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EspañolBIG FOUR AUDITORS
The 'Big 4', sometimes written as the 'Big Four', is a group of international accountancy and professional services firms that handles the vast majority of audits for publicly traded companies as well as many private companies. The Big Four firms are shown below, with their latest publicly available data:
The fifth largest firm, BDO International, had recent revenues of $3.911 billion USD and 30,000 employees. Deloitte's numbers include $4.5bn of Consulting revenues which are often excluded when comparing these firms as the other three disposed of their consulting arms between 2000 and 2003 and have only recently begun to offer "business advisory services."
This group was once known as the "Big Eight" before a series of mergers, and also included Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice (this conviction was later unanimously overturned by the United States Supreme Court) in the wake of the 2001 Enron scandal.
Since 1989, mergers have reduced the number of major accountancy firms from eight to four.
The firms were called the 'Big 8' in the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the international dominance of the eight largest accounting firms:
#Arthur Andersen
#Arthur Young & Company
#Coopers & Lybrand
#Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst)
#Haskins & Sells (merged with the European firm Deloitte Plender Griffiths to become Deloitte, Haskins and Sells)
#KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group)
#Price Waterhouse
#Touche Ross
The Big 8 themselves were the results of earlier mergers.
Competition among these public accounting firms intensified and the Big 8 became the 'Big 6' in 1989 when Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young in June, and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche in August.
Confusingly, in the United Kingdom the local firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged instead with Coopers & Lybrand. For some years after the merger, the merged firm was called Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte and the local firm of Touche Ross kept its original name. In the mid 1990s however, both UK firms changed their names to match those of their respective international organizations.
The Big 6 became the 'Big 5' in July 1998 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Enron collapse and ensuing investigation prompted scrutiny of their financial reporting, which was audited by Arthur Andersen, which eventually was indicted for obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to the audit in the 2001 Enron scandal. The resulting conviction, since overturned, still effectively meant the end for Arthur Andersen. Most of its country practices around the world have sold to members of what is now the Big Four, notably Ernst & Young globally and Deloitte & Touche in the UK.
★ 'Arthur Andersen'
★
★ Developed from 'Andersen, Delany'
★ 'Ernst & Young'
★
★ 'Arthur Young'
★
★ 'Ernst & Whinney'
★
★
★ 'Ernst & Ernst'
★ 'PricewaterhouseCoopers'
★
★ 'Coopers & Lybrand'
★
★ 'Price Waterhouse'
★ 'Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu'
★
★ 'Deloitte & Touche'
★
★
★ 'Deloitte Haskins & Sells'
★
★
★
★ 'Deloitte Plender Griffiths (UK)'
★
★
★
★ 'Haskins & Sells'
★
★
★ 'Touche Ross'
★
★
★
★ 'Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart'
★
★
★
★
★ 'Ross, Touche'
★
★
★
★
★ 'George A. Touche'
★
★
★
★
★ 'Touche, Niven, Bailey & Smart'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'Touche Niven'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'Bailey'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'A. R. Smart'
★
★ 'Tohmatsu & Co.'
★ 'KPMG'
★
★ 'Peat Marwick'
★
★
★ 'William Barclay Peat'
★
★
★ 'Marwick Mitchell'
★
★ 'KMG'
★
★
★ 'Klynveld Main Goerdeler'
★
★
★
★ 'Klynveld Kraayenhof'
★
★
★
★ 'McLintock Main Lafrentz'
★
★
★ 'Deutsche Treuhand Gesellschaft'
In the wake of industry concentration and individual firm failure, the issue of a credible alternative industry structure has been raised.[1]
The following domestic accounting firms have joined the membership of international Big Four firms. In South Korea's accounting industry, having a membership of international accounting firms has been significant due to the matter of their reputation and reliability from clients.
# Hanyoung LLC - member of Ernst & Young
# Samjong LLC - member of KPMG
# Samil LLC - member of PricewaterhouseCoopers
# Ahnjin LLC - member of Deloitte & Touche
In Turkey, the "Big Four auditors" are local affiliates of the Big Four international firms;
# Güney Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - member of Ernst & Young,
# Akis Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of KPMG,
# Basaran Nas Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of PwC
# DRT Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of Deloitte
In addition to the big four, there are other affiliate companies which have weaker affiliate relations compared to affiliates of big four.
