For all of us who are involved, whether directly or indirectly, within Accountancy and Finance there remains a debate with two extremes; should the ‘Big 4’ be split up and would it be beneficial to Accountants/Finance Professionals?

The article 'FRC wants inquiry into breaking-up Big Four' gives some real context to the issues concerned: 

It is a complex discussion that a number of my network have very different opinions on, but the one thing in common is that very few people sit on the fence. The most conventional observation is that breaking down 4 main players into, for example, 8 would readdress the balance that the Top 30 firms hold. This however is then usually challenged with the assumption that if you did split up the big 4, what is stopping the firms taking on this extra work from behaving like the ‘Big 4’, including the much publicised multi-million £ fines and front page stories?

From a people perspective an interesting discussion is that by breaking up the ‘big 4’, individuals may be more likely to look at alternative ways to complete a professional qualification and it could provide and support less traditional routes to senior finance roles? This of course raises the question, do you think that breaking up the ‘big 4’ would be good for Accountants?