2009 and the Big Four

As in most industries 2009 was a tough overall year for the Big Four accounting firms of Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The combined revenue of the four firms dropped 7% from 2008 to 2009. Deloitte lost 5%, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers both lost 7% and KPMG lost 11%.

There, however, was a combined revenue of $94 billion this year for the 4 firms. The Americas represented 40% of global revenues; Europe, the Middle East and Africa represented 45% and Asia Pacific represented 15%. Auditing accounted for nearly 50% of the revenues.