Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks

Professional services networks

Professional services networks are networks of independent firms who come together to cost-effectively provide services to clients through an organized framework. They are principally found in law and accounting. They may also be found in investment banking, insurance, real estate and architectural...

 in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy

Accountancy

Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...

 firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG

KPMG

KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....

 and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....

.

Ernst & Young is a global organization of member firms in more than 140 countries, headquartered in London, UK.

It was ranked by Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

magazine as the 9th largest private company in the United States in 2010.
Ernst & Young is the result of a series of mergers of ancestor organizations.