Ernst & Young

What Ernst & Young does

Ernst & Young (EY) is a global Big Four professional services firm headquartered in the United Kingdom and operating as a coordinated network of member firms across 150+ countries. The firm provides four core service lines — Assurance (audit, climate change and sustainability services, financial accounting advisory, forensic and integrity, technology risk), Consulting (analytics, customer experience, cybersecurity, finance, risk, supply chain and operations, technology transformation), Tax (compliance, controversy, international tax, tax technology), and Strategy and Transactions through the EY-Parthenon brand (M&A advisory, corporate finance, due diligence, divestitures, value creation for private equity). It serves enterprise corporations, government agencies (e.g., City of Antwerp, Washington Council EY), and private equity sponsors across verticals including Financial Services, Health, Industrials, Technology/Media/Telecom, Consumer Products & Retail, Energy & Resources, Government & Public Sector, Aerospace & Defense, and Private Equity.

EY's technology stack is centered on the EY.ai enterprise-scale agentic AI platform, which unifies generative AI capabilities and powers products including EYQ (Gold Stevie Award winner for Generative AI Solution of the Year, 2025), EY Digital Audit (next-generation audit technology leveraging AI and analytics), EY Value Blueprints (framework for AI upskilling), EY wavespace (global innovation and collaboration network), and the EY Workforce Platform with the recently launched Transformation Experience (integrating Simpplr's AI-driven employee experience technology). The firm has established strategic alliances with major technology vendors including Microsoft, Adobe, Databricks, Bloomberg Tax, and Simpplr, and runs proprietary talent and ecosystem programs including the EY Tech MBA (co-developed with Hult International Business School), EY Badges credentialing, and the EY AI & Data Challenge (45,000+ participants globally).

EY's business model is a professional services and managed services hybrid. Revenue is generated through custom, quote-based, multi-year engagements priced on scope, complexity, and team composition, with growing recurring revenue from managed services lines (cybersecurity, payroll, tax operations, compliance, financial crime). Distribution is delivered through direct enterprise field sales teams organized by industry vertical, supported by global delivery centers, wavespace innovation centers, and a coordinated member-firm network. The firm pursues a platform-plus-capabilities strategy, augmenting its core service lines with proprietary AI tools, acquired specialist firms (over 20 disclosed acquisitions between 2020 and 2025 including Aqurance, Dignari, Nuvalence, denkstatt, adameo, ifb group, Blackdot, and Client Solutions), and strategic technology partnerships to deepen vertical and functional capabilities.

Name

Ernst & Young

Legal name

Ernst & Young Global Limited

Website

https://ey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Ernst & Young (EY) is a global Big Four professional services firm delivering assurance, tax, consulting, and strategy and transactions advisory services to enterprise corporations, governments, and private equity clients across 150+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Services

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Engineering, Integration & ETL/ELT Services (BPAEAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Expense Management & T&E Audit (Employee Expenses, Corporate Cards) (BPAAAGAE)

Keywords

• Audit assurance services
• Tax advisory consulting
• Management consulting services
• Transaction advisory services
• Cybersecurity consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Assurance Services: Audit and assurance services providing trust in capital markets through high-quality audits with independence and integrity
2. Consulting: Business transformation consulting across analytics, cybersecurity, finance, risk, supply chain, and technology transformation
3. Tax Services: Tax advisory, compliance, controversy, and tax technology transformation services
4. Strategy and Transactions (EY-Parthenon): Strategic consulting, M&A advisory, corporate finance, due diligence, and transaction support services
5. Managed Services: Ongoing managed services including cybersecurity, compliance, payroll, tax operations, and technology services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ernst & Young (EY) delivers professional services across audit and assurance, tax, consulting, strategy and transactions (EY-Parthenon), and managed services to large corporations, governments, and private equity firms worldwide. Its offerings are enhanced by proprietary technology platforms — EY.ai for enterprise AI adoption, EY Digital Audit for technology-enabled audits, and the EY Workforce Platform — together with industry specialization across financial services, life sciences, energy, government, technology, and consumer products. EY also operates wavespace innovation centers globally to support client collaboration on emerging technologies.

Product overview

Ernst & Young (EY) is a global professional services organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of services organized around key practice areas: Strategy (EY-Parthenon), Transactions and Corporate Finance, Consulting, Assurance Services, Tax, Technology, People & Workforce, Managed Services, and Sustainability. EY's service model is a platform-plus-capabilities approach, where core service lines (Assurance, Consulting, Tax, Strategy) are enhanced by specialized offerings like the EY-Parthenon strategic consulting practice, EYwavespace innovation centers, the EY.ai AI platform, and the EY Workforce Platform with Transformation Experience. EY also operates various professional development programs including EY Tech MBA and EY Badges. The company serves clients across industries including Financial Services, Government & Public Sector, Health, Consumer Products, Energy & Resources, Technology, and Private Equity. Key technology offerings include EY Digital Audit, EY.ai platform for enterprise AI adoption, and the Transformation Experience for workforce change management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EY-Parthenon: Strategy consulting brand providing M&A advisory, corporate strategy, and transaction services
• EY Protected SOC
• EY.ai
• EY AI & Data Challenge
• EY wavespace

