COUNT DOWN - The Past, Present and Uncertain Future of the Big Four Accounting Firms - Second Edition

Aug 27, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve

This book examines the past history and present condition of the Big Four accounting firms, focusing on how auditing’s role has changed and why current assurance may be losing value. It analyzes expectations for auditors, auditor independence, regulatory attitudes, and the financial fragility that could lead to further consolidation or collapse. It also proposes a taxonomy of “non-solutions,” evaluating insurance, government involvement, unified structures, and auditor rotation in different legal and political settings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages331

Reading Time13 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

Preface to the Second Edition

Foreword

1. Introduction—The Past—History and Context

II. The Present State of Big Audit

III. A Taxonomy of the Non-Solutions

IV. The Acts and Attitudes of the Players in Big Audit

COUNT DOWN The Past, Present and Uncertain Future of the Big Four Accounting Firms Second Edition COUNT DOWN The Past, Present and Uncertain Future of the Big Four Accounting Firms Second Edition BY JIM PETERSON United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China Emerald Publishing Limited Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK First edition 2015 Second edition 2017 Copyright © 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited Reprints and permissions service Contact: [permissions@emeraldinsight.com](permissions@emeraldinsight.com) No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78714-701-0 (Print) ISBN: 978-1-78714-700-3 (Online) ISBN: 978-1-78743-011-2 (Epub) CONTENTS Preface to the Second Edition Foreword 1. Introduction—The Past—History and Context“Where Were the Auditors?” Where Is Big Audit Today? The Visibility of the Big Four The Expected Attitude of the Players To the Insiders, Big Audit Is So Yesterday To the Rest of the World—Accounting Is So Boring Familiarity Complexity Conceals Big Audit Looks Like Any Other Utility“Mind the Gap” The Limits of the “Utility” Metaphor Where Are the Critics? Framing the Issues Andersen/Enron—The Beginning of the End The Diminished Value of Today’s Assurance Product The Players in the Matrix—Their Interlocking Mutuality of Interests Lessons from Big Audit’s Early History: The Great Western Railway—Mr. Deloitte’s First Audit Report HP versus Autonomy: How Big Audit Might Survive the Fallout Sidebar: Counting the Beans—Facts and Figures on Big Audit II. The Present State of Big Audit How Bad Is It? What Is Expected? What Should the Auditors Do? The Big Four Won’t Be Here At All—The Next Collapse Goes “Four-to-Zero” When Reality Bites, It Will Bite Hard The Problem of Available Choice The Attitude of the Regulators The Financial Fragility of the Big Four—The Tipping Point The Model and Its Assumptions The Grim Reality of the Calculations And the Cause for Optimism? The Big Four Accounting Firms Are Down to Critical Mass, Said the Financial Times—So It Must Be Official Accounting Standards Convergence—Nobody Knows Where They Are The Standard-Setters Finish the Job In Reality, Convergence Doesn’t Matter Sidebar: Convergence and Postponements “In All Material Respects” —The Auditors Don’t Say Non-GAAP Metrics—What Does “Generally Accepted”Really Mean? Auditor Independence—Appearance and Reality No Value—No Point The Auditors’ Real Clients—Time to Reassess Lost among the Mixed Messages Whether Independence Has Value—Two Cases Suggest Otherwise The EY/Ventas Affair—In the End, Who Really Got Bonked? KPMG, Herbalife’s Stock Price and the Blame Game Limits on Big Audit’s Ability to Innovate Legal Standards and Public Expectations The Big Four ’s Unsustainable Liability Exposure Escalated Public Expectations—The Firms’ Responsibility Neither Regulatory Nor Market Solutions Are Viable Sidebar: A Case Study—Standard & Poor ’s in the Gunsights III. A Taxonomy of the Non-Solutions Preface: The Auditors—Missing from the Financial Crisis The Unachievable “Magic Bullets” Insurance—To Save the Aud

FAQs

What central issue does the book raise about the Big Four’s current assurance product?

It argues that the diminished value of today’s assurance product and the limits of current approaches require reassessing what auditors are expected to do and how they are evaluated.

How does the book explain the risk environment for the Big Four in the present?

It links regulatory and public expectations with financial fragility, unsustainable liability exposure, and constrained choices, framing a tipping-point dynamic.

What kinds of “non-solutions” does the book analyze, and what is their common limitation?

It reviews insurance-related ideas, government-backed options, unified structures, outside capital, and joint or rotated audits, concluding that many proposals fail to provide durable, workable answers under real constraints.

Aug 27, 2026

Uploaded by Maeve