EY plans to spin off audit, consulting businesses – WSJ

(Reuters) – Professional services firm EY is expected to announce a break-up plan for its consulting and auditing businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The London-based company’s chief executive officer, Carmine Di Sibio, is scheduled to inform the firm’s 13,000 partners that a worldwide break-up plan has been approved by its top leaders, the report added.

If ratified by the partners, the company’s split would mark the biggest shake-up in the sector since the 2002 collapse of Arthur Andersen, the auditor that was mired in the Enron scandal and whose downfall reduced the “Big Five” to “Big Four”.

EY, which declined to comment on the report, in May said it was evaluating strategic alternatives to improve its audit quality, and ease regulatory concerns over potential conflicts of interest.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)