EY's UK boss to step down as firm hunts for successor

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Ernst & Young's U.K. boss Hywel Ball is planning to step down as the Big Four audit firm prepares to split up his role. 

The company will start the process for picking an internal successor to Ball in the second half of this year, EY said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Ball's role of UK chair and managing partner will be separated in the future, a move that's in line with the governance code of the industry's watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council, EY said.  

Ball was appointed to lead the UK business in 2020 after two decades as a partner at the professional services firm. He also previously served as a member of the auditors' advisory group for Sir Donald Brydon's review of the quality and effectiveness of the audit market across the UK.

His departure comes more than a year after EY's scrapped plans to spin off its global consulting business and much of its tax practice into a standalone public company. The Financial Times earlier reported Ball's plan to step down.