Israeli Government Companies Paid $22 Million Annually for Audits
A new report from the Government Companies Authority reveals that Israeli state-owned enterprises paid approximately 80 million shekels (about $22 million) to auditing firms between 2023 and 2025 for their financial statement reviews. This averages to about 27 million shekels per year across the 68 government companies and their subsidiaries. However, the average cost per company is misleading, as larger entities like the Israel Electric Corporation and Israel Railways require significantly more extensive auditing than smaller ones.
The four largest auditing firms, Somekh Chaikin, Ernst & Young, Ziv Haft, and Deloitte, secured nearly three-quarters of this revenue, totaling around 60 million shekels over the three-year period. Somekh Chaikin received close to 20 million shekels, followed by Ernst & Young with approximately 18.6 million, Ziv Haft with 10.3 million, and Deloitte with 10.1 million.
At the high end, the Israel Electric Corporation paid Somekh Chaikin over 12 million shekels in three years, averaging more than 4 million shekels annually. Israel Railways paid Deloitte over 7 million shekels during the period, averaging about 2.4 million shekels per year. The article also notes that Israel Railways recently switched its auditor from Deloitte to Ziv Haft as part of a rotation policy promoted by the authority.
For Israel Railways, the cost of auditing in 2025 was approximately 2.4 million shekels for nearly 11,000 hours of work, equating to about 220 shekels per hour. Similar rates were observed for NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System. These hourly rates are considered average for a team and not for senior partners, reflecting a pyramid structure where junior staff perform much of the work.
The article contrasts these rates with those in the private sector, where public companies can pay significantly more. For instance, Bank Leumi paid about 15.9 million shekels for its audit work in 2025, with total related services reaching 20.7 million shekels. For complex groups and financial institutions, annual audit costs can range from millions to tens of millions of shekels.
