EY’s leaders, trying to persuade partners to split up the firm, said windfalls would be spread evenly, but a bear market threatens to cut the value of a potential initial public offering of its consulting business, according to an internal webcast and people familiar with the matter.

Speaking to EY’s roughly 13,000 partners 20 June, global chairman and chief executive Carmine Di Sibio said that the firm would give all partners in a country the same multiple of pay, according to a recording of the webcast reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.