Stakeholder satisfaction with UK audit remains at very high levels, finds latest CPIA Audit Trust Index

LONDON, 12 October 2026 – Satisfaction with UK audit quality remains at very high levels among key stakeholders – investors, FTSE350 audit committee chairs and finance directors – according to the 2026 Audit Trust Index, published today by the CPIA (the Centre for Public Interest Audit).

Ninety-six per cent of those surveyed for the Index, by polling company Censuswide for the CPIA, said that they were ‘very’ (48%) or ‘somewhat’ (48%) satisfied with the quality of UK audit – close to the 100% satisfaction rate recorded last year, and above 2024’s 81%.

Similarly, stakeholders are happy with the value of audit across a number of measures: 91% of respondents were satisfied with audit’s value in providing assurance that financial statements are true and fair, 86% were satisfied with the value of insights into companies derived from audits, and 80% were satisfied with audit’s value for money.

This year’s Audit Trust Index is being published during the middle of a wide-ranging Government consultation on ‘modernising corporate reporting’, which contains proposals for rolling-back some audit and reporting requirements for certain UK companies. The Audit Trust Index finds that stakeholders are looking for more auditor-provided assurance: for example, 98% of those surveyed identified a corporate reporting element, outside of the financial statements, where they would like to see independent assurance from an auditor.

Dean Beale, CPIA Executive Director, says:

“This is the third year in a row the Audit Trust Index has shown overall stakeholder satisfaction with audit to be at a very high level. Stakeholders are happy with the service auditors are providing.

“It’s important to recognise the valuable contribution auditors make to the UK economy and capital markets. A key message from this year’s Index is that many stakeholders want more from their auditors. They value their insights, judgement and assurance skills, and want these to be applied in more places across the corporate reporting landscape. The Government’s corporate reporting consultation contains plenty of good ideas – but it’s important that the final reforms don’t undermine the ability of auditors to support trust and confidence in UK corporate reporting.

“The Index tells us that audit committee chairs and finance directors want auditor assurance over controls reporting, or on regulatory disclosures. Investors want auditor assurance across multiple parts of the corporate report, particularly any sustainability disclosures, key performance indicators, and leadership statements.”

Satisfaction with audit was balanced across all three stakeholder groups covered by the Index, while particular strengths included auditors’ industry knowledge and competency (cited by 27% of respondents as a key driver of satisfaction), their communication and responsiveness (19%) and, equally, the usefulness of their findings (15%) and their independence and objectivity (15%).

There’s still a role for auditors in a world of AI audit

With audit firms deploying increasingly advanced AI tools, the Audit Trust Index also identified stakeholder support for human auditors to play an important role in audits.

Stakeholders had higher levels of confidence in AI tools over auditors for some process-heavy audit tasks. For example, 67% of respondents said that, when it came to reviewing large volumes of financial data or contracts, they had more confidence in work carried out primarily by an AI tool – just 14% had more confidence in an auditor.

But there was a clear preference for auditors over AI on judgement matters. On all ‘judgement’ tasks put to stakeholders – including challenging management assumptions, the overall audit opinion, and exercising professional judgement – there were significantly higher levels of confidence in work undertaken primarily by auditors.

Overall, 79% of respondents are happy with how audit firms are deploying AI and technology (2025: 87%), while the key risks identified by stakeholders are changing as AI technology improves. The proportion of respondents identifying AI hallucinations – last year’s top issue – as a key risk has fallen from 45% to 34%. Stakeholders’ top worry now is that auditors will over-rely on AI and that their professional scepticism will be affected (up to 46% from 45%).

Dean Beale says:

“Across the Index, we’ve found an ongoing faith in the value of auditors’ judgement. It’s important this is protected, whether by firms themselves or by policymakers. As the use of AI expands in audit, there are some stakeholder concerns that firms will need to pay attention to: although overall confidence in the use of AI in audit is high, there are pockets of scepticism.”

Fifteen per cent of investors surveyed say they have ‘limited’ or ‘no’ confidence in how AI is used in company audits, while 23% of audit committee chairs say they have ‘limited’ confidence in how AI is used in the audit of their company’s financial statements.

Dean Beale adds:

“Investor doubts might arise if it’s not clear to those outside the audit exactly what tools are being used, how they’re being used, and what impact they have. As well as bringing audit committee chairs and finance directors on board with how they’re incorporating AI into their audits, auditors must think about how changing approaches are being communicated more widely to other audit users. It’s not enough to simply deploy new technologies; auditors must ensure the use and value of these new technologies are well understood by their stakeholders.”

Stakeholders want different things from corporate reports

With the Government consulting on overhauling UK corporate reporting, this year’s Audit Trust Index also explores which parts of corporate reports stakeholders value most.

Each stakeholder group covered by the Index had a different ‘top-three’ for the most valuable parts of a corporate report: audit committee chair and finance director responses clustered around disclosures related to risk and controls; investors, by contrast, focused on disclosures related to the company’s impact on the world around it, particularly sustainability reporting.

There was also a strong correlation between the parts of a corporate report valued most by each stakeholder group, and the parts of a corporate report they most wanted to see assured by an auditor.

Dean Beale adds:

“It’s important that policymakers recognise the value of assurance, and the role that auditors can play in delivering it. Stakeholders want more assurance, not less. Assurance isn’t red tape – it’s a vital part of building report users’ trust and confidence in the information provided to them. It’s also clear that different stakeholders want different things from the corporate reporting process, and it’s important the Government reforms aren’t overly-tailored to suit one stakeholder group rather than others.”

Notes

Figures above for ‘satisfied’ combine ‘very’ and ‘somewhat’ satisfied responses. The 98% of respondents selecting a part of the corporate report where they would like to see auditor assurance is the reverse of option ‘N/A – Nothing Else’ (2%). Percentages for ‘key drivers’ of satisfaction relate to the portion of the sample who were satisfied with audit quality.

The Audit Trust Index research was conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 257 senior finance professionals in the UK comprising 100 CFOs/Finance Directors working at FTSE 350 companies, 57 Audit Committee Chairs (including seven respondents recruited via a private client link), and 100 professional UK-based Equity Investors.

For full sample demographics and survey data, please contact the CPIA at info@CPIA.org.uk.

The research was conducted online between 3 August and 25 August 2026. Respondents recruited through research panels were sourced via established online B2B research panels and were screened against the specific professional criteria required for the study. Panel members are recruited on a double opt-in basis and provide detailed professional profiling information, allowing respondents to be targeted according to characteristics such as their role and organisation. Profiling information is regularly reviewed and updated to help ensure it remains accurate. For further information, please contact the CPIA.

A range of quality-control measures are used to help ensure the validity and integrity of responses. These include respondent verification and profiling checks, IP and geographic checks, duplicate-response prevention, completion-speed monitoring, checks for contradictory responses and straight-lining, and review of response quality. Responses identified as fraudulent, inconsistent, or otherwise failing quality-control standards are removed from the final dataset.

Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC) and is a signatory to the Global Data Quality Pledge. Censuswide adheres to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.