EY’s greater China practice that stretches from Hong Kong to Mongolia has confirmed it will not be part of the Big Four firm’s break-up, making it the biggest business to opt out of a plan that would reshape the global accounting industry, reports the Financial Times. A day after EY’s global chiefs approved a plan to split the group’s audit and consulting businesses, China’s EY arm said that its offices in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Mongolia will “maintain our current structural organization to provide greater China clients with a wide range of services.”
The practice, which employs about 22,000 people across 29 offices, will continue to be part of the Big Four firm’s network. Like its Big Four rivals—Deloitte, KPMG and PwC—EY is a network of national member firms in about 150 countries.
EY’s global chair and chief executive Carmine di Sibio said on Thursday that the firm’s Chinese operations had been excluded from the deal, meaning its consultants will remain tied to the firm’s audit business.