This Month
Consultants face decade-low growth slump
Annual growth in the sector is forecast to fall to its lowest level – apart from the short-lived pandemic slump – since 2015.
- Edmund Tadros
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
KPMG appoints ex-RAAF officer as part of halved partner intake
KPMG has announced a significantly reduced intake of new partners as it pivots away from generalist consulting.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Professional Services Winners
- Women in Leadership
‘Non-conforming bid’ that took dynamic duo to the top
The winners of the Professional Services category are two Arup engineers who proposed a unique joint arrangement to enable them to balance leadership and family commitments.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Exclusive
- Cybersecurity
‘Merger of equals’ as two Aussie tech services firms become one
The combined business will compete in a growing but crowded field as firms scramble to up their cybersecurity and add AI to their services.
- Nick Bonyhady
Tough jobs market for consultants wanting to jump ship to industry
Advisers seeking exit opportunities or new roles after job cuts are facing fierce competition for ‘transformation’ and ‘strategy’ roles in companies.
- Edmund Tadros
Consultants to lose $5.76b of UK government work
Public sector consultants are under attack in the UK, following a pullback on their use by the Australian government.
- Simon Foy
- Exclusive
- AI
EY looks to Microsoft as consultants seek AI sales edge
EY is giving all staff access to Microsoft’s new AI sales assistant in an effort to win tech-related advisory and software installation contracts.
- Tess Bennett
Economist Jeremy Thorpe goes boutique after PwC Australia
The long-time PwC partner said there had been a clear shift in client demand “away from the big four consulting firms”.
- Edmund Tadros
How this senior consultant uses AI to get more work done
Kearney’s Anshuman Sengar says using generative AI tools to summarise meetings, write emails and research topics has helped him become more effective at work.
- Edmund Tadros
From union boss to KPMG chief: ‘Unlearning’ key to Paul Howes’ success
The senior KPMG partner is as surprised as anyone else that he will chalk up 10 years at the firm next month.
- Edmund Tadros
KPMG launches radical overhaul, cuts 200 senior jobs
KPMG Australia will overhaul its consulting business to focus on tech-related advisory and software installation as part of an $80 million cost-cutting exercise that will include cutting about 200 roles at the firm.
- Edmund Tadros
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Consulting pile-on wound back
The argument for a more company-like corporate form and regulation of professional services partnerships raises two questions that will need thinking through.
- The AFR View
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Former PwC Australia partner flags legal action against firm
A former senior partner, Wayne Plummer, has indicated he will sue the firm after being publicly linked to its tax leaks scandal.
- Edmund Tadros and Maxim Shanahan
What Senate inquiry said about big four, now trying to ‘rebuild trust’
The big four consultancies have welcomed the Senate’s final report into the sector, which largely avoided direct criticism of individuals and firms.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Big four can’t be allowed to stay in ‘grey zone’ of PwC scandal
The Senate report makes it clear the big accounting firms have fallen through the regulatory gaps. That structural problem must eventually be addressed.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- PwC tax scandal
The consulting free-for-all in Canberra is coming to an end
A Senate committee’s recommendations go beyond changes made by the federal government after the PwC tax leaks scandal.
- Edmund Tadros
Greens call for accounting firms to be limited to 100 partners
The maximum size of accounting partnerships should be cut from 1000 to 100, and audit firms should be forced to separate their consulting divisions, the Greens say.
- Edmund Tadros and Maxim Shanahan
Inquiry calls for strict new rules for big four consulting firms
Parliamentary approval of contracts and a review of laws governing partnerships are among the final recommendations of a Senate inquiry into outsourcing.
- Edmund Tadros and Maxim Shanahan
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The simple fix to the PwC scandal that consultants would hate
On the eve of the final report of the Senate inquiry into the consulting sector, a simple way of ensuring accountability has been proposed.
- James Thomson