Yesterday
The fastest-growing firms have one thing in common: AI
BlueRock’s Peter Lalor says the firm is using generative AI across the firm, while McGrathNicol’s Jason Preston is using the machine learning to identify patterns that humans would overlook.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros
This Month
What the inquiry into the structure of the big four firms recommended
A summary of the key recommendations from the joint parliamentary inquiry into the structure of the big four consulting firms and what they mean for the sector.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros
October
AI comes with risk for auditors: report
Artificial intelligence can help auditors in the search for trends and anomalies – but its limitations mean professional judgment is more important than ever.
- Edmund Tadros
September
- Opinion
- Opinion
Accounting body’s plan a ticking time bomb for the profession
Chartered Accountants ANZ’s plan to educate school leavers without a university degree will hurt the sector, say two Deakin University academics.
- Anne Wyatt and Peter Carey
PwC China stops work on $210m campus as Evergrande crisis mounts
A lavish training institute on the tropical island of Hainan is under review as the firm reels from fallout from its audits of the failed property developer.
- Eleanor Olcott, Stephen Foley and Chan Ho-him
PwC banned from China for six months and fined record $92m
Chinese authorities imposed a huge fine on PwC and suspended the accounting firm from operating over failures in auditing the collapse of real estate giant Evergrande.
- Trista Xinyi Luo
August
People think our job is boring: accountants lament image problem
Almost half of surveyed accountants and bookkeepers believe their industry has an image problem, and most say the sector is seen as boring.
- Edmund Tadros
Big four consulting arms need regulation: ethics board
The ethics body for the accounting industry also wants ASIC to reverse its decision to wind back its audit quality inspection program.
- Edmund Tadros
EY fined $571,000 over audit of group linked to Russian oligarch
The UK accounting regulator hit the accounting firm with the penalty for breaching a fee cap relating to its consulting work for Russian steel company Evraz.
- Simon Foy
July
New EY chief rules out reviving plan to split firm in two
New chief executive Janet Truncale has unveiled a plan to slim down the firm’s central bureaucracy.
- Stephen Foley and Simon Foy
June
Telstra hires Deloitte to audit books, replacing EY after 25 years
The telecoms giant said changing auditors was “good governance” and wants to use Deloitte’s digital technology to reduce costs.
- Jenny Wiggins and Edmund Tadros
Government urged to add accountants, auditors to fast-track visa list
Eleven accounting, auditing and data-related roles need to be added to a new list of occupations eligible for fast-tracked migrant visas due to ongoing labour shortages, say two major professional bodies.
- Edmund Tadros
May
Auditors failed to raise alarm before 75pc of UK corporate collapses
Audit firms failed to raise the alarm before three-quarters of big UK corporate collapses since 2010, raising concerns they are failing to perform one of their core functions.
- Simon Foy
PwC survives Macquarie audit review
PwC has audited the Millionaires’ Factory since 1993, and it is one of its most lucrative ASX contracts.
- Lucas Baird
- Opinion
- Opinion
Treasury questions the very nature of the big four consulting firms
Get ready for war as they fight back against suggestions they are too big, incapable of governing themselves and have compromised auditing roles.
- Edmund Tadros
April
- Exclusive
- Big four consultants
Former PwC chief executive Kristin Stubbins starts new firm
The advisory giant’s former boss, and its most senior audit partner, is expected to launch the new business next month.
- Aaron Weinman
‘Risk of regulatory capture’: ASIC hits back at audit criticisms
The watchdog is facing calls to regulate financial reports, sustainability reporting and audit quality.
- Ronald Mizen
ASIC’s ex-chief accountant slams its big four audit reprieve
Doug Niven says ASIC’s move to slash audit quality oversight could be viewed as caving in to firms angry about negative publicity.
- Ronald Mizen
ASIC smooths the way for UK auditors to work in Australia
The Australian corporate regulator and the UK’s audit regulator will allow statutory auditors to have their qualification more easily recognised in either jurisdiction.
- Edmund Tadros
Large companies must file climate reports from 2025
Large companies have been given a six-month reprieve on including climate-related information in their financial reports.
- Edmund Tadros