Deloitte Said to Face Saudi Regulator’s Ban on Audit Work [Bloomberg]
The operative words here are "said to": "Deloitte LLP may be blocked from auditing companies in Saudi Arabia after the country’s market regulator told firms registered in the kingdom to stop using its local services, according to a circular obtained by Bloomberg. The Capital Market Authority said in the circular dated Nov. 27 that publicly traded companies it regulates should avoid working with Deloitte’s Saudi Arabian practice as of June 1. The ban could be revoked if Deloitte resolves a dispute the regulator didn’t specify, according to the circular."
Tchenguiz sues Grant Thornton, Kaupthing, others for $3.5 billion [Reuters]
Ouch: "UK-based property mogul Vincent Tchenguiz said on Thursday he had filed a 2.2 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) lawsuit against accountancy firm Grant Thornton, Icelandic bank Kaupthing and three individuals in the High Court. The lawsuit alleges they conspired to instigate a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into him and his business activities, which was subsequently dropped in 2012 after a series of blunders."
Can You Be Friends With Your Boss? [HBR]
This quote from Ben Dattner, an organizational psychologist, sums it up well: "I wouldn’t make a special effort beyond what you’d do with any other coworker. That would take on a Machiavellian tinge, which I think you don’t want."
EY goes multi-disciplinary as it gains legal services licence [FD]
Following PwC and KPMG's lead in the UK, EY says they're not trying to replace lawyers: "Steve Varley, EY UK chairman and UK&I managing partner, said: 'We aren't competing with the business models of traditional law firms; we are offering something new. By working closely with other parts of the organisation, clients will benefit from our global scale, in-depth industry knowledge as well as having a single point of contact for all of their professional service needs.' "
A simple guide to the sudden collapse in oil prices [Wonkblog]
No lie, it's pretty simple: OPEC isn't cutting production while the U.S. and Canada are producing more oil; demand in Europe and Japan is decreasing; more fuel-efficient cars.
Not a subtle hint, is it?
Last year we rewarded 27,000 employees for engaging in healthy and responsible behaviors by issuing $6.2 m in gift cards/charitable funds!
— PwC US Careers (@PwC_US_Careers) December 1, 2014
Two Drinks With Deloitte’s Mohawked Startup-Whisperer Duleesha Kulasooriya [re/code]
Kulasooriya is an "embedded researcher" and the firm "[has] no idea" what he does. Sounds like an awesome job.