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Accounting

This Month

Former PwC Australia chief executive Tom Seymour.

Former PwC CEO fined, suspended by Chartered Accountants ANZ

The decision came after the Tax Practitioners Board found Tom Seymour failed to act on signs that secret government information was being shared among partners.

November

Top 100 accounting firms rush to adopt AI – with mixed results

The nation’s largest accounting companies want to cut costs and swap routine compliance for real-time financial advice.

Revealed: Australia’s best accounting firms in 2025

The Financial Review list shows the country’s largest accounting firms are racing to deploy artificial intelligence across their businesses. 

Kate Douglass of Walker Wayland and Amanda Price of KPMG.

How this accounting firm doubled female partner numbers in five years

Walker Wayland partner Kate Douglass says new parents can be those who want a full break or those who call in after a few months desperate for adult connection.

Top 100 Accounting firms graduates

Accounting firms want grads with the social skills AI can’t replace

Accounting firms are seeking graduates with personality and grit, making part-time retail work, team sports and volunteering as valuable as good marks.

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Corporate Travel chief executive Jamie Pherous: “We’ve got a very, very good track record.”

Corporate Travel tells investors not to expect accounts this month

Shares have not traded since August 22, when the ASX-listed business travel provider found material errors in its numbers stretching back years.

Xeros’ Sukhinder Singh Cassidy was meeting investors in Singapore on Thursday.

Xero’s $20b AI question: the price of never reconciling again

In a great test of pricing power, the ASX darling is set to push the trigger and ask its customers to pay for its AI-based features.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, pictured on Thursday, is the chief executive of Xero and has made a big bet on Melio.

Xero’s $4b Melio acquisition weighs down investors despite profit jump

The company’s chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy says she is confident the massive acquisition will transform the accounting software business.

October

Len Nicita.

The mystery behind sacked EY partner’s missing $4000 jacket

Leonard Joseph Nicita not only lost his coat, but also his job. Though at least he got the former back.

Father and son duo: Stannards managing director Peter Angelini with chairman Marino Angelini.

PE-backed Stannards in bolt-on, hiring frenzy; targets $100m revenue

The accounting and advisory boutique is seeking to transform itself into a best-in-class mid-tier firm ahead of an expected wave of industry consolidation.

Accounting startup Squeeze has its eye on another three acquisitions.

Acquisition-hungry accounting start-up Squeeze seeks war chest funding

Squeeze Group is seeking interest from family office and high-net-worth types at a $72 million valuation cap.

The ATO is concerned that a growing number of trusts are incorrectly splitting income that should be attributed to the person that earned it.

ATO to crack down on professionals splitting income in family trusts

The Tax Office believes a growing number of lawyers, doctors and accountants may be using trusts in breach of anti-avoidance rules.

Grant Thornton Australia chief executive Said Jahani.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton appoints bank to review possible sale

In a deal that would be one of the biggest of its kind, Australia’s eighth-largest accounting firm has hired Greenhill to manage a potential sale.

MYOB CEO Paul Robson with a SOLO bank card, a key talking point at recent meetings with Silicon Valley-types.

MYOB execs on Palo Alto trip as KKR brings in bankers for auction

As a precursor to the auction, investment bankers from Barrenjoey and Jarden last month ran a so-called “early education roadshow”.

September

Peter Burns, Chris Bradley and Kevin Burrowes.

The most powerful people in consulting in 2025

The glamour boys and girls of the firms’ consulting arms have been humbled, while the typically serious auditors have gained the upper hand.

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AI will change what it means to be a lawyer. Your sector’s next

A junior lawyer built a $7 billion AI company in three years. His story signals a radical transformation for lawyers and other white-collar industries.

Mercury Capital founder Clark Perkins

PE-backed Findex set to restock coffers with $400m refinancing

Skye Capital is expected to spend the coming weeks collecting feedback from funds on the deal structure, including size and pricing.

Workers using AI

How a lawyer, accountant and 10 others are using AI at work

Everyone is using AI, from chartered accountants to chemistry professors, celebrity chefs, vice chancellors, dentists, teachers and real estate agents.

Why finance pros are becoming travel agents

A growing number of professionals have left jobs in finance, law and other white-collar industries to join the rapidly swelling ranks of travel agents.

August

KPMG would be the third of four major audit firms to be called in by Corporate Travel in the last few years.

KPMG poised to enter Corporate Travel’s dispute with auditor Deloitte

The travel booking service specialising in business and government work has blamed its European division for accounting problems that could stretch back years.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/accounting-hug