The firms are now looking to adapt to the changing business landscape. EY launched an AI platform, EY.ai, to assist clients across all its professional services. Deloitte has pledged to invest $3 billion in AI by fiscal year 2030 and has partnered with technology industry leaders Nvidia, Google Cloud, and AWS to develop its client offering. PwC has invested $1.5 billion to expand and scale its AI capabilities and unveiled a tax AI assistant for its UK tax professionals. KPMG is looking to invest more in specialist roles in areas like ESG, tax, and technology.
Key takeaways:
- The Big Four accounting and consulting firms — EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC — have seen a slowdown in demand for their services and are looking to adapt for the future.
- Deloitte is the largest of the Big Four in terms of revenue and employees, while KPMG is the smallest. EY and PwC fall in between.
- All four firms have faced scrutiny and fines for auditing failures, leading to layoffs and cuts in partner payouts. However, they continue to invest heavily in AI and other technologies to improve their services.
- Despite the challenges, the Big Four continue to employ hundreds of thousands of people globally and are making efforts to improve diversity in their leadership roles.