Big Four auditors
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Categories: Accounting stubs | Accounting | Financial services companies of the United States
The Big 4 (or the Big Four) is a group of international accountancy firms that handle the vast majority of audits for publicly traded corporations.
In order of revenue as of 2004, the Big 4 are:
Before the collapse of Arthur Andersen in the wake of the 2001 Enron scandal, the auditors were known as the Big 5. Some have jokingly referred to the Big 4 as the Final Four. However, in June 2005 the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York recommended that KPMG be indicted for its past sales of allegedly abusive tax shelters to hundreds of wealthy individuals. This threatened indictment raised the specter of an Andersen-like collapse for KPMG. As of August 2005, negotiations between KPMG and the Justice Department on a possible settlement were ongoing.
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The Big gets 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, 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 European firm 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)
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.
Big 5 (1998-2002)
The Big 6 became the Big 5 in July 1998 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers.
External links
- http://www.big5friends.com/, an ad-supported website for current and former employees of Big 5 firms
- http://www.big4.com/, an ad-supported website for former employees of Big 4 firms
- 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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| Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu | Ernst & Young | KPMG | Pricewaterhouse Coopers | |