EY is in the news again regarding their proposed break up.

It has been reported by multiple news organizations that partners are infighting over terms. Many publications are blaming Julie Boland who will head the audit branch of EY after the break up. They cite a webcast with partners where she said that there is a hold up.

I think the news is blowing this up bigger than it should be. Carmine Di Sibio reassured staff that the split up will go through. I think it will too. His whole career and multiple partners careers on the line.

Another reason I think it will go through is that many partners will see huge payouts as a result. People like Carmine Di Sibio don’t make it to the top of EY by being soft or nonpolitical. They are master politicians and are good at calling in favors.

I think the biggest issue right now is the break up of the tax practice. Tax could fall into either practice. I’m guessing the problem is that most of the tax partners want to go to consulting. Supporting only audit as part of a tax practice isn’t feasible in the long term. The amount of work you would be able to do would be severely limited.

I think this hiccup is only momentary and the split up will go through. Don’t buy into all the media craziness. They have no idea how the big 4 are run. I think partners at the other big 4 are also pushing these stories hoping to weaken EY’s name in the marketplace.

There are also stories that morale at EY is low. That is also bogus. Paychecks are still going out and people are still working around the clock. The average person at EY isn’t impacted by the breakup. I think more people are interested in their futures after the split.

The people most worried are probably consulting employees because of the softness in the economy. I think that might another reason partners are pausing right here. They don’t want to break out consulting into a soft market where they have to standalone. They also don’t want to IPO into a public market that is very weak right now.

Make sure to stay tuned for additional news.