The development of financial reporting and auditing in Russia was one of the central themes at FBK’s annual flagship conference ‘Finance. Taxes. Investments’. At the event, Ksenia Shirikova, Senior Partner at FBK, and Vladimir Bakaev, Partner, looked into the audit market in Russia and abroad.
The Russian audit market is substantially different from that of other major economies. In 2025, revenue of audit firms in Russia amounted to $0.74 billion. By comparison, in the EU this figure totals $65.9 billion, in the US — $51.9 billion, in China — $29.2 billion, and in India — $18.7 billion.
A shrinking pool of market participants
The total number of audit firms and certified auditors continues to decline. According to the register of auditors and audit organisations of the Self-Regulatory Organization of Auditors Association Sodruzhestvo, the number of audit firms fell over two years from 2,400 in 2022 to 2,000 in 2025, while the number of certified auditors went down from 16,400 to 14,600. At the same time, the number of auditors holding a unified certificate has remained almost stable at 4,200 since 2023.
Increasing market maturity
The share of audit organisations operating for 5 years or more grew from 82.1% in 2020 to 88.8% in 2025. The share of newcomers (less than one year) declined from 4.9% to 2.6%.
Gradual recovery of market volume
The audit market is recovering steadily: company revenue has grown for the second consecutive year, although it has not yet returned to 2022 levels.
Improvement in reporting quality
Auditor’s reports with an unmodified opinion rose from 82.8% in 2020 to 89.0% in 2025, while qualified opinions fell from 16.2% to 10.3%.
External control over audit activities in 2022–2025 is getting sharper
The focus of external quality control over audit activities is gradually evolving. According to the Russian Treasury, while warnings predominated in 2023–2024, by 2025 their share had fallen to 30%, and action orders became the main tool (55%).
Bank of Russia oversight of audits of public interest entities in the financial market: 2025 results
The Bank of Russia has published its first review of the audit services market for public companies and financial institutions. In 2025 supervisory activities focused on four areas:
- Auditors whose licenses were revoked in 2025
- Disclosures on audit firms’ websites
- Compliance with independence rules regarding rotation of audit engagement partners
- Thematic monitoring of ISA 720 application
Supervisory measures applied:
- 2 audit firms excluded from the register
- 2 memberships in the Self-Regulatory Organization of Auditors Association Sodruzhestvo suspended (for 90 and 60 days)
- Other measures — action orders, improvement notes, and recommendation letters on revising internal documents.
