EY’s member firms in Greater China say they won’t take part in the global break-up of the company.
Hong Kong: Ernst & Young (EY) member firms in Greater China will not take part in a global plan by the professional services firm to split its audit and consulting units into two separate companies, EY Greater China said on Friday.
EY, which has its headquarters in London and is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, said on Thursday that it plans to separate its auditing business from its consulting units to ease regulatory concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
It said that each country would vote on the split beginning in late 2022.
EY’s Greater China region includes member firms in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Mongolia, and mainland China. EY’s website says that it has more than 22,000 professionals in the area.
In a statement, EY Greater China, which represents the region’s member firms, said, “Given the business environment and development stage in which EY Greater China Region operates, the member firms of EY Greater China Region have decided that we cannot participate in the separation as proposed by EY global at this time.”
“We will keep the same organisational structure and continue to offer integrated, multidisciplinary professional client services in Greater China,” it said.
