August 12, 2005

Colleges Face Larger Bills as the Number of Big Accounting Firms Shrinks

By AUDREY WILLIAMS JUNE

Colleges, like many companies, rely heavily on the nation's top accounting firms to audit their books annually. But securing the services of one of the Big Four, as the nation's largest accounting firms are now called, has become much more difficult for higher-education institutions.

Financial officers at colleges say that the big accounting firms are turning away their business or charging them a lot more for the services. The difficulty in finding an accountant comes at a