Big Four's hold on the FTSE

Around 80 per cent of chartered accountants who hold FTSE 100 finance director roles are alumni of the "Big Four" which dominate the bean-counting industry, according to research passed to The Independent on Sunday.

Industry insiders found that 58 of the finance bosses in the blue-chip index were qualified chartered accountants, with 46 of them having previously worked for one of KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte or EY.

They claim this is further evidence of the "cosy relationship" between the four accountants that so dominate the audit market and the country's biggest listed companies, squeezing out smaller firms.

The news comes as the Big Four attempt to prevent wide-ranging reforms of the industry that have been provisionally recommended by a Competition Commission inquiry.