Yesterday
Macquarie director still part of audit selection despite KPMG past
Glenn Stevens, the chairman of the finance giant, said Michelle Hinchliffe would be involved and concerns about any conflict of interest was “silly talk”.
This Month
Macquarie Group audit chair’s KPMG fraternising
After she became a Macquarie director, but long before its auditing contract was put out to tender, Hinchliffe gave a fireside chat to KPMG audit partners.
From Seek to Wesfarmers, major audits up for grabs as firms circle
Some of the market’s most lucrative and long-held contracts are being fought over as professional services rivals try to nab millions of dollars in new work.
KPMG, EY frontrunners to snatch coveted Macquarie audit role from PwC
Working on the investment and banking giant’s books is one of the most complex jobs for an accounting firm, but one that promises a significant windfall.
April
Big four culture makes partner hires unattractive: RSM chief executive
The mid-tier firm prefers to develop its own leaders over hiring from the big four consulting firms – unless those recruits can prove they are team players.
March
Former EY partner Jason McLean moves to PwC
The move is part of a push at PwC Australia to beef up its financial services advisory offering.
February
Deloitte agrees to pay Noumi shareholders $31m for audit failure
In a proposal circulated to aggrieved investors, the firm said it would pay almost three-quarters of the settlement. Accounting problems in 2020 sent Noumi shares plunging.
December 2024
Accounting, audit and finance roles added to fast-track visa list
Jobs and Skills Australia has added a range of accounting, audit and finance roles to its list of occupations eligible to apply for new fast-track visas.
November 2024
MinRes scandal: Where was internal audit?
The non-executive director and former KPMG partner in charge of cleaning up the miner’s conflicts of interest mess will have to review the internal audit work done by KPMG.
Deloitte made me do it: CEO throws auditor under the bus
A weekend call from the auditors sent the $1.7 billion Web Travel into a spin.
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.
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.
October 2024
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.
September 2024
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.
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.
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.
August 2024
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.
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.
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.
July 2024
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.