Big Six accounting firm Ernst & Young has launched a new service designed to give small to mid-sized companies immediate electronic access to Ernst & Young consultants via the Internet. The service, dubbed Ernie, enables clients to submit business and financial questions over the Internet to Ernst & Young and receive an electronic mail response within two business days. The service will cost $6,000 per year and will initially target companies with revenue of $25m to $200m. 10 companies signed up for the service in the first half day of its operation. Questions will be routed via Ernst & Young’s Intranet to its consultants, who will draw on their own experience as well as on the company’s Lotus Notes- based Knowledge Web for answers, it said.
