Open Post - Big 4

Until now, I talked a lot about Big 4 audit firms. However, I don't think that I have actually explained what Big 4 audit firms are. It is quite obvious, but while researching about them, I learned something new.
The Big 4 was radically Big 8 until 1989. The Big 8 firms were Arthur Anderson, Arthur Young & Co., Coopers & Lybrand, Ernst & Whinney, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Peat Marwick Mitchell, Price Waterhouse, and Touche Ross.
In  1989, Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young, and Deloitte Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche. As a result, Big 8 became Big 6.
In 1998, Big 6 became Big 5 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers.
These five firms were most prestigious firms in audit field. However in 2001, Arthur Andersen was involved in Enron scandal which was Arthur Andersen shredded Enron's documents related to audit. Due to obstruction of justice, Arthur Andersen lost its reputation and met its end.
After the collapse of Arthur Andersen, the four firms formed Big 4 and became the winners of fierce competitions of huge firms.
As a person who are hoping to join accounting field, I know how it feels honored to work in one of Big 4. Since working in one of those firms is dream of all accountants and auditors, my goal after getting my CPA degree is getting into one of Big 4.