EY has plans to split its audit and advisory operations globally. However, EY says it is in the early stages of evaluation.

The proposed split comes in the wake of conflicts of interest in the industry in general, and in the aftermath of regulatory action by regulators in the UK and US.

EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC - the so-called Big Four - have had issues around conflict of interest in their auditing, consulting, tax, and advisory work. Consulting is believed to generate more fees than auditing. At some point, all four have been criticized over their perceived lack of independence