Published:
Aug 03, 2024
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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The winds of change are sweeping through the mid-tier accounting firms in the US, ushering in a new era of global financial operations. Once overshadowed by the Big Four - KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, and EY - these firms are now rethinking their global networks to better serve their increasingly multinational clients.
For decades, the US accounting industry below the Big Four has been highly fragmented. However, recent years have seen rapid consolidation, with many of the largest players now pushing to extend their brands internationally. Leading the change is Grant Thornton, which recently proposed acquiring its UK and Irish branches. Similarly, Crowe, RSM, and Baker Tilly are exploring ways to streamline their global operations and share the costs of new service offerings beyond traditional auditing and tax work.
This reevaluation by mid-tier firms follows mixed success in the Big Four's attempts to revamp their networks. Deloitte has successfully consolidated many of its national firms into mega-regions. However, EY's effort to merge the consulting arms of its 30 largest national firms into a new company collapsed. Moreover, KPMG’s UK and Swiss firms agreed to merge again after a previous pan-European tie-up failed in 2007.
As mid-tier firms strive to expand, the question arises: Who will capture the boring accountants running globally? We wonder if new tech infrastructure will emerge to help them or if they will manually find ways to close their books.
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Boring Goes Global?
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