For a business that is still seen as a byword for dullness, accountancy has had a tumultuous few years. First, the "Big Eight" global firms became the "Big Five" as the industry consolidated. Now they are in the unusual position of taking on America's Securities & Exchange Commission (sec), which is proposing changes that could lead the Big Five to break up. Internationally, accountants find themselves blamed for contributing to past financial crises, and pressed to help avert future ones. They even, bizarrely, have run into a disagreement with the legal profession. Bean-counting is not what it used to be.
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