Are the Big 4 Too Big to Fail? Examining Recent Scandals and Market Dependence

Recent high-profile scandals involving Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG in Australia raise critical questions about the accountability of the Big 4 professional services firms. Despite significant ethical and governance failures, these firms largely remain dominant players, prompting concerns about whether the market's dependence on them limits the consequences for misconduct. The article explores if these are isolated incidents or symptoms of a system where allowing a major firm to fail is no longer a viable option.