Globalisation and the major accounting firms

Driven mainly by deregulation and technological change, globalisation is a common tendency among firms seeking better opportunities and lower costs. This paper discusses the nature of globalisation in accounting firms, in particular the "Big 5" (the paper was written before the Big 5 became the Big 4). The firms seem to exhibit two forms of the phenomenon: establishment globalisation (spread of a firm's establishments in different locations) and product globalisation (addition of new services in a bid to extend global reach). The paper examines the effect of globalisation on the demand for accounting information and how globalisation transforms the major accounting firms.