In Israel, there are five large auditors, four of whom are affiliates of the "Big Four Auditors":
# Kost, Forer, Gabbay & Kasierer (Ernst & Young Israel)
# KPMG Somekh Chaikin
# Deloitte Brightman Almagor
# Kesselman & Kesselman, PwC Israel
# BDO Ziv Haft (affiliate of Binder, Dijker, Otte & Co)
In Japan, the “Big Four auditors” are local affiliates of the Big Four international firms:
★ ShinNihon - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ AZSA & Co. - affiliate of KPMG
★ MISUZU Audit Corporation , formerly ChuoAoyama - affiliate of PwC (see below)
★ Tohmatsu - affiliate of Deloitte Touche
Following the discovery of the accounting fraud at Kanebo, the Financial Services Agency in Japan suspended ChuoAoyama from conducting audit work for inadequate internal controls, for two months from July 1, 2006 onwards. On June 13 2006, PwC announced the incorporation of a new accounting firm in Japan, called PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata. Unlike ChuoAoyama, which is a network firm of PwC, PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata is a member firm of the PwC global network and will adopt its internal controls and methodologies.[5]
In the Philippines, the following firms are the top 6 firms with affiliates of the Big Four international firms and the other large international firm:
★ Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co.) - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ Isla Lipana & Co. (formerly Joaquin Cunanan & Co.) - affiliate of PwC
★ Manabat Delgado Amper & Co. (formerly C.L. Manabat & Co.) - affiliate of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
★ Manabat Sanagustin & Co. (formerly Laya Mananghaya & Co.) - affiliate of KPMG
★ Punongbayan & Araullo - affiliate of Grant Thornton International
★ Alba Romeo & Co. - affiliate of BDO International (Binder Dijker Otte & Co.)
In India, the affiliate firms of the Big Four are:
★ S.R. Batliboi & Co - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ SB Billimoria Co, A.F. Ferguson & Co, Frasier & Ross, Deloitte Haskins & Sells - affiliates of Deliotte Touche Tohmatsu
★ Bharat S Raut & Co (BSR & Co) - affiliate of KPMG
★ Price Waterhouse and Lovelock & Lewes - affiliates of PricewaterhouseCoopers
In India, foreign accounting firms are prohibited from entering audit and assurance sectors. This has led to back-door entry of the Big Four through affiliate firms.
1. Lawrence A. Cunningham, Too Big to Fail: Moral Hazard in Auditing and the Need to Restructure the Industry Before It Fails, Columbia University Law Review
★ http://raw.rutgers.edu/raw/internet/big5.htm, A table of links to Big 5 accounting firms, from a Rutgers University website
| Firm | Revenues | People |
|---|---|---|
| PricewaterhouseCoopers [1] | $22.0bn | 140,000 |
| Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu [2] | $20.0bn | 150,000 |
| Ernst & Young [3] | $18.4bn | 114,000 |
| KPMG [4] | $16.9bn | 113,000 |
The fifth largest firm, BDO International, had recent revenues of $3.911 billion USD and 30,000 employees. Deloitte's numbers include $4.5bn of Consulting revenues which are often excluded when comparing these firms as the other three disposed of their consulting arms between 2000 and 2003 and have only recently begun to offer "business advisory services."
This group was once known as the "Big Eight" before a series of mergers, and also included Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice (this conviction was later unanimously overturned by the United States Supreme Court) in the wake of the 2001 Enron scandal.
The big get bigger
Since 1989, mergers have reduced the number of major accountancy firms from eight to four.
Big 8 (1970s-1989)
The firms were called the 'Big 8' in the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the international dominance of the eight largest accounting firms:
#Arthur Andersen
#Arthur Young & Company
#Coopers & Lybrand
#Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst)
#Haskins & Sells (merged with the European firm Deloitte Plender Griffiths to become Deloitte, Haskins and Sells)
#KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group)
#Price Waterhouse
#Touche Ross
The Big 8 themselves were the results of earlier mergers.
Big 6 (1989-1998)
Competition among these public accounting firms intensified and the Big 8 became the 'Big 6' in 1989 when Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young in June, and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche in August.
Confusingly, in the United Kingdom the local firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged instead with Coopers & Lybrand. For some years after the merger, the merged firm was called Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte and the local firm of Touche Ross kept its original name. In the mid 1990s however, both UK firms changed their names to match those of their respective international organizations.
Big 5 (1998-2002)
The Big 6 became the 'Big 5' in July 1998 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Big 4 (2002-)
The Enron collapse and ensuing investigation prompted scrutiny of their financial reporting, which was audited by Arthur Andersen, which eventually was indicted for obstruction of justice for shredding documents related to the audit in the 2001 Enron scandal. The resulting conviction, since overturned, still effectively meant the end for Arthur Andersen. Most of its country practices around the world have sold to members of what is now the Big Four, notably Ernst & Young globally and Deloitte & Touche in the UK.
