Yesterday
Big four exam cheating under spotlight amid AI fears
Academic integrity is in focus for professional regulators after a series of cheating scandals and the rise of artificial intelligence.
- Adam Mawardi
This Month
Let ASIC police big four conflicts: Samuel
Former ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says the big four’s governance changes looked good on paper, but would not fundamentally change the culture of the firms.
- Maxim Shanahan and Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Aviation
Qantas’ Hudson takes the chance to shed some Joyce baggage
Vanessa Hudson has finally accepted reality by making a deal with the competition watchdog over ghost flights.
- Jennifer Hewett
The 24 questions Treasury has about the big four consulting firms
The 16 “potential issues” raised by Treasury and the 24 questions it would like responses to about the structure of the firms and the wider sector.
- Edmund Tadros
- Opinion
- Audit quality
Treasury questions the very nature of the big four consulting firms
Get ready for war as they fight back against suggestions they are too big, incapable of governing themselves and have compromised auditing roles.
- Edmund Tadros
April
Consulting firms step up tough push to oust staff
McKinsey is in the middle of a brutal round of career reviews; consultants will all be graded this month and those deemed to be underperforming will be “counselled to leave”.
- Updated
- Stephen Foley and Simon Foy
PwC aside, big four political donations are so back baby
PwC is still in the sin bin. But all its rivals are now back in the game.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
BHP taps Deloitte for underpayments fix
The nation’s biggest company has brought in Deloitte to help track down former employees affected by a $434 million accounting glitch.
- Peter Ker
‘Risk of regulatory capture’: ASIC hits back at audit criticisms
The watchdog is facing calls to regulate financial reports, sustainability reporting and audit quality.
- Ronald Mizen
- Opinion
- Big four consultants
Consulting clients look elsewhere as trust in big four plummets
Smaller firms have an opportunity to build trust with clients and take work off the previously dominant big four, whose reputation is in tatters.
- George Beaton
KPMG slapped with record $38m fine for exam cheating
KPMG’s Netherlands affiliate was found to have made multiple misrepresentations to the US accounting watchdog about its knowledge of the misconduct.
- Updated
- Chris Prentice
- Exclusive
- Big four consultants
EY to cut 100-plus staff amid advisory downturn
The big four firm will cut more than 100 roles next week, or about 1 per cent of its 10,000-strong workforce, due to the downturn in the consulting market.
- Edmund Tadros
Deloitte to appoint independent members to board
Deloitte Australia will appoint independent members to its 10-person board to provide an external perspective on the way the big four firm operates.
- Edmund Tadros
Big four partners split 44pc of income to cut tax bill: ATO
Big four consulting firm partners distributed $1.2 billion of their collective $2.7 billion profit via trusts and other income splitting measures to reduce their tax bill, the ATO says.
- Edmund Tadros
Former Deloitte consultant emerges as Liberal candidate for Wentworth
The Liberal Party now has its likely candidate but party members and officials have mixed views of the Liberals’ chances of regaining Wentworth.
- Ronald Mizen and Samantha Hutchinson
March
PwC’s ‘project Snow Gum’ eyes sale to big four rival
PwC sought buyers for the firm’s indigenous consultancy unit, once a source of great pride. Enter Deloitte.
- Updated
- Mark Di Stefano
Deloitte restructure ‘year in the making’
Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick says a global restructure will strip out duplicated roles and make it easier to respond to client needs.
- Edmund Tadros
Deloitte launches biggest shake-up in a decade to cut costs
The revamp to cut its main business units from five to four comes after the big four firm decided against splitting up its audit and consulting businesses.
- Updated
- Simon Foy and Stephen Foley
- Updated
- Accounting
Court actions against Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC
The big four consulting firms face a range of court actions over their auditing and advisory work. The list was last updated on March 18, 2024.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton
NAB owed $9.7m from alleged fruit stand fraud ring
NAB claims a company central to a scheme that allegedly falsified revenues and invoices to steal $15 million from Westpac also owes it more than $9.7 million.
- Lucas Baird
