EY hopes its radical proposal to split its audit and consulting arms into standalone outfits will allow the resulting accounting firm to tender for “most audits that come to market” and nab clients from rivals who have too many conflicts of interest to pitch for work.

Speaking publicly on the firm’s proposed separation for the first time, EY’s head of audit and assurance Glenn Carmody said the split would ramp up competition, improve audit quality and increase EY’s market share of audits.