nexia Agbo Abel & Co., James Ige & Co., Doyin Owolabi & Co., Kehinde Kassim & Co., Poju Professional Services, Tope Kuyoro & Co., BBC Professionals, ANOC Professional Services, Funsho Owoyemi & Company, LAO Professionals and Kreston Pedabo Audit Services.

Although these firms individually account for less than 1% of the sample, their combined presence illustrates the depth and diversity of the Nigerian audit industry.

The 2025 audit landscape reveals a market still heavily concentrated among a small group of dominant players. PwC and EY jointly lead the rankings with 23 companies each, while Deloitte and KPMG maintain strong positions, reinforcing the continued influence of the Big Four in Nigeria’s corporate reporting ecosystem.

With the Big Four controlling 59.38% of all audit engagements among the 128 companies reviewed, the data points to a market where reputation, capacity, sector expertise and global reach remain critical factors in auditor selection. While mid-tier and indigenous firms continue to secure mandates across sectors, the gap between the market leaders and the rest of the market remains significant.