Public Finance reports that new outsourced audit contracts could save local authorities as much as £80m by the end of the decade.  As a result of the Audit Commission’s latest, and final re-tendering exercise, the market will be reduced to just five firms from 2015/16. The big three firms will be Grant Thornton, KPMG and EY, with BDO and Mazars holding a smaller share of work each.

A significant saving in fees. Will these savings be maintained (or even increased?) once open competition is introduced in 2018?