Big 4: Deloitte, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), EY (Ernst & Young), and KPMG
British chartered accountants initially travelled to the U.S. to audit British investments in American railroads and industries.
Toward the late 1880s and 1890s, American practitioners began organising locally, laying the groundwork for certified public accounting laws that arrived at the turn of the century.
"Big Eight, Big Five, and Big Four" in the context of secrecy refers to the consolidation of the global accounting and auditing market.
Over several decades, a handful of mega-firms shrank through mergers and collapses, creating an elite oligopoly often criticised for enabling global financial secrecy, tax avoidance, and offshore wealth masking.
