Yesterday
The big winners as scandal forces big four into retreat
Mid-sized firms such as those run by Steve Meyn of PKF, Jamie O’Rourke of RSM and Annabelle Clare of Walshs had their best year on record as clients move away from out-of-favour big players.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros
October
EY to hold back some pay from US partners after tough year
The big four accounting firm tries to manage cash flow issues by deferring 2 per cent of annual compensation.
- Stephen Foley
Lloyd’s of London tracking Monday office attendance
It comes amid growing concerns across businesses that workers are either flouting demands to come into the office more regularly or effectively extending the weekend.
- Adam Mawardi and Luke Barr
September
The most powerful people in the consulting sector in 2024
As the fallout from the PwC scandal still looms large, smaller operations are moving in on the big four’s turf.
- Edmund Tadros
- Exclusive
- Tax avoidance
Revealed: the former EY partner being sued by the ATO
Peter White allegedly took $700,000 in secret commissions while setting up illegal tax schemes for wealthy clients.
- Max Mason
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
Deal struck on laws to rein in rogue tax agents
The government and accounting industry have agreed to new wording for laws to rein in rogue tax agents to quell industry fears they would have to disclose mental health information to clients.
- Edmund Tadros
PwC to parachute in UK partner to run scandal-hit China business
The accounting firm’s global leaders have tapped Hemione Hudson, a runner-up in the race to lead PwC UK earlier this year, to lead the China operation.
- Stephen Foley, Michael O’Dwyer and Simon Foy
Deloitte brings back face-to-face UK graduate interviews
The move comes amid pressure from the accounting regulator for firms to clamp down on the potential for cheating in virtual assessments.
- Simon Foy
Labor shift over crackdown on tax agents
The new stance was announced after a meeting between Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and a coalition of 10 professional associations.
- Edmund Tadros
PwC UK to track workers’ locations in office attendance crackdown
The big four firm will send British employees their monthly working location data as it toughens up on its hybrid working policy.
- Chris Price, Alex Singleton and Lucy Burton
August
Tax agents won’t have to disclose mental health help: government
The government has again denied claims tax agents would have to disclose private mental health information to clients, and is open to tweaking the new laws.
- Edmund Tadros and Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Rear Window
Luke Sayers lands and expands in the capital
Unburdened by the PwC fallout, Sayers is hiring in Canberra. A look at the federal tenders won by his firm helps explains why.
- Mark Di Stefano
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
PwC moves to settle former partner’s defamation action
The firm is close to settling a case brought by a former partner incorrectly and publicly linked to the notorious tax leaks scandal.
- Max Mason
McKinsey partner set to pop up at Bankwest
Commonwealth Bank-owned Bankwest is transitioning to a digital-only bank by the end of 2024.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
PwC braces for a six-month ban in China
The expected punishment for work on the failed property developer Evergrande’s accounts would be Beijing’s toughest penalty handed down against a big four firm.
- Updated
- Stephen Foley, Cheng Leng, Eleanor Olcott and Wenjie Ding
Luke Sayers turns big four poacher
The former PwC chief executive escaped the full blowback of his old firm’s scandal. Now, business is booming.
- Mark Di Stefano
New rules will stop tax agents seeking mental health help: CA ANZ
The claims about new laws designed to rein in rogue tax agents were denied by the government and the chairman of the tax regulator.
- Edmund Tadros
Bureaucrats missed ‘basic’ 2026 Commonwealth Games cost factors
Bureaucrats and consultants who pulled together the original business case for the doomed 2026 Commonwealth Games missed basic cost factors, a Victorian inquiry has heard.
- Callum Godde
- Opinion
- The AFR View
PwC saga puts structural split of big four on radar
At the front and centre of the tax leak scandal are fundamental questions about the structure and integrity of the consulting sector.
- The AFR View