Employee Benefits at Ernst & Young

Alwin C Ernst and his brother Theodor formed a small public accounting firm, Ernst & Ernst in 1903 (Our History, n. d.). Arthur Young founded an accounting firm, Arthur Young & Company, with his brother in 1906 (Our History, n. d.). "AC Ernst and Arthur Young never met in life" (Our History, n. d.), but they both valued innovation and quality and recognized its importance in their work (Our History, n. d.). Their views and ideas were brought together to create Ernst & Young in 1989 (Our History, n. d.).

Now, the company has 231,000 employees globally and operates more than 700 offices in 150 countries (Facts and Figures, 2016). It provides services mostly in Advisory, Assurance, Tax, and Transactions (Facts and Figures, 2016). Some of the EY's major clients are Google, Coca Cola, Verizon, and Twenty First Century Fox (EY's Top 10 Clients, 2015).

This paper examines current benefits provided to Ernst & Young (EY) employees in Canada and compares them with those of competitors and the American EY branch benefits. Further, authors of this paper will discuss what work benefits Millennials most desire and provide recommendations to attract and retain millennials based on our analysis.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Ernst & Young is a unified global organization. This strength allows EY to provide consistent services around the world, which is especially important in the delivery of multinational audits that can cross many jurisdictions (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016). Ernst & Young provides a broad range of services that includes not only tax, assurance, TAS, and advisory, but also family business services, pensions, and climate change and sustainability services. Thus, the company is well positioned in many markets, decreasing the amount of damage a threat to any one market can do to the company as a whole (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016). Another strength is that the market for advisory, EY’s core business line, has been experiencing constant growth in the last five years (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016).

Weaknesses

The company is involved in multiple litigations and may continue to face with them in the future. These litigations incur losses and may harm brand image (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016).

Opportunities

Two markets are experiencing growth in demand. One is management and marketing consultancy, which EY is already leading in this industry (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2016). Two is the growth in the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as many companies around the world are either required or allowed to adopt IFRS accounting standards. With globalization