The origins of Ernst & Young dates back to the founding of Harding & Pullein in England in 1845. Through a series of mergers the firm rose to prominence and established its contemporary image. The name Ernst & Young first came into use in 1989 with the merging of the two firms Arthur Young and Ernst & Whinney. In 2013, the organization underwent a rebranding, changing its company logo and adopting the abbreviation EY as its brand name. Today the company is headquartered in London, England and is a privately owned organization.
EY has four main service lines - assurance, tax, advisory and transaction advisory services. Year on year, assurance has consistently generated the most revenue for the company, followed by tax and advisory services, with transaction advisory services grossing the least revenue. Over the last decade, advisory services have seen the greatest increase in revenue, up by 180 percent in 2020 compared to 2010.
EY currently operates in over 150 countries around the world which are grouped in the four business regions, the Americas; Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA); and Asia-Pacific. The region with the largest number of company employees were the Americas in 2020, followed by the EMEIA region. Ernst & Young generates the most revenue in the EMEIA, and the Americas. The combined revenue from Asia-Pacific and Japan represents less 15 percent of the total revenue grossed worldwide.