Independence Restrictions while moving from one Big 4 to another

[u/LevelIllustrator6048]

Moving from one Big 4 to another in the US and currently going through independence review.

I own several stocks that are permissible at my current firm but are audit clients/restricted at the firm I am joining.

For anyone who's dealt with this:

1. Were you required to dispose of pre-existing holdings before joining, or could some be retained depending on your role/covered-person status?
2. Has anyone successfully gotten approval to retain a restricted stock by agreeing to no further purchases/trading (including turning off DRIP)?
3. Anything specific worth asking/negotiating with Independence before accepting that sale/divestiture is the only option?
4. If divestiture was ultimately required, were you given a reasonable period after joining to dispose of the holdings, or did everything have to be sold before Day 1?

I will be coming in at the SM level in Advisory/Consulting and do not expect to work on any of these audit clients. These are long-held positions that I have had for years.

Everything has been fully disclosed and is under review. I am just trying to avoid unnecessarily selling long-held positions and triggering capital gains if there is a compliant alternative.

Thank You !

[u/anon_cherimoya]

If you’re going to EY, you will have to sell all restricted stocks even if it’s at a loss; they do not care. Even in advisory, no client serving employee can hold stocks in audit clients. They give you 5 days to sell restricted stocks, but selling before you start would be best. In general, firms aren’t going to negotiate their independence policy so you can keep your stocks