All four consulting companies in the Big Four – Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG and PwC – are severing ties with operations in Russia. This was reported by Reuters.

PwC and KPMG were the first of the “big four” to leave both aggressor countries after the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

“Amid the escalation of the war, the global organization EY will no longer serve Russian government customers, state-owned enterprises or sanctioned legal entities and individuals anywhere in the world,” EY said on Monday, March 7.

EY has also begun restructuring its Russian subsidiary to separate it from the global network.

The company said it has more than 4,700 employees in Russia, who have been part of its global network for more than 30 years. They also added that they help 700 employees in Ukraine with financial support, relocation, transport and immigration services.

On the evening of March 7, Deloitte joined the trio, writes Financial News.

“We separate our practice in Russia and Belarus from the global network of member firms. Deloitte will no longer operate in Russia and Belarus,” – the company said in a statement. “While we know this is the right decision, it will affect about 3,000 Deloitte professionals in Russia and Belarus”.

The “Big Four” audits the books of a huge number of companies – “blue chips”, which is often the key to gaining the support of international investors, reminds Reuters.

On March 2, Deloitte was the first group to announce that it was reviewing its operations in Russia. And that does not serve any structure of the central government of Russia.

Earlier, the consulting company Accenture, which employs about 2,300 people in its Russian office, announced its withdrawal from Russia. McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company stopped working with Russian clients, and Grant Thornton separated from its Russian subsidiary.

Source: https://biz.liga.net/ua