Audit frequencyAligned categories
Audited within the past year
+22percentage points
Recent audit exposure is more common in the later published sample. This is a change in reported experience, not proof that an individual company's audit probability increased by the same amount.
Definitions & comparison notes
Share of respondents in the last-six-months and less-than-a-year categories.
Calculated from mutually exclusive recency categories. The 2025 chart labels its series 2024 and 2023; this report labels the supplied documents by publication year, not fieldwork year.
2022: 16 + 24 = 40%
2025: 41 + 21 = 62%
Financial exposureQuestion changed
Additional audit charges above $1M
+22percentage points
The higher-cost category takes a larger share of reported outcomes in the later edition. Category percentages do not establish a typical dollar amount or total market losses.
Definitions & comparison notes
Reported additional charges from compliance audits over the preceding three years: the more-than-$1M category.
The threshold and three-year window align, but 2022 asks about charges paid and 2025 about charges incurred. These are reported additional vendor charges, not initial claims, legal costs or total operational costs. Question-level sample counts and identical survey routing are not confirmed.
Financial exposureQuestion changed
No additional audit charges
-12percentage points
Fewer respondents fall into the no-additional-charges category. Even this category should not be described as a cost-free audit.
Definitions & comparison notes
Reported additional charges over the preceding three years: the no-charges category.
2022 asks about charges paid; 2025 asks about charges incurred. The 2025 chart prints 'No changes'; its question concerns additional charges. No vendor charges does not mean an audit had no staff-time or advisory cost. Question-level respondent bases are not confirmed identical.
Cloud complianceAligned categories
Cloud increased compliance concerns
+15percentage points
The cloud is increasingly associated with compliance concerns in these samples. Migration alone should not be presented as removing licensing complexity.
Definitions & comparison notes
Respondents selecting 'It has increased compliance concerns' for cloud-based applications.
Near-identical questions and the same response category. Measures respondents' concerns, not independently verified licensing violations.
Operational burdenAligned categories
Over 10% of working hours on audit requests
+21percentage points
A larger share reports substantial working-time diversion. This measures time commitment, not a calculated salary loss, and does not include a modeled cost estimate.
Definitions & comparison notes
Sum of the 11–15%, 16–20%, 21–25%, 26–30% and more-than-30% categories.
Derived from printed chart values, which are rounded. The 2025 narrative gives different working-hour summaries; this comparison uses Chart 9D rather than those summaries.
2022: 16 + 17 + 10 + 2 + 1 = 46%
2025: 34 + 16 + 6 + 9 + 2 = 67%
Outside assistanceQuestion changed
Used outside assistance in audit negotiation
+18percentage points
Use of outside assistance is higher in the later published results, but the broader service/tool definition could contribute to the difference.
Definitions & comparison notes
Yes responses to use of third-party help when negotiating with the auditing vendor.
2022 asks about a third-party service; 2025 broadens this to a service/tool. The increase cannot be attributed solely to greater use of advisory firms.
