EY to delay partner votes due to complex legal wrangling

Votes on plans to split EY in two are not set to begin until the start of next year, after being delayed by legal wrangling.

The ballots, which were set to start this month, will not take place until early 2023, due to the complexities the firm has faced in finalizing the legal framework through which assets, liabilities, and staff will be shared between the two separate businesses, the Financial Times first reported.

In pushing forwards with plans to separate its consulting arm from its audit business, EY in September said it would let partners vote on the plans, with UK and US partners to be balloted first.

The Big Four firm had originally planned to begin letting those UK and US partners vote on the plans this year with a view to completing the process by early 2023.

However, leaders at the firm are reportedly now openly stating that a UK partner vote will not take place until the start of next year.

An EY spokesperson confirmed the vote is being delayed but told City A.M. the accounting giant still expects “voting to conclude in early 2023”.

The firm is also planning to float its consulting business on US markets by the end of 2023, after partners were told this week that EY’s global boss, Carmine di Sibio, will see his four-year term extended, to give him time to oversee the entirety of the separation process.

“This is a very complicated transaction and speed must be balanced with executing well,” the EY spokesperson said, as they noted the firm is “continuing to focus on serving clients.”