The failed attempt by EY to split its consulting and audit divisions under the so-called "Project Everest" continues to significantly impact the company's finances. By the end of the fiscal year in June 2024, the global entity of the Big Four firm still had debts amounting to $270 million from an originally $700 million credit facility, which was taken out to cover the costs of the project.

The repayment of the loans took longer than planned, as shown in the annual financial statements filed with the British Companies House. While EY initially announced it would fully repay the costs by July 2024, the final repayment was not made until October. Overall, the interest burden of the global operations doubled to 74 million USD in the fiscal year.

“Through our financial planning and regular reviews of our capital decisions, we have decided to repay the credit facility 16 months before maturity, instead of the originally planned 20 months,” said a person familiar with the matter.

In the fiscal year 2024, EY achieved global revenues of 51.2 billion US dollars, an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the previous year. While the audit and tax consulting business recorded growth, the advisory sector stagnated, which was supposed to be strengthened by Project Everest.

The ambitious spin-off that was supposed to end the conflicts of interest between consulting and auditing failed in April 2023 due to the approval of the US EY leadership. By the time the project was terminated, EY had already invested 600 million US dollars in its planning.

The new global CEO Janet Truncale has announced a different approach to promoting growth. This includes investments in consulting areas such as transformation and sustainability, as well as an expansion of the managed services business. The expenditure on external consultants, such as lawyers, significantly decreased from 1.4 billion US dollars to 972 million US dollars in the fiscal year.