BIG Four accounting firm EY is moving ahead to let its partners vote on a split of its audit and consulting businesses, a key step that could result in the biggest shake-up in the accounting world in 2 decades.

The plan comes as regulators in the US and Europe turn up the pressure on accounting firms to tackle potential conflicts of interest between the 2 business lines. But numerous reports have suggested that a radical overhaul of EY’s business could increase its profitability and open up opportunities with clients it had trouble wooing.

EY on Thursday (Sep 8) said it was proposing to split into a partnership focused on assurance, and a corporate focused on consulting. It will next engage with its roughly 13,000 partners till year-end to provide them with more information before voting takes place.