Certain companies are more at risk of being fined in an upcoming IT audit, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has revealed.

Director of compliance for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the BSA Julian Swan explained that London is the worst place for illegal software in the UK due to the amount of small businesses in IT working in the capital, with many of them lacking knowledge due to entrepreneurial standards.

He said that too many of these companies, while well managed, do not have software compliance near the top of their list of needs, particularly in the current climate.

Mr Swan added: "It's quite clear that not everyone who has unlicensed software … it's not necessarily a deliberate act by any means. The trouble is that doesn't mean that it's not illegal."

According to recent BSA research, there is unlicensed software worth £149 million each year being installed on computers in London.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.