An academic study conducted by Rasmus Corlin Christensen, a political economist at Copenhagen Business School, argued that the largest audit and consulting firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, dominate the global economy due to their transnational expertise.

One of the critical areas is their influence on transfer pricing which controls the taxation of different global subsidiaries and intercompany transactions.

Christensen argues that the Big Four can control the ‘crucial expert pathways and experiences required for recognised transfer pricing actors and practices, which provide distinct power for the firms’.

These powers include shaping trade rules to create a global market for accounting and audit services and weakening new global tax regulations aimed at clients.