Royalty audits can cover very different arrangements, from music and publishing income to brand licensing, technology IP, franchising and theatrical productions. The companies below all have a verified London presence or London-based royalty audit capability, but their areas of focus vary considerably. This is a practical selection of providers rather than a ranking, so the most suitable option depends on the agreement, industry and type of royalty stream involved.
Acumon
Acumon is a UK firm of chartered accountants and registered auditors providing independent royalty and licence compliance audits. These services are delivered from London and across the UK for licensors, franchisors and rights holders, exercising the audit clauses in licence, franchise and distribution agreements to verify that the royalties reported are the royalties owed.
Almost every such agreement contains an audit clause, yet these rights frequently remain unexercised. Licensors often rely on self-reported statements from parties with an incentive to understate. Industry experience shows that a substantial share of royalty statements contain errors, overwhelmingly in the licensee’s favour. Unexercised audit rights therefore represent unclaimed revenue.
Acumon performs royalty examinations by reconstructing what should have been reported from the licensee’s own records, quantifying shortfalls and reporting in a form that supports recovery – commercially where possible, and formally where necessary. The firm works with brand licensors checking manufacturers and distributors, franchisors verifying turnover-based fees, IP owners with technology and patent licences, and publishers and media rights holders reviewing royalty streams. It also supports licensees who need to defend an audit or verify their own reporting ahead of renewal negotiations.
Most shortfalls arise from structural issues rather than deliberate understatement: omitted sales channels or territories, unpermitted deductions, inconsistent treatment of bundled products, exchange-rate applications, unreported sublicensee revenue, or miscalculated minimum guarantees and escalators. These are not visible from the statement alone, which is why agreements include audit clauses.
Examinations begin with the agreement itself – defining the royalty base, permitted deductions, rates and thresholds – and then test the licensee’s sales ledgers, system reports and sublicence agreements against that contractual definition. The independent reconstruction is reconciled to the reported figures, with differences documented line by line.
Reports are written to support commercial settlement and improved future reporting while preserving commercial relationships. Where findings indicate deliberate understatement or a dispute escalates, the firm’s in-house forensic specialists can carry the work forward to a standard suitable for formal proceedings. Acumon also advises on the drafting and renewal of audit clauses and royalty-base definitions so that future examinations become a clear procedure rather than a source of ambiguity.
Royalty Audit Capabilities:
Acumon provides royalty and licence compliance audits across a range of arrangements and parties. These include:
- Licence and franchise agreements for brand licensors, manufacturers and distributors
- Technology, patent and IP licensing arrangements
- Franchisor verification of turnover-based fees
- Publisher and media rights royalty streams
- Multi-territory, multi-currency and sublicensee royalty flows
- Licensee-side reviews to defend an audit or verify internal reporting
- Advice on audit-clause drafting and royalty-base definitions
These services are delivered by an ICAEW-registered and FRC-authorised audit firm with in-house forensic and anti-fraud capability, drawing on ERP and data experience across major systems and population-level analytics.
Regulatory Licences and Registrations:
Acumon holds several audit registrations that enable it to support organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions.
These include:
- UK statutory audit registration
- Public Interest Entity (PIE) audit licence
- Jersey audit licence
- Isle of Man audit licence
- Cayman Islands audit licence
- British Virgin Islands audit licence
These registrations allow the firm to provide audit services to groups that include entities in both the UK and key international financial centres.
Core Services:
In addition to statutory external audit, Acumon provides a range of services that support financial reporting and governance.
These include:
- Statutory external audit
- Group and subsidiary audits
- Public Interest Entity (PIE) audits
- Charity and not-for-profit audit
- Audit of international group structures
- Internal audit and governance reviews
- Risk management and compliance support
Audit work is often delivered alongside discussions with management and boards regarding financial reporting processes and governance frameworks.
Many organisations initially encounter statutory audit requirements as they grow and exceed the audit exemption thresholds set out in the Companies Act.
Acumon works with businesses that are:
- Approaching their first statutory audit
- Preparing for external investment
- Expanding into international markets
- Operating within corporate group structures
Early engagement with an audit firm can help ensure that financial reporting systems and documentation are aligned with statutory audit requirements.
