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'''''In order of revenue and headcount As Of 2005 , the Big 4 are:
The previous listing once included Arthur Andersen , being the smallest firm of The Big Five. This firm was indicted in the wake of the 2001 Enron Scandal for 'falsifying the financial statements of Enron '. Some have jokingly referred to the Big 4 as the Final Four. However, in June 2005 the U.S. Attorney 's Office for the Southern District of New York recommended that KPMG be indicted for its past sales of allegedly abusive Tax Shelter s to hundreds of wealthy individuals. This threatened indictment raised the specter of an Andersen-like collapse for KPMG. As of August 2005 , negotiations between KPMG and the Justice Department on a possible settlement began. Industry analysts note that KPMG will probably not suffer the same fate as Arthur Andersen, owing to a higher involvement and lobbying by the other big three firms in favor of KPMG. THE BIG GETS BIGGER Since 1989 , Merger s have reduced the number of major accountancy firms from eight to four. Big 8 (1970s-1989) The firms were called the Big 8 in the 1970s , reflecting the international dominance of the eight largest accounting firms: # Arthur Andersen # Arthur Young & Company # Coopers & Lybrand # Ernst & Whinney (formerly Ernst & Ernst ) # Haskins & Sells (merged with European firm to become Deloitte, Haskins And Sells ) # KPMG (formed by merger of Peat Marwick International and KMG Group ) # Price Waterhouse # Touche Ross The Big 8 themselves were the results of earlier mergers. Big 6 (1989-1998) The Big 8 became the Big 6 in 1989 when Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young in June, and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche in August. Big 5 (1998-2002) The Big 6 became the Big 5 in July 1998 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers . Big 4 (2002-) Arthur Andersen is indicted for falsifying the finanical statements of Enron , covering up millions of dollars in losses. Andersen goes nearly bankrupt, and drops out of the Big 4. Most of its country practices around the world merge with the Big Four, notably Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche in the UK. EXTERNAL LINKS
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