INTRODUCTION
‘The big 4s’, has had a massive influence on the minds of individuals from freshly passed out graduates to working professionals, and given that it is needless to state who they are and what they do, to put it simply, they are the Ivy League of accounting firms. Many fascinate to park themselves at least for a few years, at the big 4s on the way to their career journey, and why not? The so-called big 4s, to put it mildly, have had a substantial impact. So much so, that the term ‘Big 4s’ is often used as an analogy to describe the big players in other industries. Here, let’s know about Ernst and Young Mission and Vision Statements.
And one such big boy in the big 4s is the widely admired Ernst and Young (EY). The 3rd biggest among the big 4s, but not for long, as the company’s efforts tell a different story. It doesn’t seem like they are going to settle for 3rd after all. The company is aggressively looking forward to scaling up to the top surpassing the biggest of the Big 4s ‘Deloitte’.
THE COMPANY OVERVIEW
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Ernst and Young, now known as EY, after the company changed its brand name from former to latter in 2013. EY is the offspring of two accounting firms Ernst and Whinney and Arthur Young and the company that partnered for a merger 32 years ago in 1989 making EY coincidentally the 3rd oldest company after Deloitte and KPMG. Coincidentally because, the company also ranks third in terms of revenue (37.2 billion dollars as of June 30, 2020.) among the 4.
The company has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It has 700 office locations in over 150 countries globally organized geographically as – EMEIA – (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa), Americas, and the Asia Pacific. It is one of the world’s best multinational professional services networks. They have a workforce surpassing 0.4 million.
THE STUFF THAT THE COMPANY IS INTO
There is more to EY than just being an accounting firm. The company provides tax, audit, business risk, technology, security risk, human capital services, Assurance, advisory, corporate finance, and transaction services. One of the things that a company does is support the blueprints of the business and organizations to flourish. The assurance team makes sure the public can trust the business.
It has expanded its markets to strategy, operations, human resources, technology, and financial consulting. The company has five main service lines – Assurance, tax, consulting, strategy, and restructuring.
– Under Assurance, they have a financial audit, financial accounting advisory services, forensic and integrity services.
– Under Taxation, transfer pricing, business tax compliance, people advisory, global trade, indirect tax, international tax services, and transaction taxes.
– Under consulting – business and technology consulting,
– Under strategy – business valuation, due diligence, real estate advisory, mergers, and acquisition restructuring.
– And lastly, under restructuring, they have financial and operational – Corporate, finance and strategy.
THE MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES STATEMENT ANALYSIS
THE MISSION
‘Building a better working world’
This simply speaks that the company has a purpose beyond profit, a shared purpose. The company wants to build a better working world through what it does best, providing professional services. They aim to bring simplicity and a smart configuration to the working systems of client businesses.
Their work has a global impact as they are spread across the globe making their presence meaningful. The company is known for providing high-impact learning, career value, and competitive rewards because in their eyes they aren’t just building better businesses they are working with their clients to build a better working world.
Their mission statement in practice is not as simple and short as it looks in theory. To build a better working world, the company along with high-quality services must also pledge to be ethical at the same time. That being said, the fact that the company has engaged in a few scandals and there have allegedly been few lawsuits filed against them in the past can’t be overlooked.
The company must employ the right workforce who ask the right questions during the brainstorming sessions. Because the better the questions, the better the answers. The better the world works. And, for EY, ‘Better’ begins with the clients.
The company has also won many accolades including Forbes No.1 accounting firm to work for, 7th largest owned private organization in the US and continuously being ranked on fortune magazine list of the 100 best companies to work for the past 21 years, longer than any other accounting firm, now this at least gives us a clue that the company has been doing something about getting to where it desires to be.
THE VISION
‘We’re building the workplace of the future at EY, a place that’s smaller, more inclusive, more dynamic, and more flexible.’
Building a workplace of the future…
The statement shows the determination of the company to be able to forecast and envision a better workplace in the future which ideally depicts the IT-driven functional end for rendering services. It generally depicts the information systems approach and the fact that the technology that is going into robotics will one day substitute half the workforce making them obsolete.
And EY, considering this beforehand, is continuing to make large investments in digitalization and technology and is already into the provision of digital strategy services and enterprise information systems services. The company is preparing itself for the future by providing robotic process automation services; this aspect is commonly shared by its fellow competitor Accenture.
The company has also invested more in infrastructural facilities to facilitate its future projects, along with its other future-oriented approaches
A smaller, more inclusive, dynamic, and flexible…
The adjectives connote the aspect of ‘Engagement’, it is almost a well-known fact that EY is the best employer in the town and it aims and has excelled on 5 dimensions that are the hallmark of high trust and high-performance culture – credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie. And for the level of engagement, they aim for they have set up commendable programs that aid employees in proper growth and development.
