The 24 questions Treasury has about the big four consulting firms

The big four accounting firms could be forced to slash partner numbers and incorporate their consulting businesses under a crackdown on governance standards flagged as a possible response to the PwC tax leaks scandal.

In a consultation paper released late on Friday, Treasury also raised concerns about audit and consulting partners sharing profits, which it said risked auditors being incentivised to prioritise client satisfaction over audit quality, potentially undermining market confidence.