Good morning, capital markets servants. Some news, if you please.
In this news brief
It’s Good to Be the Boss
Although layoffs hit the firm hard, the big man at Deloitte UK ain’t doing so bad, reports Financial Times:
Deloitte boss Richard Houston’s pay rose by almost half to £7.1mn ($9.5 million USD) last year after the Big Four accounting firm cut jobs and reduced the share of profits it hands to new partners.
He was also paid a £1.3mn “one-off award” from an incentive plan tied to strategic and financial targets for his work for the firm’s wider European operations.
Oh Hey, KPMG Got a #1
Over in Australia, Big 4 misconduct reports are piling up:
In its responses to questions taken on notice during its appearance at a parliamentary hearing into the alleged audit misconduct at KPMG Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) provided updated data since the hearing on 4 September 2026, where it previously identified 139 reports of misconduct at the big four accounting firms.
ASIC has now said that between the extended period of 1 July 2023 and 7 October 2026, it received 153 reports of misconduct relating to the big four firms.
Interestingly, the article says that some of these reports cover multiple firms. They also shared a leaderboard of sorts, one in which KPMG came out on top for once:
KPMG recorded the highest figure of 53 reports, followed by Deloitte (47) and PwC (42), while EY stood last at 18.
Deloitte Struggles With Math
The Australian government is pissed at Deloitte after the firm produced a report full of errors, one of which was a math error off by $260 million:
The Western Australian government has said it is “extremely disappointed” and is seeking an “expedited” cost recovery from Deloitte after errors were discovered in a report about a potential university merger, including AI-hallucinated references and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost discrepancies.
Oh and the report was stuffed with slop:
Deloitte is already under pressure after it was revealed in the media this month that the same report contained hallucinated AI references, leading the state opposition to label it “AI slop”.
The consultancy firm admits in its report it used generative AI to “support the collation of research, synthesis of information and editorial proofing” and had earlier dismissed the errors as “minor”.
Tax Court Isn’t Infallible
Tax Court got one wrong, reports Bloomberg Tax:
The US Tax Court committed “glaring interpretive errors” when deciding it doesn’t need to automatically reject petitions filed outside of a statutory 90-day deadline, according to a filing by the IRS.
The court should reconsider its opinion in Big Apple Tompkins Realty v. Commissioner because it directly conflicts with another opinion handed down in 2025, the IRS said Oct. 21. There, in North Wall Holdings v. Commissioner, the opinion said another deadline is jurisdictional and therefore the court must reject late filings without regard to extraordinary circumstances.
Citizen Gives CBIZ a Pass
In Little Compton, Rhode Island, the locals are asking where the town’s late 2025 audit is:
A Little Compton resident asked the Town Council on Thursday night for a detailed written update on the town’s overdue fiscal 2025 audit, saying the town had been told months ago to expect it by June, according to the Little Compton Town Council’s published meeting recording.
It seems the resident was being chill about it, understanding that the town’s audit firm may be busy with that big merger we all found out about over the summer:
The resident said the council had been told, in what the resident believed was March, that the audit could reasonably be expected in June. The resident called that date “aggressive” because it is a new audit and because the audit firm, CBIZ, is going through its own transaction. The resident said they had been willing to “cut some slack” on that, but “we’re coming up to November now.”
The CBIZ/Grant Thornton merger is expected to close some time this quarter. When this quarter is anyone’s guess.
Accounting Manager’s Company Bankrupted By E-girls
A Japanese man who was head of accounting for an industrial machinery manufacturer has been arrested after he drained more than more than 200 million yen ($1.3 million USD) of company money to tip female content creators:
Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 62-year-old accounting manager accused of siphoning millions of yen from his employer to lavish online tips on female live streamers.
According to the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 22), the massive theft that ultimately drove the company into bankruptcy.
Yoshinori Kikuno, a resident of Daito City, was arrested by the Fuse Police Station on suspicion of professional embezzlement, authorities announced on October 22.
The report does not clarify if we’re talking about camgirls or V-tubers. Not sure which is worse.
And that’s it. There are a few things that came through over the weekend we’re saving for their own stories so stay tuned. Email or text if you have a tip or story for us. OK, bye.