EY’s UK and US partners are expected to begin voting on the split decision in their respective regions early next year after the proposal was approved by leaders in September.

At present, no other EY competitor has signalled an intention to separate its divisions. However, Mr Baldwin says he now feels “it is inevitable” rivals will take similar action sooner or later. He added: “We do believe there is a first mover advantage. We also believe the competition at some point in time will also have to respond.”

EY’s decision to push forward with a split vote is with the goal to “deliver greater long-term value for EY people, clients and communities”, but it is still uncertain how the partners will vote in respective regions. If the proposal is turned down, it could be put to a second vote at a later date.

Mr Baldwin said: “It may come to [a] timing point so our plan is that we will continue to what we call soft separation next year, and continue to start to run these two businesses separately, albeit as part of the single enterprise of EY.”

A PwC spokesman did not comment directly but told The Times: “We are always ready to respond to changes in the regulatory and competitive environment but have no plans to change course.”