There was a sense of déjà vu for older and former partners at big four consulting firms Deloitte, KPMG and PwC when they heard that EY had called in investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to advise on a possible listing or sale of its consulting business.

Two decades ago, these veterans had watched leaders at EY, KPMG and PwC hive off their consulting arms to head off an impending regulatory crackdown. A group of partners at Deloitte also attempted to privatise the consulting arm, but the deal did not go ahead due the higher cost of financing the deal after the dotcom bust.