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With revenue of $51.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June 2024, Ernst & Young Global Limited (also known as simply EY) is a business that would certainly attract many investors all over the world if its stock were publicly available. Unfortunately, it is not and likely will not be in the foreseeable future.
Key Takeaways
- Ernst & Young is made up of three regional companies, each with its own structure.
- The company operates in 22 regions and has employees in over 150 countries.
- Collectively, Ernst & Young combines to form Ernst & Young Global Limited.
- The company’s complex structuring, combined with varying global accounting regulations, are the main factors for the firm’s choice to stay private.
Ernst & Young at a Glance
Ernst & Young was born from separate accounting firms founded by American Alwin C. Ernst and Scotsman Arthur Young in 1903 and 1906, respectively. The two founders never met, and their firms merged in 1989, long after they had passed away.
Today, Ernst & Young is one of the members of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG. Together, these firms dominate the accounting, auditing, tax advising, and advisory industries. They are the auditors for a substantial portion of the world’s largest corporations.
Ernst & Young is headquartered in London, England. It has more than 700 offices located in more than 150 countries. Its corporate structure is complex, particularly because it’s a combination of unique independent structurings all over the world. Also, regulations governing the accounting profession vary greatly from country to country. These factors are the main reasons the company stays private.
At the top of the corporate hierarchy, the Global Executives Group is the highest echelon of management and oversight. This group is led by Global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Janet Truncale. Other Global Executives include:
- EY Global Managing Partner: Client Service
- EY Global Managing Partner: Business Enablement
- EY Global Managing Partner: Business Administration and Risk
- EY Global Managing Partner: Growth and Innovation
- EY Global Vice Chair: Strategy and Transactions
- EY Global Vice Chair: Assurance
- EY Global Vice Chair: Consulting
- EY Global Vice Chair: Tax
- EY Global Vice Chair: Talent
- EY Global Vice Chair: Clients and Industries
- EY Global Vice Chair: Strategy
- EY Global Vice Chair: Alliances and Ecosystems
- EY Americas Area Managing Partner and EY USLI Regional Managing Partner
- EY Asia-Pacific Area Managing Partner
- EY EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa) Area Managing Partner
- EY Global Growth Markets Council Chair and EY Africa India Regional Managing Partner and India Managing Partner
Business Structuring of Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is not publicly listed. If it were, it would likely be listed first on a British exchange because of its London headquarters.
Collectively, the company is composed of several independent business structures around the world. Business ownership structures differ depending on the location. Below is a quick breakdown:
- Ernst & Young Global Limited (the combination of all parts)
- Ernst & Young Americas LLC
- Ernst & Young EMEIA Limited
- Ernst & Young Asia-Pacific Limited
Business offices operating in North, Central, and South America fall under the limited liability company (LLC) structure. An LLC is unique because it renounces the liability of company debts for its members or partners. Meanwhile, it allows business partners to be part owners. Owners in the Americas are called partners, but not all partners are equal. How much equity a given partner receives is information that the firm manages and keeps very private.
Indeed, virtually all private accounting, legal, and professional firms keep partner income secret. Qualifications for partner, or a localized equivalent, are determined by the firm and maintained in company bylaws. Typically, the promotion to partner comes with a catch. As owners, partners are expected to invest a certain amount of capital in the firm. Here again, actual amounts are shrouded in secrecy.
In June 2023, the company announced 966 new partner promotions globally. Of the 966, 322 were partner promotions in the Americas.
Core Services
Ernst & Young provides services to its clients in all of the fields traditionally associated with a large accounting practice. Internally, it is divided into four service lines: assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax.
Assurance is the group responsible for the auditing of financial statements, financial accounting, forensic accounting, and sustainability services. The consulting group is dedicated to solving complex issues in the industries in which its clients operate. The strategy and transactions group works with clients during large and complex transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions. The tax group assists clients with fiscal strategy, tax compliance, and tax planning.
In 2024, the firm had 393,025 employees globally. Employees were broken down by the following:
- Global Entities: 74,902
- EMEIA: 156,867
- Americas: 92,638
- Asia-Pacific: 68,618
Ernst & Young is generally recognized as a quality employer. It has been recognized by Great Place To Work. It was ranked as a top company by LinkedIn for growing a career. In the Americas, Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For has included EY for 27 consecutive years as of 2025. The firm also hosts its own awards, including the annual Entrepreneur of the Year US award.
Why Are Ernst & Young and the Other Big Four Accounting Firms Important?
The Big Four—Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and KPMG—are important because they are the world’s largest accounting firms in terms of revenue. Each provides auditing, tax, valuation, market research, assurance, and legal advisory services, as well as strategy and management consulting. All four are leading sources of accounting and auditing standards and tax law interpretation.
Are There Publicly Traded Accounting and Consulting Firms?
Yes. Publicly traded accounting and consulting companies in the United States include:
Why Is Ernst & Young Facing a Major Lawsuit?
In June 2025, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) filed a $1 billion lawsuit against fellow Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) in Toronto, Canada, alleging that as auditor of private lender Bridging Finance, EY failed to find fraud and misstatements that factored into Bridging Finance’s collapse. PwC was appointed receiver of Bridging Finance in 2021.
EY said in a statement that it takes its “role and responsibilities as auditors very seriously,” stands “behind the quality and integrity of our historical work as auditor for Bridging Finance Inc.,” and will respond to the allegations through legal channels.
The Bottom Line
Since its creation through a merger in 1989, Ernst & Young (EY) is one of the Big Four accounting firms. It provides accounting, auditing, tax advising, and advisory services to the largest corporations around the globe. But you can’t invest in it, because it’s privately held.
