March
New Grant Thornton boss to strike at bigger rivals ‘while iron is hot’
Said Jahani wants to elevate the fast-growing firm’s market position, but is cautious on following his UK and US colleagues in taking private capital.
Former EY partner being sued by ATO challenges tax assessment
Peter White is accused of promoting three illegal tax schemes to seven clients and taking $700,000 in secret commissions.
EY proposes massive restructure, merging divisions to find growth
The accounting and consulting major is proposing to end its overarching geographic groupings and merge regions in a move that will likely result in job losses.
New Deloitte CEO does a night of long knives on consulting partners
The usually revered consulting division has been quietly decimated by sackings.
Post-tax-leak PwC looks beyond profit to measure partner performance
The firm’s first independent chairman, John Green, concedes it has a way to go before it fixes a “growth at all costs” culture where rainmakers are “untouchable”.
February
EY to cut about 100 staff, warns of ‘targeted restructuring’
An Ernst & Young representative said market volatility was continuing to affect business and targeted restructuring may be required.
Scyne Advisory gets ethics and accountability sign off from Finance
After 15 months of monitoring, the Department of Finance concluded that Scyne had “implemented appropriate ethics, accountability and governance arrangements”.
Accenture’s DEI exit could draw disgruntled men from big four
Male consultants who feel gender targets have blocked their paths to partnership might see fresh opportunity at the tech consulting giant.
Another PwC Australia deals partner to leave the firm
Senior partner Sanjiv Jeraj is retiring from the big four firm after almost two decades, and a new partner is helping clients use AI.
McKinsey partners mull China pullout in Trump era
The consulting giant is worried that doing business in China may not be worth the risk.
PwC’s advisory chief has an optimistic outlook for the firm’s finances
Rohit Antao says there is plenty of demand for advice on how to grow sales and cut costs, helping to drive a long-awaited rebound in the consulting sector.
Ashurst expands risk advisory team, adding two new partners
Cybersecurity expert Rachael Falk and KPMG partner Kathleen Conner are joining the division, which now has 23 partners globally.
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.
January
Senior PwC partner to lead ASX-listed childcare business Nido
Adam Lai had been the firm’s managing partner in Sydney for the past year and a partner at the firm for more than a decade. He will be paid at least $1 million.
KordaMentha raids KPMG to create new defence advisory business
The new consulting offering will be established as the big four firm’s once-mainstay defence practice continues to erode under a broader government crackdown.
AI can stop phones dropping out, Telstra boss says
Vicki Brady says the telco group’s customers have ‘no appetite’ for phone outages. Her $700 million Accenture deal shows it is getting serious about AI.
BDO poaches big-four talent as partnership hits record high
The country’s fifth-largest accounting firm by revenue has surpassed the 300-partner milestone as it ropes in staff from larger rivals.
December 2024
Are you guilty of using this year’s most awful jargon?
Here’s the past 12 months in words and phrases that professionals love to use, and what they’re really saying. We hope to never see any of them again.
‘Eat what you kill’: How this consultancy is taking on the big four
Alvarez & Marsal’s remuneration model means managing directors can potentially earn multiples of the average big four partner pay.
What Defence spent on consultants could run submarine fleet for a year
What would Defence’s $811 million in spending on the big five consulting firms in 2022-23 buy? Turns out the answer is quite a lot.