The existence of just five large CPA firms that service virtually all of the major industrial and financial companies and thus dominate the accounting profession has led to criticism through the years.

a. What dangers do you see from the dominance of a few large CPA firms? What advantages?

b. During 1998, a merger between two of the large public accounting firms reduced the Big 6 to the Big 5. One reason offered for the merger is that it improved the ability of the merging firms to provide the broad array of consulting services that provide an increasing share of the revenues of the large accounting firms. What problems might intensify as public accounting firms earn an ever-larger share of their income from consult