PwC
PwC is a global network of legally separate firms providing assurance, tax, consulting, and legal services. It adopted the shortened name PwC in 2010.
Audit: An independent examination of financial statements, records, or operations against defined criteria. Audit and related assurance work are among PwC’s core services.
Price Waterhouse: An international accounting firm founded in London in 1849 by Samuel Lowell Price. Its name became one half of PricewaterhouseCoopers after a 1998 merger.
Financial statement audit: An independent examination of whether an entity’s financial statements follow an applicable reporting framework. This is a core assurance engagement for many PwC audit practices.
Deloitte: A global professional-services network offering audit, tax, consulting, and related services. Deloitte competes with PwC across many of the same service lines.
Tax advisory: Professional advice on tax obligations, planning, compliance, and disputes. PwC firms advise organizations and individuals on tax matters.
Coopers & Lybrand: An international accounting firm formed in 1957 through the merger of Cooper Brothers & Co. and Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery. It merged with Price Waterhouse to create the network now branded PwC.
Internal audit: An independent organizational function that evaluates governance, risk management, and controls. PwC firms advise clients on internal audit and may provide related services.
Ernst & Young: A global professional-services network commonly known as EY, with assurance, tax, consulting, and strategy practices. EY is another large network competing with PwC for clients and talent.
Management consulting: Professional advice that helps organizations diagnose problems and improve strategy, operations, or organization. Consulting is a major part of PwC’s services to organizations.
Samuel Lowell Price: A British accountant who founded the firm that became Price Waterhouse in 1849. His name survives in one of the two firms that formed PwC.