Contact Information:
- Website: acumon.com
- Phone: 020 8567 3451
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Address: 1-2 Craven Road, Ealing, London, W5 2UA, UK
Grant Thornton UK
Grant Thornton UK has a dedicated royalty and intellectual property audit practice led by its Head of Royalty Audits. The team works on licence monitoring, royalty auditing and data analysis, particularly where contracts span multiple territories or reporting systems. Its published sector experience covers home video, theatrical distribution, publishing, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, sport and music. The firm’s work can also identify weaknesses in licensee reporting processes and ambiguities in agreements, making it relevant where the audit needs to examine both historic underreporting and future contract compliance.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Businesses managing complex or international IP licensing arrangements
- Core services: Royalty auditing, data analysis, licence monitoring and contract compliance reviews
- Industries: Media, publishing, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, sport and music
- Location: London office at Finsbury Circus
- Notable strength: Experience auditing complex agreements across multiple jurisdictions
Contact Information:
- Website: www.grantthornton.co.uk
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grant-thornton-uk
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/gt_trainees
- Address: 8 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 7EA
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7383 5100
HW Fisher
HW Fisher’s forensic accounting division carries out royalty auditing across a broad mix of intellectual property arrangements. Its work covers music recording and publishing deals, brand extensions, character merchandising, franchising, literary rights, sport, technology, pharmaceuticals and television participation income. The music practice also deals with the large datasets generated by streaming and digital distribution, while publishing audits test whether sales and contractual terms have been reported correctly. This breadth makes HW Fisher useful where rights extend across more than one format, territory or revenue channel.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Rights owners with multiple royalty streams or international licensing arrangements
- Core services: Royalty auditing, contract compliance, music royalty reviews and royalty due diligence
- Industries: Music, publishing, pharmaceuticals, technology, sport, television, franchising and consumer licensing
- Location: London
- Notable strength: Specialist forensic work across both creative-industry and commercial IP royalties
Contact Information:
- Website: hwfisher.co.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7388 7000
- Address: Acre House, 11-15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hwfisheruk
S&W Group
S&W maintains a dedicated royalty and intellectual property audit team in London. Its audits examine whether licensees are following contractual terms, reporting the correct royalty-bearing sales and using licensed IP as agreed. The team deals with issues such as incorrect rates, exchange rates, deductions, promotional products, incomplete contract amendments and manual reporting errors. This gives the service a fairly practical compliance focus rather than limiting the review to a recalculation of individual royalty statements.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: IP owners that need to test licensee reporting against detailed contractual terms
- Core services: Royalty audits, IP audits and licence compliance reviews
- Audit areas: Royalty rates, deductions, exchange rates, licensed products, reporting processes and contract interpretation
- Location: City of London
- Notable strength: Dedicated royalty and IP audit capability within a larger audit and forensic practice
Contact Information:
- Website: www.swgroup.com
- Twitter: x.com/S_W_Group
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/swgroupuk
- Address: 45 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7BG
- Phone: +44(0)204 617 55 00
Insight Licensing Services
Insight Licensing Services concentrates specifically on contract compliance and royalty audits rather than general accountancy. Its international network includes a London practice, and its team has experience across character merchandising, entertainment, media, luxury and sports brands, music, pharmaceuticals, technology, franchising and publishing. Audits are designed to test the accuracy and completeness of royalty reporting and identify contractual underpayments. The London practice is led by Raj Trivedi, whose background includes licensing and forensic consulting as well as licence compliance work within the entertainment industry.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Brand and IP owners seeking a specialist licensing compliance practice
- Core services: Contract compliance reviews, royalty audits and licensing advice
- Industries: Entertainment, media, character merchandising, publishing, pharmaceuticals, technology, sports and luxury brands
- Location: Regent Street, London
- Notable strength: Focused specifically on licensing and royalty compliance across international markets
Contact Information:
- Website: ilsrights.com
- Phone: +44 (0)203 291 1827
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 3rd Floor, 207 Regent Street, London W1B 3BB
Prager Metis
Prager Metis has royalty audit and contract compliance personnel in London and works extensively with entertainment and IP-based revenue. Its service range includes audits of record labels, publishers and licensing agreements, profit participation and joint ventures, distribution audits, desktop reviews and IP valuations. The firm also supports day-to-day royalty management and financial due diligence. Its published sector coverage extends beyond music to licensed merchandise, book publishing, motion pictures, television, theatre, videogames and digital distribution.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Entertainment and IP businesses with complex royalty, distribution or participation agreements
