Looking for ways to cut their audit costs in light of rising regulatory demands, some companies are dropping their Big Four accounting firms and deciding the status of Corporate America's version of a Good Housekeeping seal of approval isn't worth the price.

All of the Big Four accounting firms -- Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and Ernst & Young -- lost more clients than they gained during the first eight months of the year, says Audit Analytics. In two-thirds of the 396 departures, it was the Big Four firm that got the boot.

Meanwhile, three smaller national audit firms, BDO Seidman, Grant Thornton and McGladrey & Pullen, gained 58, 50 and 13 clients, respectively, during the period. Many of those were former Big Four clients.

''We are seeing a fairly significant number of new clients previously served by the Big Four,'' says Bill Travis, managing partner of McGladrey & Pullen. He says more than half of the firm's 32 new audit clients the past 18 months were former Big Four customers.

Cost is the main reason for the shift. Audit fees were already rising, thanks to greater demands in new regulations. Many fear fees could really take off this year, because an especially onerous part of Sarbanes-Oxley, Section 404, takes effect for many companies. The rules require auditors to conduct expensive tests of a company's accounting controls to make sure there are safeguards to stop the books from getting cooked.

Better access to top accounting professionals also is a factor. Given the complex new accounting rules, many companies want ready access to the partner in charge of the audit, says Leland Graul, director at BDO. The Big Four, which rely heavily on recent college grads, assign a partner to every 10 to 12 employees, he says. BDO has one partner to every six, he says.

Among those making the move:

• Scientific Technologies. The instruments and controls maker switched to BDO after being with PWC for 25 years, says Richard Faria, chief financial officer. ''Our audit fees were getting way too high,'' he says. Going to BDO will save 25% to 50% on audit fees, he says. PWC says rising audit fees in general force smaller companies to look for any way to cut costs. 
• Aaon. Kathy Sheffield, the air conditioner maker's CFO, says the smaller auditing firms can better help smaller companies deal with the new requirements, especially Section 404. The Big Four are too geared for advising big companies that have unlimited resources. ''If we had gone with the Big Four, it would have tripled our expenses,'' she says.
• VA Software. CFO Kathleen McElwee says its shift from PWC to BDO was a ''fee-based'' move.