EY bosses closing in on a decision to proceed with consulting and audit split

EY’s global leaders are preparing to give the go-ahead for a plan to break up its consulting and audit businesses, taking partners at the Big Four group closer to multimillion-dollar payouts as part of its most radical overhaul in two decades.

According to sources, the company’s global executive committee met on Monday to discuss the deal, with a decision to proceed with the expected split this week.

EY said discussions continued, and no decisions were made on moving to the next phase.

However, planning has begun for an announcement as soon as this week and for calls to brief clients on the next stage of the process once a decision has been confirmed, according to people at EY.

A decision to proceed with the split would pave the way for the firm to seek approvals at the regional and national levels, including country-by-country votes by the roughly 13,000 partners who own and run the business.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY’s global chair, had hoped the firm’s global leadership would have agreed to proceed with the break-up several weeks ago, telling reporters in July that he hoped to win its approval within a “couple of weeks.”

If approved, the plan would result in EY spinning off, and most likely publicly listing, its advisory business, which offers consultancy, deals advice, and managed services to companies.