It provides a diverse experience set for its workforce as it provides services to different industries and sectors such as the automotive, financial, government, entertainment, mining, real estate, technology, telecommunication industries. EY serves customers worldwide.
EY ignites opportunities for people with diverse perspectives, people with energy, enthusiasm, and the courage to lead, people who demonstrate integrity, respect, and team, and people who build relationships based on doing the right things who the interests of the companies and the company further instill an idea that by being inclusive it will lend an ear to everyone irrespective of the hierarchy and work towards the welfare and career progression of the employees.
EY aims at optimum utilization of its human resources, based on the skills and capability of its employees and staff members. And by promising inclusivity, it assures the general public that there will be no discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or ethnicity in their organization. By flexibility, the company implies ideally striking a balance between work and life and respecting the personal boundaries and commitments of its employees.
The company’s later half of the vision statement predominantly throws light on the workforce-related issue, it has a distinctive vision, unlike the other companies. They have made themselves clear by quoting that they are here for the people and by this, they imply that they prioritize their workforce and they are making people heard.
EY may be the third in terms of revenue but it certainly is second to none in terms of the quality workplace environment. This adds up as an edge over other companies and this aspect is what will drive the company forward in the years to come, the value it is providing to the greatest resource of the company, the human resource.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that they have hit the right cord, as by bringing the people into the picture they are implying that the workforce matters, better workplace matters, and likewise if the company starts treating people as its people shall reciprocate the same gesture towards the company and this would build a good cozy inclusive workplace environment for everyone.
THE VALUES
The values are what bind the company together, ironically corporates being the biggest accelerators of materialism in the present day scenario, it is still the cultures and values of the company and not profits that drive the workforce in making a difference.
And EY has rich values rooted in the foundation of the company which has helped the company remain strong through the test of time. The values define their fundamental beliefs and who they are. Culture can’t be defined, it can only be felt and it is nicer to be explicit about it. Some of the core values of EY include – future mindedness, integrity, respect, and teamwork.
ANALYSING THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The professional services industry that EY’s operating in is very attractive as although it has lots of competitors it promises growth. The professional services network industry is recession-proof to the ill-effects of an economic cycle. And, the going-concern aspect of companies thriving in this industry is indifferent to the external pressures of the economic downturn. Many companies in other industries fell prey to the great recession including the investment banking companies and other banking sectors but the foundation of accounting firms was unshaken.
The biggest friction that can slow down the growth for EY is its competitors and an increase in competition can reduce the market share of EY. Along with EY, many others are operating in the industry. The competition is fierce as the services that everyone in the industry offers is a near substitute to each other. EY’s competitors among others include – Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, BDO International, RSM International, Grant Thornton, and Accenture.
Companies setting up their research centers is just another variable adding up to the competition. To stay afloat in these sorts of situations EY 2015 opened its first global security operations centers in Thiruvananthapuram, India, and later in Oman, Muscat chipped in a 10 million-dollar investment to combat cyber-crime.
The company could also adopt a growth strategy such as mergers and acquisitions to strengthen the brand’s position for business and acquiring smaller consulting firms can establish EY’s position strongly. The sponsorships that EY makes in sports and global events give a huge presence to the company.
Due to this prominence and the level of service, it renders to its clients EY has paved its way to be chosen by higher authorities such as the pope himself because after all, you need a saint to advise a saint. To put it simply, ‘The Holy See’ is a legal corporate person in international law, so think of it as Catholic church incorporated of which the Pope is the CEO. The Catholic church is a big business, and all major corporations need the assistance of professional accounting services, and the church is no exception.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
According to the 2018 report, EY rendered services to 31% of S&P 500 companies, which is second to none. It stands second to KPMG, Deloitte, and McKinsey in product quality, customer service, and overall culture score respectively. And 3rd in gender score, diversity score, net promoter score, and pricing score against other companies.
The company shares a similar target group and market segment as its competitors, which is the ‘Fortune 500 companies and other big organizations.’ To survive in the competitive landscape a company needs to have core competence and EY has one. EY has expertise in audit and financial services and is one of the leading brands in the management and consulting sector, it has got a unique selling proposition that gives it a competitive edge against other firms in the industry.
THE CONCLUSION
The company is not only about generating revenue and rendering professional services it also serves a greater purpose beyond just the financials. It is also a philanthropy-focused company, helps local entrepreneurs, environmental research, earth watch global ambassador program, and continues to make large investments in digitalization and technology and creating long-term value to its clients, customers, and business.
The company is doing tremendously well in terms of workforce and its approach to building a better workplace environment in comparison to its peers operating in the industry. And, acknowledging its achievements in recent years, the company will hopefully continue to ace in the foreseeable future.