Products and services

• EY Assurance Services Independent audit, climate change and sustainability assurance, financial accounting advisory, forensic and integrity services, private client audit, and technology risk services provided to corporations, financial institutions, and governments to build trust in capital markets.
• EY Consulting Business and technology consulting spanning analytics, customer experience (EY Studio+), cybersecurity, finance consulting, risk consulting, supply chain and operations, and technology transformation for enterprise and government clients.
• EY Tax Services Tax advisory, compliance, controversy, accounting, private tax, international tax planning, indirect taxes and global trade, sustainability tax, and tax technology transformation services for corporate and private clients.
• EY-Parthenon Strategy and Transactions Strategy consulting and corporate finance services including corporate and growth strategy, M&A advisory and integration, divestment strategy, corporate finance, valuation modeling and economics, due diligence, investment banking, and private equity value creation.
• EY Managed Services Outsourced managed services covering cybersecurity managed services, financial crime operations, legal managed services, payroll operations, tax and finance operations, and technology managed services delivered on multi-year contracts.
• EY Digital Audit Technology-enabled audit service using AI, data analytics, and advanced analytics to deliver high-quality audits with greater insight and efficiency for audit clients.
• EY.ai Enterprise-scale agentic AI platform that unifies generative AI capabilities to help clients adopt AI at scale, embedded into EY's consulting, audit, tax, and managed services engagements.
• EY wavespace Global innovation network of physical and virtual collaboration centers where EY teams and clients prototype emerging technologies, business models, and transformation initiatives.
• EY Workforce Platform Workforce management platform combining change management, communications, learning, and AI-driven workforce analytics into a unified experience for enterprise transformation programs.
• EY Sustainability Services Sustainability and ESG advisory spanning climate change and sustainability, sustainable finance, supply chain transformation, sustainability tax, renewable energy transition, and environment, health and safety services.
• EY People & Workforce Services Workforce transformation services including change management and experiences, HR transformation, integrated workforce mobility, learning and development consulting, recognition and reward advisory, and workforce analytics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% increase in ticket sales for sports franchise client
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SimpplrcoreTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026EY US partnered with Simpplr to launch the Transformation Experience, integrating Simpplr's AI-driven employee experience technology into the EY Workforce Platform to enhance change management and employee engagement for client organizations.
• Bloomberg TaxcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 June 2026Bloomberg Tax added EY US to its Certified Implementer Program, enabling EY to provide implementation and optimization support for Bloomberg Tax Provision, Workpapers, and Fixed Assets to corporate clients.
• AdobecoreTechnology or IntegrationEY leverages Adobe technology including Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Analytics for digital transformation client engagements, particularly in customer experience and marketing automation projects.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationEY has strategic alliance with Microsoft leveraging Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, and other Microsoft technologies for client digital transformation and technology implementation projects.
• DatabrickscoreTechnology or IntegrationEY partners with Databricks for data and AI platform implementations, helping clients leverage the Databricks lakehouse platform for analytics and machine learning initiatives.
• Hult International Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEY collaborated with Hult International Business School to create the EY Tech MBA, a first-of-its-kind program developing future-focused skills in AI, blockchain, data analytics, and cybersecurity for EY professionals.
• Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIA and EY released joint research on digital thread adoption in the aerospace and defense sector, identifying barriers and best practices for enterprise-wide implementation.
• The Brand StoryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEY serves as Process Advisor for The Brand Story's Global Most Trusted Brand Award and Global Brand and Leadership Conclave, providing credibility assessment services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Accenture: Accenture is the largest global management consulting and technology services firm by revenue, with deep capabilities in digital, cloud, and AI consulting. Competes with EY's Consulting and EY-Parthenon practices and serves similar enterprise clients with more technology-focused delivery.
• IBM Consulting: IBM Consulting is the technology consulting arm of IBM, focusing on hybrid cloud, AI (watsonx), and enterprise transformation. Competes with EY's technology transformation and AI consulting practices, especially for large-scale systems integration and ERP modernization.
• Capgemini: Capgemini is a global consulting, technology, and digital transformation services firm with strong presence in Europe and large enterprise clients. Competes with EY Consulting on technology implementation, cloud migration, and industry-specific transformation.
• McKinsey & Company: McKinsey is the leading global strategy consulting firm and competes most directly with EY-Parthenon. While less focused on implementation than EY, McKinsey sets the high end of strategy consulting pricing and talent benchmark that EY competes against.
• Bain & Company: Bain is a leading global strategy and management consulting firm with strong private equity practice. Directly competes with EY-Parthenon in due diligence, value creation, and corporate strategy, particularly for Fortune 500 and PE clients.
• Boston Consulting Group: BCG is a top-tier global strategy consulting firm competing with EY-Parthenon on corporate strategy, M&A, and digital transformation (BCG Platinion). BCG's deep industry expertise and AI initiatives (BCG X) directly overlap with EY's strategy practice.

Direct peers

• PwC: PwC is another Big Four firm providing assurance, tax, and advisory services globally. Direct competitor across audit, consulting (Strategy&, deals), and managed services with comparable global footprint and enterprise client base.
• Deloitte: Deloitte is one of the Big Four professional services firms offering audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services globally. It is EY's most direct competitor across all service lines and shares the integrated platform-plus-capabilities model including major AI and digital transformation practices.
• KPMG: KPMG is the fourth member of the Big Four, offering audit, tax, and advisory services worldwide. Competes head-to-head with EY in mid-market and enterprise audit, tax compliance, and increasingly in technology consulting through KPMG Ignite.

Emerging players

• Alvarez & Marsal: Alvarez & Marsal is a global professional services firm specializing in turnaround, restructuring, and performance improvement, with strong private equity services. Directly competes with EY-Parthenon's restructuring and transaction advisory practices, particularly in distressed and PE-backed engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ernstyoung
• Facebookfacebook.com/EY
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ernstandyoung
• Instagraminstagram.com/ey_global
• Xx.com/EYnews

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A56 records

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ernst & Young