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Compensation
Accounting firm salaries rose slightly this year [CFO Brew]
Salaries at accounting firms have gone up this year—but perhaps not at the level where it matters most. According to Accounting Today’s third annual salary survey, median base salaries at accounting firms crept upward in 2026. For senior accountants, they reached a median of $98,500, and for managers, around $142,000. Partners at small firms—defined in this survey as those with fewer than 10 employees—brought home a median salary of $150,000, while those at firms with 10 or more employees made median salaries of $260,000. The median salary at the staff level though, went down slightly: from $75,000 last year to $73,000 this year. That’s a somewhat concerning trend, as lower starting salaries are one reason young people often cite for not entering the accounting profession.
AI
Watchdog says it can’t investigate Deloitte over use of AI in $1.6M government report [The Independent]
A provincial accounting watchdog says it will not be investigating Deloitte following a complaint about the firm’s use of AI in the $1.6-million human resources report it produced for Newfoundland and Labrador’s department of health last year. The Independent has also learned that the provincial government and Deloitte collaborated on a response to a media query about the scandal which prompted the Tony Wakeham government to change its policy around AI disclosure in the public procurement process.
Law & Order
PwC International must face trial of Evergrande scandals claims: Hong Kong High Court [South China Morning Post]
The liquidators of collapsed developer China Evergrande Group have won a legal victory against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) International, indicating that the firm and two other units of the accounting giant would need to jointly face the largest corporate lawsuit claims in Hong Kong, according to a court judgment on Wednesday.
Court penalises accounting firm $148,000 after ‘cashback’ wage scheme [Human Resources Director]
A Sydney accounting firm made a worker pay her own wages back to it – and a court has now penalised it $148,000. The employee worked as an assistant accountant from July 2019 to December 2020. She held a temporary graduate visa and a bachelor’s degree in accounting. For the first stretch of her employment, the court found, she was not paid at all. What followed was what the agreed facts called a “cashback” scheme. The director required her to pay money to him or the firm. Those funds were then moved through a company account and paid back to her, so the transfers looked like salary.
Tax Matters
Legislators could fix property tax, they ‘just don’t politically want to,’ says revenue chair [Nevada Current]
State Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) this week had the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal staff lay out several options to members of the interim committee on revenue, which she chairs. Neal said she included the “educational only” presentation after hearing rumblings about the need for the state to conduct a study on property tax. “We should not spend another hot dime, or six pennies, on another property tax study,” said Neal. “Because we know what the answer is. We just don’t politically want to do any of these solutions.”
Data centers could score a break under next assessor [Axios]
A recent Tribune-Illinois Answers Project collaboration showed that tax breaks for data centers are already contributing to high costs for some residents. Appraisers for a Microsoft data center in Northlake, for example, valued the property at $250 million. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office, however, assessed it at $873 million by considering upgrades, equipment and personal property that allow it to operate as a data center and contribute to its value, the Tribune reports.
SEC
Executive Pay Disclosure Plan for Public Firms Advanced by SEC [Bloomberg]
The markets watchdog sent its proposal to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review on Wednesday, according to an update posted Thursday on the OMB’s website. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has long signaled his intent to overhaul the scope of executive compensation disclosures that have been in place since 1992. At an agency roundtable in June 2025, he described the requirements as a “Frankenstein patchwork of rules,” some of which were congressionally mandated, and many that were not.
Talent
Why tax and finance transformation for utilities is now essential [EY]
Utilities are confronting a talent challenge that cannot be solved through hiring alone. The 2025 EY Tax and Finance Operations (TFO) Survey for Power & Utilities highlights a clear shift in how leaders view the skills required for the future: Virtually all US respondents identify strategic thinking and problem-solving as critical capabilities, on par with tax technical knowledge. At the same time, supply is tightening. More than half of respondents believe fewer accountants entering the profession will be detrimental to their organization, even as regulatory complexity continues to rise. These pressures are further intensified by evolving reporting expectations, which are increasing demands on already stretched teams.
Municipal Madness
Woonsocket Has Paid About $865,000 to Outside Firms While Two City Audits Stay Overdue [Uprise RI]
The figures came out during a discussion of the overdue audits, according to the Woonsocket City Council’s published meeting recording. Councilor James C. Cournoyer put the total at $865,000 — $553,000 to CBIZ, the city’s audit firm, and $310,000 to CLA, an accounting firm hired to supplement city staff — and said that with outstanding bills included the number is “close to $900,000 over 18 months.” “We got an FY23 audit. I’m not sure what else we got, to be very honest with you,” Cournoyer said. He added that he had no issue with the quality of either firm’s work, and that the problem was internal management: “We need to manage this better internally.”
OC Board of Supervisors wants to know if it can subpoena companies investigated in county audit [Orange County Register]
The OC Board of Supervisors wants to know what legal means Orange County has for getting financial records from companies that are not producing records of how taxpayer funding was used. Supervisor Janet Nguyen expressed frustration that businesses are still not providing receipts and other documents to show whether they delivered the services they were contracted to provide.
Private Equity
HBK sells stake to private equity as it pursues growth [Crain’s Cleveland Business]
HBK, the Canfield-based parent company of HBK CPAs & Consultants and related subsidiaries — including HBKS Wealth Advisors (the dba of HBK Sorce Advisory LLC), a registered investment advisor, and Vertilocity, an IT advisory practice — said that it has accepted a growth investment from H.I.G. Capital, an alternative investment firm in Miami reporting $75 billion in managed capital. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.
