The Financial Reporting Council watchdog said in a statement that the Big Four advised and monitored all the nation's top 100 listed businesses in 2018, up from 99 in 2017. The data comes as the auditing sector faces increasing political and public outcry over its failure to identify or prevent a string of high-profile bankruptcies.

In recent years, corporate Britain has been rocked by a string of major failures - including retail giant BHS in 2016, construction firm Carillion in 2018, and more recently tour operator Thomas Cook in September. Earlier this year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) watchdog published its recommendations for a radical overhaul of the nation's accountancy sector.

The CMA argued that choice was too limited and the industry was dominated by the Big Four. It also called for legislation to address both the potential loss of a Big Four company and action over "inadequate" choice and competition in the industry.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019