Income levels rise at Big Four

Income levels at the Big Four accountancy firms have increased, a new report has revealed.

According to reports, income levels at the four largest accountancy firms have increased over the period between 2006 and 2007 at a rate of 13 per cent.

The four firms each have clients from the FTSE 100 list of companies.

"Ernst & Young's fee income is the smallest of the big four, but still nearly three times that of the next largest firm, Grant Thornton, whose income rose over a third last year following the merger with Robson Rhodes," said Duncan McKenzie, the author of the report.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is reported by financial services consultant IFSL to be the largest of the four, which also includes KPMG and Deloitte.

With a history going back to 1849, PwC took its current name in 1998 after the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand.