This Month
What the numbers tell us about the future of accounting
I’ve crunched the 1100+ data points for the Top 100 Accounting Firms. What have I learned?
BDO and Ashurst chiefs go global, but grad places plummet
It’s contrasting tales of fortune at the top and bottom of Australian firms. Plus: EY cuts 90 positions while Grant Thornton adds 20+ new partners.
With ANZ’s $24m audit soon to be up for grabs, can KPMG keep winning?
A once-in-a-moon landing contract – no, really, it’s been going since 1969 – is expected to go out to tender. Plus: a rough year for PwC spin-off Scyne.
Big four consulting firms targeted by new Senate inquiry
Anyone from a major firm listening to the Senate would have gasped in horror. Plus: Which firm exited 11 over their conduct, and who won audits from EY.
October
PwC wants to talk AI future, but reckons with its tax leak past
Who audits the AI auditors? Just don’t ask about the tax scandal. Plus: “Synthetic customers” and a bar fight.
Tax agents feel unloved by ATO
Professionals blast the ATO’s inconsistent advice and unskilled staff and are left feeling under-appreciated. Plus: an AI-rapping actuary.
Why ANZ’s CEO loves McKinsey but ‘hates consultants’
Outsourcing is the new enemy as Nuno Matos turns his cost-cutting gaze on consultancy. Plus: a pop star’s decades-long Excel torture.
Deloitte’s repayment fee for botched AI report revealed
The Finance Department says the big four consulting firm was not paid $97,587.11 of a $439,142 contract for a report that included errors traced to AI use. The team that produced it has been sent for additional training.
EY, KPMG, PwC and BCG spruik AI rules after Deloitte’s botched report
Firms say they have strict vetting processes after Deloitte was forced to reissue a $440,000 report containing artificial intelligence-related errors.
Grant Thornton’s 180 partners on cusp of private equity mega-payday
A possible sale means figuring out a price tag for the 1500-strong company. Plus: Deloitte’s ongoing AI nightmare.
The cautionary lessons of Deloitte’s AI sloppiness
The incident plays into the ideological jihad waged by the Greens, who have stereotyped consultants as highly paid fat cats ripping off taxpayers.
Accenture Australia cuts workforce by 10pc
The previously unpublished figure marks the third straight year of staff cuts. Plus: Kearney joins the Optus oversight melee.
September
Revenue at Sayers’ firm revealed as partners depart
Tenet, the firm formerly known as Sayers, is having a tough time as staff depart and revenue drops. Plus: It’s a university consulting bonanza.
ATO’s interest waiver policy leaves tax advisers incredulous
There are multiple investigations on the go into ATO procedures following complaints. Plus: behold the consulting obelisk.
The PwC tax leaks scandal is far from over
Consequences for former CEO Tom Seymour are just the tip of the investigatory iceberg. Plus: a confession about my reporting.
April 2021
Why this strategist’s ‘to-do’ list is capped at five
Kearney partner Kate Hart uses a combination of email, digital notes, shared calendars and “to do” lists, as well as frequent rapid planning sessions, to ensure she is spending her time on the right tasks at work and at home.