What EY's Canceled Breakup Means for Enterprises

What EY's Canceled Breakup Means for Enterprises

This IDC Perspective discusses why EY has pulled back from "Project Everest," its ambitious plan to split the firm into two separately owned businesses offering auditing services ("AssureCo") and advisory and IT services ("NewCo"). The plan could have given enterprises more choice of consulting and IT services vendors. Although Project Everest has returned to base camp, the issues it aimed to solve have not gone away. "For the moment, we are back to square one, with the partnership-based Big Four multidisciplinary (audit, advisory, and tax) professional services firms on one hand, and the publicly listed global IT services players on the other hand," said Erin Hichman, research manager, Digital Business Professional Services at IDC. "However, the Project Everest no-go has created unique circumstances for enterprises. If there was ever a time when EY has to be humble and listen to its clients with special attention, it's got to be right now." Enterprises should be aware of the continued evolution of the Big Four firms toward advisory and technology-related services, and EY clients in particular should take this opportunity to influence the future strategy of the firm.

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