- Core services: Royalty audits, contract compliance, distribution audits, profit participation audits and IP valuations
- Industries: Music, publishing, film, TV, theatre, videogames, fashion and licensed merchandise
- Location: Southwark, London
- Notable strength: Combines audit work with royalty management, due diligence and valuation services
Contact Information:
- Website: pragermetis.com
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7632 1400
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 5A Bear Lane, Southwark, London, SE1 0UH
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/PragerMetis
- Twitter: x.com/PragerMetisCPAs
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pragermetiscpas
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pragermetiscpas
SRLV
SRLV has a dedicated royalties practice aimed primarily at music and entertainment clients. It works with songwriters, artists, independent record labels, publishers, actors and producers, covering both royalty accounting and audit work. Audits examine whether creative clients have received the correct income across their different revenue streams, while related services include desktop reviews, contract analysis, copyright valuation and royalty financial due diligence. Its team also deals with physical and digital sales, streaming, publishing rights, synchronisation and neighbouring rights.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Artists, songwriters, labels, publishers and other creative-industry rights holders
- Core services: Royalty audits, desktop reviews, royalty accounting, contract reviews and music copyright valuations
- Specialization: Music and entertainment royalties
- Location: Fitzrovia, London
- Notable strength: Dedicated royalty audit personnel with direct music-industry experience
Contact Information:
- Website: www.srlv.co.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7079 8888
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/srlv
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/srlv.llp
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 4th Floor, Elsley Court, 20-22 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 8BE
Moore Kingston Smith
Moore Kingston Smith provides royalty audits within its established theatre and creative industries practice. The service is particularly relevant to writers, composers, directors, lighting designers, choreographers, investors and other people entitled to a share of theatrical production income. Its team reviews production figures against the royalty holder’s contractual entitlement and can help prepare a claim when the numbers indicate an underpayment. This narrower theatre focus distinguishes it from firms that primarily audit consumer product or technology licensing arrangements.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Theatre royalty holders and creative professionals with contractual participation rights
- Core services: Royalty audits, production accounting and theatre-related financial services
- Specialization: Theatre and production royalties
- Location: London
- Notable strength: Reviews production figures specifically against contractual royalty entitlements
Contact Information:
- Website: mooreks.co.uk
- Twitter: x.com/MooreKSLLP
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/moore-kingston-smith
- Address: 6th Floor, 9 Appold Street, London, EC2A 2AP
- Phone: +44 (0)20 4582 1000
Harris & Trotter LLP
Harris & Trotter’s music and entertainment division includes a specialist royalty team. Its work covers royalty audits and ongoing royalty management for artists and other music-industry clients, with attention to payments from record companies, music publishers and channels such as YouTube. The firm also handles royalty registrations, reporting to managers, producers, songwriters and performers, and back catalogue valuation. This is therefore a particularly focused option for music clients rather than a general commercial licensing audit practice.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Recording artists, songwriters, performers and other music-industry clients
- Core services: Royalty audits, royalty management, registrations, reporting and catalogue valuation
- Specialization: Music and entertainment
- Location: Central London
- Notable strength: Royalty work sits within a wider music business management and accounting practice
Contact Information:
- Website: harrisandtrotter.co.uk
- Phone: 020 7467 6300
- Twitter: x.com/HarrisTrotter_
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/harris-&-trotter-llp
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 1st Floor South, 101 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6XH
Saffery
Saffery includes royalty audits within its music accountancy services. The firm’s sports and entertainment practice works with musicians and artists on areas such as business management, tax, catalogue finance and valuation, tour accounting and royalty reviews. Its London team also covers film, TV, theatre and other entertainment sectors, so the firm’s experience is relevant where royalty issues sit alongside broader accounting or financial matters. For clients who need both ongoing financial advice and periodic royalty checking, that wider service mix may be useful.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Musicians and entertainment clients seeking royalty audits alongside wider accounting support
- Core services: Royalty audits, catalogue valuation, tour accounting, tax and business management
- Industries: Music, film, television, theatre, sport and entertainment
- Location: City of London
- Notable strength: Royalty work can be combined with a broader entertainment accounting service
Contact Information:
- Website: www.saffery.com
- E-mail: [email protected]
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/saffery