Mergers and developments
★ 'Arthur Andersen'
★
★ Developed from 'Andersen, Delany'
★ 'Ernst & Young'
★
★ 'Arthur Young'
★
★ 'Ernst & Whinney'
★
★
★ 'Ernst & Ernst'
★ 'PricewaterhouseCoopers'
★
★ 'Coopers & Lybrand'
★
★ 'Price Waterhouse'
★ 'Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu'
★
★ 'Deloitte & Touche'
★
★
★ 'Deloitte Haskins & Sells'
★
★
★
★ 'Deloitte Plender Griffiths (UK)'
★
★
★
★ 'Haskins & Sells'
★
★
★ 'Touche Ross'
★
★
★
★ 'Touche, Ross, Bailey & Smart'
★
★
★
★
★ 'Ross, Touche'
★
★
★
★
★ 'George A. Touche'
★
★
★
★
★ 'Touche, Niven, Bailey & Smart'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'Touche Niven'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'Bailey'
★
★
★
★
★
★ 'A. R. Smart'
★
★ 'Tohmatsu & Co.'
★ 'KPMG'
★
★ 'Peat Marwick'
★
★
★ 'William Barclay Peat'
★
★
★ 'Marwick Mitchell'
★
★ 'KMG'
★
★
★ 'Klynveld Main Goerdeler'
★
★
★
★ 'Klynveld Kraayenhof'
★
★
★
★ 'McLintock Main Lafrentz'
★
★
★ 'Deutsche Treuhand Gesellschaft'
Policy issues concerning industry concentration
In the wake of industry concentration and individual firm failure, the issue of a credible alternative industry structure has been raised.[1]
Other countries
South Korea
The following domestic accounting firms have joined the membership of international Big Four firms. In South Korea's accounting industry, having a membership of international accounting firms has been significant due to the matter of their reputation and reliability from clients.
# Hanyoung LLC - member of Ernst & Young
# Samjong LLC - member of KPMG
# Samil LLC - member of PricewaterhouseCoopers
# Ahnjin LLC - member of Deloitte & Touche
Turkey
In Turkey, the "Big Four auditors" are local affiliates of the Big Four international firms;
# Güney Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - member of Ernst & Young,
# Akis Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of KPMG,
# Basaran Nas Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of PwC
# DRT Bagimsiz Denetim ve S.M.M. A.S. - affiliate of Deloitte
In addition to the big four, there are other affiliate companies which have weaker affiliate relations compared to affiliates of big four.
Israel
In Israel, there are five large auditors, four of whom are affiliates of the "Big Four Auditors":
# Kost, Forer, Gabbay & Kasierer (Ernst & Young Israel)
# KPMG Somekh Chaikin
# Deloitte Brightman Almagor
# Kesselman & Kesselman, PwC Israel
# BDO Ziv Haft (affiliate of Binder, Dijker, Otte & Co)
Japan
In Japan, the “Big Four auditors” are local affiliates of the Big Four international firms:
★ ShinNihon - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ AZSA & Co. - affiliate of KPMG
★ MISUZU Audit Corporation , formerly ChuoAoyama - affiliate of PwC (see below)
★ Tohmatsu - affiliate of Deloitte Touche
Following the discovery of the accounting fraud at Kanebo, the Financial Services Agency in Japan suspended ChuoAoyama from conducting audit work for inadequate internal controls, for two months from July 1, 2006 onwards. On June 13 2006, PwC announced the incorporation of a new accounting firm in Japan, called PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata. Unlike ChuoAoyama, which is a network firm of PwC, PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata is a member firm of the PwC global network and will adopt its internal controls and methodologies.[5]
The Philippines
In the Philippines, the following firms are the top 6 firms with affiliates of the Big Four international firms and the other large international firm:
★ Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co.) - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ Isla Lipana & Co. (formerly Joaquin Cunanan & Co.) - affiliate of PwC
★ Manabat Delgado Amper & Co. (formerly C.L. Manabat & Co.) - affiliate of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
★ Manabat Sanagustin & Co. (formerly Laya Mananghaya & Co.) - affiliate of KPMG
★ Punongbayan & Araullo - affiliate of Grant Thornton International
★ Alba Romeo & Co. - affiliate of BDO International (Binder Dijker Otte & Co.)
India
In India, the affiliate firms of the Big Four are:
★ S.R. Batliboi & Co - affiliate of Ernst & Young
★ SB Billimoria Co, A.F. Ferguson & Co, Frasier & Ross, Deloitte Haskins & Sells - affiliates of Deliotte Touche Tohmatsu
★ Bharat S Raut & Co (BSR & Co) - affiliate of KPMG
★ Price Waterhouse and Lovelock & Lewes - affiliates of PricewaterhouseCoopers
In India, foreign accounting firms are prohibited from entering audit and assurance sectors. This has led to back-door entry of the Big Four through affiliate firms.
References
1. Lawrence A. Cunningham, Too Big to Fail: Moral Hazard in Auditing and the Need to Restructure the Industry Before It Fails, Columbia University Law Review
External links
★ http://raw.rutgers.edu/raw/internet/big5.htm, A table of links to Big 5 accounting firms, from a Rutgers University website
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