"Big four" accounting firms could be broken up by Labour party - FT

Britain's shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell arrives at the BBC in London, November 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner - Copyright Mary Turner(Reuters)

By Reuters

Published on 21/09/2018 - 06:04•Updated 16/04/2024 - 12:13

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(Reuters) - The "big four" accounting firms could be broken up under plans by UK's Labour Party to overhaul the auditing industry, Britain's shadow chancellor John McDonnell told The Financial Times on Friday.

Lawmakers have accused EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC of being an "oligopoly" that checks the books of nearly all the 350 leading companies in Britain, with smaller rivals barely having a look in.

Options under consideration by Labour included breaking up the companies, or setting a maximum audit market share for each firm, McDonnell was quoted as saying by the newspaper https://www.ft.com/content/43fbd564-bc30-11e8-94b2-17176fbf93f5.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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