EY’s break-up plan raises fears over audit business (FT)

EY’s radical plan to break itself up risks stripping its audit business of the expertise needed to vet the complex accounts of the world’s largest multinationals, industry executives have warned. Partners at the Big Four firm will start voting in November on EY’s proposal to spin off and publicly list its advisory business, a move its leaders say will drive growth by eliminating conflicts of interest. But EY and its Big Four rivals — Deloitte, KPMG and PwC — rely on their advisory arms to provide the expertise in tax and asset valuation often needed to sign off on companies’ accounts. Click here to read full article