The Big Four firm’s planned split would have divided its $45bn (£39bn) revenue global network roughly 60:40 between the consulting business and the audit-focused partnership, which would retain the EY brand.

The audit and tax compliance part of the business would have remained under the EY brand while a separate consulting firm, AssureCo, was going to be set up with a listing on the US stock exchange.

However, there has been pushback from partners, with concerns about how the division of the firm would affect the global tax practice.