It’s interesting to note how the Big 8 was cut down into the Big 4. Read how.
The firms were called the Big 8 in the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the international dominance of the eight largest accountancy firms:
- Arthur Andersen
- Arthur Young & Company
- Coopers & Lybrand
- Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst)
- Haskins & Sells (merged with the European firm Deloitte Plender Griffiths to become Deloitte, Haskins and Sells)
- KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group)
- Price Waterhouse
- Touche Ross