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/saffery_uk
- Address: 71 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BE, UK
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7841 4000
MGR Weston Kay
MGR Weston Kay includes royalty auditing within its forensic accounting practice. Its royalty investigations are designed to identify unpaid or underpaid income for musicians, composers, record labels and publishers. Where an audit develops into a dispute, the firm’s forensic team can also assist with settlement negotiations and litigation. The service is therefore closely connected to financial investigation rather than routine royalty administration, which may suit rights holders who already suspect discrepancies or need findings prepared for a more formal recovery process.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Music rights holders investigating suspected royalty underpayments
- Core services: Royalty investigations, forensic accounting, settlement support and litigation assistance
- Industries: Music, recording and publishing
- Location: St John’s Wood, London
- Notable strength: Royalty auditing is integrated with forensic accounting and dispute work
Contact Information:
- Website: www.mgr.co.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7625 4545
- Twitter: x.com/life_at_mgr
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mgr-weston-kay-llp
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/life_at_mgr
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 55 Loudoun Road, St John’s Wood, London NW8 0DL
LicensingAdvice
LicensingAdvice is the trading presence of The Licensing Advisory Consultancy Limited, a London-headquartered consultancy established specifically around licensing. Its royalty audits compare actual sales with declarations and can test contractual points such as stock differences, deductions, giveaways, sales territories, transaction types and marketing expenditure. The consultancy also works from the licensee side, offering pre-audit and post-audit reviews, as well as contract negotiation and royalty declaration administration. That two-sided perspective may be useful where a business needs help preparing for an audit rather than commissioning one against a licensee.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Licensors and licensees needing specialist licensing compliance support
- Core services: Royalty audits, pre-audit reviews, post-audit reviews, contract negotiation and contract administration
- Founded: 2002
- Location: Southwark, London
- Notable strength: Works with both sides of the licensing relationship
Contact Information:
- Website: licensingadvice.com
- Phone: +44 (0)20 3475 8697
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 5A Bear Lane, Southwark, London SE1 0UH
Beanstalk
Beanstalk operates dedicated royalty auditing teams in London and New York as part of its wider licensing business. The audit practice carries out royalty compliance reviews across trademarks, copyrights, patents, software and design rights. Its published sector experience ranges from apparel and consumer products to gaming, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, publishing, television and film. Beanstalk also works on settlement strategy and licensing consultancy, so its service is particularly relevant to brand owners and other IP owners managing commercial licensing programmes rather than only entertainment royalty statements.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Brand owners and IP owners managing commercial licensing programmes
- Core services: Royalty compliance audits and licensing consultancy
- IP coverage: Trademarks, copyrights, patents, software and design rights
- Location: Royalty auditing team in London
- Notable strength: Audit practice focused on commercial licensing across a wide range of IP categories
Contact Information:
- Website: www.beanstalk.com
- Email: [email protected]
MHA
MHA is a broader audit and advisory firm rather than a dedicated royalty audit boutique, but its published business overview explicitly includes grant and royalty audit among the core services of its Audit and Assurance division. Its London office also provides wider audit, assurance, advisory, tax and outsourcing support. The firm does not present the same detailed sector-specific royalty offering as some of the specialist providers above, so it may be more relevant to organisations that want royalty auditing within an established multidisciplinary professional services relationship.
Key Facts:
- Ideal for: Organisations seeking royalty audit capability within a wider audit and advisory firm
- Core services: Grant and royalty audit as part of Audit and Assurance
- Wider services: Audit and assurance, advisory, tax and outsourcing
- Location: City of London
- Notable strength: Royalty auditing can sit alongside broader audit and business advisory requirements
Contact Information:
- Website: www.mha.co.uk
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/MHA-Accountants/100063452388108
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mha-uk
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mhaaccountants
- Phone: +44 (0)20 7429 4100
- Address: 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
Conclusion
Royalty audit services in London range from specialist licensing and contract compliance practices to entertainment accountants and larger audit firms. Some providers work across trademarks, patents, consumer licensing and technology agreements, while others concentrate much more closely on music, publishing, theatre, film and other creative-industry royalties.
There is no single provider that suits every royalty arrangement. A brand owner auditing an international licensee network will usually have different requirements from an artist checking recording income or a theatre professional reviewing production royalties. The sensible comparison is therefore based on the type of agreement, industry knowledge required, geographic scope, available records and whether the engagement could develop into a contractual dispute.