Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, now branded EY, is a multinational professional-services network providing audit, tax, consulting, and transaction-advisory services through member firms.

Financial audit: An independent examination of an entity’s financial statements and the evidence supporting them. EY’s audit practice tests financial statements and issues opinions for investors and regulators.
Professional services network: An association of legally separate professional-services firms coordinating under shared governance, standards, or a common brand. EY coordinates member firms internationally without operating as one worldwide partnership or corporation.
Arthur Young: A Scottish-American accountant who founded the accounting firm that became Arthur Young & Company. His firm was one of the two principal predecessors combined to form Ernst & Young.
Deloitte: A global professional-services network providing audit, consulting, tax, and related services. Deloitte competes with EY across major service lines and markets.
Auditor independence: The principle that an auditor must remain impartial and free from conflicts when examining an entity’s financial statements. Independence rules constrain how EY may combine audit work with services for the same client.
Tax accounting: The accounting treatment of taxes, including current tax liabilities and deferred tax assets and liabilities. EY helps organizations report tax obligations and account for tax effects under applicable standards.
Member firm: A legally distinct firm affiliated with a wider professional-services network. Local EY member firms employ professionals and contract with clients in their jurisdictions.
Alwin C. Ernst: An American accountant who co-founded the accounting firm that became Ernst & Ernst. His firm supplied the Ernst half of the later Ernst & Young combination.
KPMG: A global professional-services network specializing in audit, tax, and advisory services. KPMG is another of the four dominant networks competing with EY.
Sarbanes–Oxley Act: A 2002 United States law that strengthened public-company financial reporting and audit oversight. The law reshaped EY’s U.S. audit obligations and the regulation of its public-company clients.

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PwCCompared with: EY is another large network competing with PwC for clients and talent.