Ernst & Young has paused its plan to spin off its consulting arm, bowing to pressure from its US partners to rethink how the tax practice will be divided when the firm is split into two, according to people familiar with the matter.

Julie Boland, the head of EY’s US firm, told partners on a call on 8 March that the firm was taking a pause to focus on getting the shape of the deal right, one of the people said. Boland, who is due to run the audit-focused partnership after the split, said she still believed the breakup was the right thing to do, the person added.