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:

  1. Arthur Andersen
  2. Arthur Young & Company
  3. Coopers & Lybrand
  4. Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst)
  5. Haskins & Sells (merged with the European firm Deloitte Plender Griffiths to become Deloitte, Haskins and Sells)
  6. KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group)
  7. Price Waterhouse
  8. Touche Ross

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