EY is being advised by investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a possible listing or sale of its consulting business, according to a report in theAn initial public offering or partial sale would be the biggest shake-up to the global advisory sector since the collapse of global auditing firm Arthur Andersen in 2002 and emulate the successful initial public listing of consulting powerhouse Accenture in 2001.
The concern has been triggered by a string of audit-related failures across the world have triggered the regulatory crackdown, including the collapse of EY clients Wirecard and Luckin Coffee andEY’s consulting business, which provides taxation, management consulting and deals advice generated about $US26 billion in sales last financial year, about two-thirds of the firm’s total global income of $US40 billion.
Accenture’s float contrasts with the fate of Arthur Andersen which collapsed in 2002 over its role as auditor of the failed US energy group Enron.Any decision on the split would require a vote of the almost 4000 partners who are scattered across these independent national firms. A listing or partial sale would likely bring a massive windfall to existing partners.