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EY is taking longer than originally planned to clear the debts it incurred in the failed spin-off of its consulting arm, according to annual accounts filed by the Big Four firms.

A $700mn credit facility was opened to cover the cost of Project Everest – which will split the company in two and radically redraw the global professional services industry – with $270m still outstanding at the end of EY’s financial year in June.

Including other borrowing, interest paid by EY’s global operating business for the year totaled $74m, more than double the amount in the previous 12 months.

A note in the accounts, filed with the UK’s Companies House, said the three-year facility was finally repaid at the end of the financial year. A person familiar with the matter said the last payment was made in October.

“Through our financial planning, and the regular assessments that guide our capital decisions, we made the decision to repay this credit facility 16 months early, instead of 20 months early,” the man said.

A year ago, EY SAYS that “the costs incurred by Project Everest will be almost fully repaid by July 1 2024”.

In common with the rest of the Big Four, the company has more slow year than expected. It increased revenue by 3.9 percent worldwide, to $51.2bn, with work in audit and tax for a flat year in its consulting business.

Project Everest is designed to turbocharge the growth of both consulting and audit, by freeing them from conflict of interest rules that prevent cross-selling of advisory services to audit clients.

The ambitious plan collapsed in April 2023 after failing to get sign-off from EY’s US leadership.

Unlike a typical multinational, EY is a network of country-owned partnerships linked through a global entity that sets strategy and manages shared services such as IT. The global operating company, based in the UK, is run on a break-even basis, funded by the taxes of national member companies.

About $600mn was spent on planning Project Everest before it was cancelled. The 2024 accounts show a big drop in spending on professional fees, such as lawyers, which fell to $972 million from $1.4bn in the year to June 2023.

A new global chief executive, Janet Truncale, promises otherwise strategic approach to increase revenue, including new investments in units that advise clients on restructuring and sustainability, and expanding EY’s managed services business.