This table records the principal external audit networks for the JSE Top 40 research roster after the September 2026 review. It includes 41 issuer entries because Investec Limited and Investec plc are recorded separately. Nine entries have joint auditors, giving 50 recorded appointments.
The table can be sorted by company, sector, auditor, since and audit fee.
Fees relate to the financial years and scopes stated in the notes; the research cutoff is 9 October 2026.
The JSE Top 40 research roster presents an unusually close contest among the Big Four. PwC and EY each hold 13 recorded appointments, or 26%. KPMG follows with 12, or 24%, and Deloitte has 11, or 22%. BDO accounts for the remaining appointment, at Sibanye-Stillwater, giving it a 2% share. Together, the Big Four hold 49 of the 50 appointments in this dataset.
Those figures require a clear counting rule. The table contains 41 issuer entries, including separate records for Investec Limited and Investec plc. Nine entries have two principal audit firms. Counting each joint signatory once produces 50 appointments. The resulting shares describe the distribution of recorded audit mandates across those legal issuers. They do not measure audit revenue, the firms’ share of index capitalisation or their positions across the wider South African market.
Joint audits shape the competition
Joint appointments are concentrated among financial institutions. Absa, Capitec, Discovery, FirstRand, Investec Limited, Nedbank, Old Mutual, Standard Bank and Sanlam each have two principal firms in the roster. Consequently, a network can hold several major banking and insurance mandates without displacing the other signatory. Different pairings also give each of the Big Four access to substantial financial-sector work.
Recent appointments coexist with continuing relationships
Several appointments in the roster begin in FY2026. These include KPMG at Bid Corporation, Richemont and FirstRand, and Deloitte alongside EY at Standard Bank.
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