EY sets up six-way race to lead firm after break-up failure
New York | EY is canvassing senior partners on a shortlist of six candidates for global chief executive, following the resignation of Carmine Di Sibio in the wake of the collapse of his plan to break up the accounting firm.
The candidates include the leader of EY’s Canadian business and the heads of its American consulting and financial services practices, sources said, setting up multiple challenges to early front runner Andy Baldwin, a long-time Di Sibio deputy.
Carmine Di Sibio had hoped that splitting audit and consulting would become a blueprint for the global industry. Bloomberg
The race is proceeding against a backdrop of tension within the big four firm, where the break-up plan pitted some senior figures in its audit business against those in its consulting arm, which was due to be floated on the US sharemarket.
Leaders of EY’s US firm, which accounts for 40 per cent of revenue, angered executives in Europe bynixing the plan in April after $US600 million ($930 million) had been spent in preparation.
Mr Di Sibio had hoped that splitting audit and consulting would become a blueprint for the global industry, and other firms are watching closely to see whether it might still revisit the plan in some form. EY has begun examining alternative strategic options, such as selling smaller parts of the business or preparing for a split in the future, but decisions will ultimately fall to the team installed by a new chief executive.
Mr Di Sibio in June said he would step down next year. The shortlist to replace him was communicated to EY’s 13,000 global partners on a webcast on Thursday (Friday AEST), sources said. It followed presentations by a long list of 11 candidates earlier this week in front of a nominations
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