Proposed curbs on the volume of partnerships at large accounting and consulting firms in Australia threaten to further erode the range of services firms provide as some already scale back their legal offerings.
Australian lawmakers have recommended that firms like Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC -- known as the Big Four -- should have at most 400 partners. The cap is seen as a way to increase accountability and improve governance. Lawmakers also are seeking to counter conflicts of interest by banning such firms from auditing the financial statements of clients they do other business with, such as advisory work.