The Challenge of the Mergers

Before the decade is finished, the "Big Eight," so long a staple of vocabulary and so long a shortcut description of the largest units of the accounting profession, are likely to become the "Big Five." The emergence of the European Community requires that firms weak there, either in consulting or auditing, find means to quickly achieve strength; firms weak in consulting savvy need a quick shot of it to permit full competition across the board; the global spread of clients' activities demands that the net of its auditors be as widespread. Despite the fact that these mergers result in a significant decrease in competition in the market for accounting services to larger companies, the federal anti-trust authorities have shown no disposition to interfere with any of these consolidations. The bulk of the growth in revenue of large firms comes from consulting services.