Australia's Audit Landscape: A Comparative Analysis of EY and BDO

This report provides a detailed comparison between Ernst & Young (EY) and BDO, two prominent audit firms operating in Australia. It examines the range of services offered by each firm, including financial audit, taxation, assurance, and advisory services, highlighting EY's broader service portfolio compared to BDO's specialization in auditing and assurance. The report also contrasts their geographic coverage, noting EY's extensive global presence with offices in over 150 countries and BDO's significant international network with a strong presence in Australia and the US. Furthermore, the analysis includes a comparison of staff numbers, industry specializations, and marketing messages, with EY focusing on building a better working world and BDO emphasizing robust and transparent audit services tailored to client needs. Ultimately, the report recommends Ernst & Young based on its wider range of services, larger workforce, and longer industry presence. Desklib provides access to this document and many other solved assignments for students.

Running head: COMPARISON OF AUDIT FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 1
Comparison of Audit Firms in Australia
Your Name
Institutional Affiliation

Running head: COMPARISON OF AUDIT FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 2
Comparison of Audit Firms in Australia
The big four audit firms in Australia is made up of the giant companies that include Ernst &
Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Deloitte & Touche while the four non-big
four audit firms include BDO, WHK Group, Grant Thornton and Pitcher Partners (Riddell,
2018). For the purpose of this report, I will be taking Ernst & Young and BDO.
The range of Services Provided
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a multinational company which provides a range of services including
financial audit, taxation, assurances services, advisory, management consulting, corporate
finance and actuarial services to companies in over 150 countries in the world ("Core Business
Services", 2018).
BDO
BDO International has majored in the provision of auditing and assurance services. The
Audit and Assurance package is made up of the following services.
 Financial Reporting Solutions
 External Audit
 Governances, Risk and Compliance advisory services
 Internal Audit and Risk Assurance
 Narrative Reporting
 Other Assurance Services
Geographic Coverage
Ernst & Young

Running head: COMPARISON OF AUDIT FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 3
Ernst & Young is a global audit professional services company that operates in more than
150 nations all over the world. Ernst & Young operates as a network of companies which are
separate companies in each of the countries which it has offices in. The firm has more than 700
offices all over the world where a wide range of services including auditing and assurance,
taxation, business consulting and other advisory services are provided to companies.[4]
BDO
BDO serves more than 400 publicly traded companies in Australia and many
international clients. The firm has subsidiary companies in more than 162 countries around the
world. It has close to 1500 offices globally, making it the fifth largest professional services
company by network globally.
Number of Staff Employed
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young prides itself on being an employer of more than 250 000 employees
located in more than 7000 offices located in 150 different countries globally.
BDO
BDO has employed more than 74000 audit professionals all over the world. The employees have
a deep knowledge of the industry and can, therefore, find it easy to participate in the industry.
BDO has a wide coverage in Australia and the US.
The Industry in Which the Firms Claim Specialization
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young considers itself one of the leading professional services providing
company in the world. The firm, claims to be the leader when it comes to helping companies to
identify and capitalize on their business opportunities (business advisory).

Running head: COMPARISON OF AUDIT FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 4
BDO
BDO prides itself on being a world-class audit firm that adequate resources to provide
exceptional resources to each and every client. In the US, BDO operates as BDO International.
BDO international claims to be the leader in the provision of services including assurance,
taxation, and financial advisory services ("Audit & Assurance", 2018).
Marketing Messages
Ernst & Young
As shown in the company logo below, the marketing message for Ernst & Young
is ‘‘committed to building a better working world’’. The company promises its clients to build a
better working environment with them by engaging with like-minded companies and individuals
(Ey.com, 2018).
BDO
BDO promised to provide robust and transparent Audit and Assurance services to its
clients. It claims to have tailored its services to each and every client’s specific requirements and
needs.
Recommendation

Running head: COMPARISON OF AUDIT FIRMS IN AUSTRALIA 5
Based on the above discussions, I would recommend Ernst & Young to a person because
it offers quite a variety of services, has more competent staff and has been in the industry for
more years as compared to BDO.
References
Audit & Assurance. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/services/audit-
assurance
Core Business Services. (2018). Retrieved from https://fscareers.ey.com/service-lines/core-
business-services/
Ey.com. (2018). EY purpose: committed to building a better working world. [online] Available
at: https://www.ey.com/us/en/about-us [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
Riddell, W. (2018). The Next8: Battle ground of the accounting mid-tier - Beaton Capital.
Retrieved from http://www.beatoncapital.com/2012/11/the-next8-battle-ground-of-the-
accounting-mid-tier/