Turkey's competition regulator announced on March 11 that it has initiated an investigation covering 65 firms in the auditing and financial advisory industry, naming the Turkish operations of the four largest global accounting networks - KPMG, PwC, Deloitte and EY - among those under review.
The authority said the purpose of the inquiry is to determine whether companies and professional bodies within the sector engaged in behaviour that would undermine competition. Specifically, investigators will look into potential coordination on fees for services and actions in the labour market that may have affected employees' rights and wages.
According to the regulator, the probe will assess several lines of potential anti-competitive conduct. These include whether firms exchanged information on service prices or shared details of client portfolios in ways that could violate competition rules; whether decisions were taken that could prevent new entrants from accessing the market or otherwise distort the competitive landscape; and whether there was sharing of information that had an adverse effect on employees' rights and remuneration.
The authority did not provide further details on the investigation's timetable, the specific firms beyond the Turkish units of the Big Four, or any preliminary findings. The statement framed the inquiry as an effort to establish whether sector participants coordinated in ways that might restrict competition in services or the labour market.
This review covers both commercial and professional organisations active in audit and financial advisory services, reflecting the regulator's stated focus on market conduct related to pricing, client allocation and employment practices. The investigation is ongoing and the authority's public statement outlined the categories of behaviour under examination without indicating any conclusions.
What the authority is examining
- Whether companies shared service prices or client portfolios in ways that may have violated competition rules.
- Whether decisions were taken that could block market entry or otherwise distort competition.
- Whether information sharing affected employee rights and wages, pointing to possible anti-competitive labour-market practices.
The inquiry represents a regulatory review of conduct rather than a finding of wrongdoing. The authority's statement limits itself to the scope of the probe and the specific types of behaviour it intends to investigate.