Speculation of the big four firm’s restructuring has been going on for some time as conflicts between the auditing business and advisory arm are thought to prevent greater growth. EY’s global boss Carmine Di Sibio estimated its consulting divison could bring in an additional $5-$10 billion (£4.3-£8.6bn) once liberated from conflicts of interest. Mr Di Sibio said leaders of EY’s 15 largest members unanimously agreed to move ahead with the plan and take it to a partner vote, the Financial Times reports.

Should the partners approve the plan, the audit business would remain in the current partnership structure and the advisory business would be reformed into a separate entity. The plan estimates up to 7% and 18% annual growth could be achieved for the audit and advisory companies respectively.

Other big four rivals have so far denied any rumours of similar break-up plans. Earlier this year Deloitte’s CEO, Punit Renjen, tweeted: “Recent media reports stating Deloitte is exploring plans to separate our organization are categorically untrue. As stated previously, we remain committed to our current business model.”