Company Overview
Highlights
Named to Working Mother's 2008 list of the "100 Best Companies."
Claimed spot 17 on Fortune’s 2009 list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
In January 2009, a former investor pled guilty to assisting Ernst & Young sell tax shelters to wealthy investors. The case started in 2007 against four current and former E&Y employees, but not against the firm itself.
Ernst & Young (E&Y) traces its history back to Arthur Young & Co., founded in 1906, and Ernst & Ernst, founded in 1903. In 1989, the two joined to create the Big Four firm we know today, which offers audit, internal audit, accounting advisory, online security, tax, and risk management services to industries such as financial services, technology, media and entertainment, real estate, and utilities.
Given the sometimes complicated relationships between accountants and their high-profile clients, the industry has been involved in its fair share of scandals. E&Y faced early scrutiny in 1990, when the U.S. sued the new firm for allegedly covering up errors and losses in earlier audits of the Western Savings Association. As a response to regulatory scrutiny of possible conflicts of interest implicit in auditing engagements for consulting clients, Ernst & Young sold its consulting arm to Capgemini in 2000. The Enron collapse led other big auditing firms to follow suit, selling off their consulting businesses. E&Y went on to face further bad press for audits of companies including PeopleSoft, Cendant, and Time Warner.
Fortunately, E&Y has responded constructively, making considerable efforts to avoid scandals such as emphasizing employee ethics training, naming a "quality czar," and creating a confidential ethics hotline. The firm is also becoming more selective in determining which of its clients it will continue to audit based on risk factors the firm may face.
E&Y has also expressed a commitment to corporate social responsibility, with programs aimed at decreasing the environmental impact of its buildings and operations, and increasing the community involvement of employees. E&Y’s commitment extends to helping entrepreneurs through channels such as a Corporate Responsibility Fellows program that sends employees to assist entrepreneurs in Central and South America, and an Entrepreneur of the Year awards program, which honors innovative and inspiring entrepreneurs.
In June 2008, E&Y announced it would consolidate its 87 country operations in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa into one regional unit labeled EMEIA. Now E&Y comprises five regional units: the Americas, EMEIA, Japan, Far East, and Oceania. Mark Otty, former UK area manager, will lead the 60,000 people of the EMEIA unit, an $11 billion operation.
Though many accounting firms are seeing less client activity due to the recession, and further scrutiny due to the Madoff scandal, E&Y continues to show strong financials and hiring needs. Fortune reported that, as of January 2009, E&Y was looking to fill some 2,800 spots through 2009, in assurance, tax, and other advisory practices. The company is also number 17 on Fortune’s 2009 list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.”