Evolution of the Big 4: The Big 8 Before the Big 4

Not many people know that the firms that are today referred to as Big 4 in professional services industry were once 8. It started from Big 8, later Big 6, and now Big 4. These super professional services firms (Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, and Ernst and Young – together called the Big 4) became 4 from 8 due to mergers (and failure in the case of Arthur Andersen) over time.

Here are the  Big 8, the forebear of the Big 4:

1. Arthur Andersen (now part of KPMG)
2. Coopers and Lybrand (now part of PwC)
3. Ernst & Whinney (now part of EY)
4. Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now part of Deloitte)
5. Peat Marwick Mitchell (now part of KPMG)
6. Price Waterhouse (now part of PwC)
7. Touche Ross (now part of Deloitte)
8. Arthur Young (now part of EY)

So there you go, those were the Big 8 of then.

For more career discussions, join our forum, HOTPROFORUM

and

Subscribe to JarusHub for more career information

[subscribe2]