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Big Four Accounting Firms
The Big Four are the four largest professional services networks in the world: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, EY, KPMG, and PwC. They are the four largest global accounting networks as measured by revenue. The four are often grouped because they are comparable in size relative to the rest of the market, both in terms of revenue and workforce; they are considered equal in their ability to provide a wide scope of professional services to their clients; and, among those looking to start a career in professional services, particularly accounting, they are considered equally attractive networks to work in, because of the frequency with which these firms engage with Fortune 500, ''Fortune'' 500 companies. The Big Four all offer audit, assurance services, assurance, taxation, management consulting, Valuation (finance), valuation, market research, actuarial, corporate finance, and legal services to their clients. A significant majority of the audits of Public company, public companies, as w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accounting Network
An accounting network or accounting association is a professional services network whose principal purpose is to provide members resources to assist the clients around the world and hence reduce the uncertainty by bringing together a greater number of resources to work on a problem. The networks and associations operate independently of the independent members. The largest accounting networks are known as the Big Four. The Big Four History of accounting networks and associations Foundations Accounting networks were created to meet a specific need. “The accounting profession in the U.S. was built upon a state-established monopoly for audits of financial statements.” Accounting networks arose out of the necessity for public American companies to have audited financial statements for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For over 70 years, the SEC has continually sought for greater coordination and consistent quality in audits everywhere in the world. Networ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legal Services
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as well as the lawyer's area of practice. In many jurisdictions, the legal profession is divided into various branches — including barristers, solicitors, conveyancers, notaries, canon lawyer — who perform different tasks related to the law. Historically, the role of lawyers can be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome. In modern times, the practice of law includes activities such as representing clients in criminal or civil court, advising on business transactions, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. Depending on the country, the education required to become a lawyer can range from completing an undergraduate law degree to undergoing postgraduate education and profes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limited Company
In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the liability of members is limited to the unpaid value of shares. In a company limited by guarantee, the liability of owners is limited to such amount as the owners may undertake to contribute to the assets of the company, in the event of being wound up. The former may be further divided in public companies (public limited company, public limited companies) and private companies (private limited company, private limited companies). Who may become a member of a private limited company is restricted by law and by the company's rules. In contrast, anyone may buy shares in a public limited company. Limited companies can be found in most countries, although the detailed rules governing them vary widely. It is also com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. They differ from collectives in that they are generally built from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down. Cooperatives may include: * Worker cooperatives: businesses owned and managed by the people who work there * Consumer cooperatives: businesses owned and managed by the people who consume goods and/or services provided by the cooperative * Producer cooperatives: businesses where producers pool their output for their common benefit ** e.g. Agricultural cooperatives * Purchasing cooperatives where members pool their purchasing power * Multi-stakeholder or hybrid cooperativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Association
A Swiss association ("" in German, "" in French, "" in Italian) is a type of corporation in Swiss law. It is similar to the Anglo-American voluntary association. Unlike in Germany, a Swiss association does not need to be registered in order to obtain legal personality, but must be registered if it "conducts a commercial operation". An association can serve as a non-profit organization (NPO) or non-governmental organization ( NGO) and this form is used by several Swiss sections of international NGOs such as Amnesty International, and the World Wildlife Fund, by business firms (see below) or by international organizations such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The form can also be used by political parties and alliances, such as trade unions. As the establishment of an association involves little paperwork and no registration or fees, it is an important legal form in Switzerland and often used by groups such as sport and social clubs. It has also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Services Networks
Professional services networks are business networks of independent firms who come together to provide professional services to clients through an organized framework. They are notably found in law and accounting. Any profession that operates in one location, but has clients in multiple locations, may provide potential members for a professional network. This entry focuses on accounting, legal, multidisciplinary and specialty practice networks. According to statistics from 2010, members of these networks employ more than one million professionals and staff and have cumulative annual revenues that exceed $200 billion. The accounting networks developed first to meet the US Securities and Exchange Commission's requirement for public company audits. They include the well-known accounting networks like PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG (also known as the Big 4 Audit Firms) as well as more than 30 other accounting networks and associations. They are highly structured entit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Reporting Council
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. The FRC seeks to promote transparency and integrity in business by aiming its work at investors and others who rely on company reports, audits and high-quality risk management. In December 2018, an independent review of the FRC, led by Sir John Kingman, recommended its replacement by a new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, a recommendation that the government agreed to follow in March 2019 but later delayed. Ireland adopted the FRC's auditing framework in 2017. Structure The FRC is a company limited by guarantee, and is funded by the audit profession, who are required to contribute under the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and by other groups subject to, or benefitting from FRC regulation. Its board of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Competition & Markets Authority
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. The CMA launched in shadow form on 1 October 2013 and began operating fully on 1 April 2014, when it assumed many of the functions of the previously existing Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading, which were abolished. The CMA also has consumer protection responsibilities and took on new digital markets regulation responsibilities in late 2024 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA alongside the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, is a globally important antitrust agency. History On 15 March 2012, the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced proposals for strengthening competition in the UK by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Industry Concentration
In economics, market concentration is a function of the number of firms and their respective shares of the total production (alternatively, total capacity or total reserves) in a market. Market concentration is the portion of a given market's market share that is held by a small number of businesses. To ascertain whether an industry is competitive or not, it is employed in antitrust law land economic regulation. When market concentration is high, it indicates that a few firms dominate the market and oligopoly or monopolistic competition is likely to exist. In most cases, high market concentration produces undesirable consequences such as reduced competition and higher prices. The market concentration ratio measures the concentration of the top firms in the market, this can be through various metrics such as sales, employment numbers, active users or other relevant indicators. In theory and in practice, market concentration is closely associated with market competitiveness, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Market Capitalization
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by the number of common shares outstanding. Description Market capitalization is sometimes used to rank the size of companies. It measures only the equity component of a company's capital structure, and does not reflect management's decision as to how much debt (or leverage) is used to finance the firm. A more comprehensive measure of a firm's size is enterprise value (EV), which gives effect to outstanding debt, preferred stock, and other factors. For insurance firms, a value called the embedded value (EV) has been used. It is also used in ranking the relative size of stock exchanges, being a measure of the sum of the market capitalizations of all companies listed on each stock exchange. The total capitalization of stock markets or eco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FTSE 250 Index
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 250 Index, also called the FTSE 250 Index, FTSE 250, or, informally, the "Footsie 250" , is a stock market index that consists of the 101st to the 350th mid-cap blue chip companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Description The index consists of 11 ICB sectors, three of which have a market cap exceeding £25 billion as at 31 December 2024. These are Financials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary and together account for approximately 75% of the index's market cap. At the same date there was 9 companies with a market cap exceeding £3 billion: Polar Capital, IG, Burberry, B&M, Investec, Direct Line, Tritax Big Box REIT, Britvic, and RS Group equating to approximately 10% of the market cap. Each calendar quarter, the FTSE 250's constituents are reviewed and some companies will either exit or enter the index, resulting in irregular trading volume and price changes as market participants rebalance their portfolios. Relate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FTSE 100 Index
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The index started on 3 January 1984, having been constructed by the London Stock Exchange to better reflect activity on the market. The index would replace the Financial Times' own FT 30 after its public unveiling on 14 February. As late as 10 February, the Stock Exchange referred to the index as 'SE 100', cutting out the Financial Times who had not contributed to its construction. Recognition was ultimately given to the fact that having the FT involved in the official launch possessed value. The new index allowed the Stock Exchange's own London Traded Options Market (LTOM) to launch an options contract derived from the FTSE's real-time data in May 1984, while competitors LIFFE were quick to coinci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
