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EY’s new global chief executive, Janet Truncale, ruled out the possibility of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firm splitting into two in the near future. Instead, she pointed to a bureaucracy-reducing strategy.
Truncale told the company’s 400,000 employees, in a note released this Thursday and cited by the “Financial Times†, that the company would “recommit to working together as an organization†and that its new leadership team planned to simplify the way the company operates.
“There is enormous power in our global scale and connectivity. So, looking to the future, let’s renew our commitment to working together – with EY clients, our ecosystems and each other – as an organization,†wrote the new leader.
Truncale takes command on Monday, July 1, following the retirement of Carmine Di Sibio, whose attempt to separate the consulting and auditing business failed and was officially put aside in March this year after months of disagreement internal and opposition from executives in the United States of America. The plan, if it went ahead, would be one of the biggest turnarounds in the accounting industry in more than 20 years.
EY operates as a global network of branches and any divisions need to be approved on a country-by-country basis. Julie Boland, who runs the American company, was one of the leaders who questioned the future of the project.
The debate over the division of the business began in 2021, when consulting firms were experiencing historic growth due to an explosion of projects thanks to the pandemic. However, consulting firm valuations have since fallen and debt costs have risen.
According to the “Financial Times†, EY spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this project, with more than 2000 employees involved in the planning.
The selection of Truncale, an ally of Di Sibio, as chief executive raised hopes among the division’s supporters that the plan could be quickly revived, but Truncale has signaled to colleagues that this is not the case. , according to the newspaper.
Instead of the division, the new leader said she would make structural changes to the global operation, including reducing the number of functions that oversee EY member companies in Europe, to Asia and the Americas.
