An article in the Financial Times, PwC and EY to ban non-essential consulting for audit clients, reported that PwC and EY (in addition to KPMG, who announced such in November), will stop offering non-essential consulting services to its largest British public audit clients by 2020. Both firms' leaders indicated that the move is intended to improve trust in the auditing profession, but would not improve audit quality.
Another article in the Irish Examiner, PwC, EY join consult ban to restore public trust in sector, added that PwC and EY announced this to a panel of British lawmakers to eliminate any perception of conflict between selling audit and consulting work to the same client.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed several measures to prompt more choice in the audit market, which the Big 4 firms dominate.
Deloitte's chief executive stated that his firm had not yet adopted a similar policy as the other 3 firms, but that he did support it. According to press reports, Deloitte wants to see the final package of audit market reforms before deciding whether to stop offering consulting services to its largest audit clients.
