Promotion Watch ’20: Grant Thornton Admits 30 New Partners and Principals
Grant Thornton unveiled its 66 newest partners, principals, and managing directors on Thursday, and if we just take a look at the latest class of partners and principals, the number of purple roses that were handed out was a lot less than in previous years. Thanks, Rona. The group of 30 new partners and principals […]
RSM US FY 2020 Revenue Results: $2.7 Billion and 4 Guardrails
The 2020 RSM US annual report is out, and boy is it a real page-turner. But I found what I was looking for in the “Our Perspective” portion of the report: RSM’s FY 2020 revenue. If you’ve perused INSIDE Public Accounting’s latest ranking of the top 100 public accounting firms in the U.S. based on […]
After a Tough Spring, Raises Are Back on the Table at RSM
In April of this year, we reported that RSM had begun performance-based layoffs which likely had little to do with that whole Rona thing that caused multiple firms to start laying people off and slashing salaries back then. Then in June we reported that more than a few tipsters were upset to hear raises would […]
BDO USA Staff Are Back to Getting Their Pre-Rona Paychecks
It feels like it’s been four years, not four months, since BDO USA told employees their paychecks would be a little bit lighter for a while as the firm began to navigate the rough waters caused by everyone’s favorite pandemic. But that 5% to 10% pay cut BDO staff had to endure from May 1 […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part I
Aug. 10 was a big day for the PR team at Grant Thornton in the Cayman Islands because they actually had some news to write about. They hadn’t sent out a news release since June 12. But after GT nabbed a director from PwC in the Caymans, the firm actually gave its PR team something […]
Grant Thornton U.K.’s Latest Audit Inspection Report Is Out, and It’s Almost as Bad as Last Year’s
Welp, Grant Thornton’s 2019-20 audit quality inspection report from the Financial Reporting Council shows that GT hasn’t really gotten much better at audit quality in the past year. That’s kind of a problem when you’re the sixth-biggest accounting firm in the U.K. Last year the FRC was pretty unhappy with Grant Thornton after the firm’s […]
BDO U.K.’s Audit Quality Is In the Same Class with Rivals PwC and KPMG
Next up in our review of the most recent Financial Reporting Council audit quality inspection reports are the top midtier accounting firms, or as the U.K. calls them, the “challenger firms” to the Big 4. Let’s start with the firm that’s closest to the Big 4 in terms of revenue—BDO. Bravo Delta Oscar recently got […]
BDO U.K. Finally Loses Its Virginity to the Financial Reporting Council
Congrats to BDO for getting its first-ever fine from the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council for committing an auditing boner. Now BDO can say it finally has something in common with the Big 4. The Financial Times reported today: Accountancy firm BDO has received its first UK audit fine from the industry’s regulator for rule breaches […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Grant Thornton Is the Latest Firm to Trim Some Staff
Happy Friday, everyone! Hopefully you all made it through this week unscathed and still have your job. Unfortunately for some employees of Grant Thornton, they can’t say the same. We received this tip a little bit ago: Looks like GT will be cutting some advisory people and furloughing new hires and cutting some executive assistants. […]
Layoff Watch ’20: BDO USA Waved Goodbye to Some Folks In Advisory
This came in through the tipline about an hour or so ago: BDO Advisory US had a RIF yesterday… about 3% of workforce… low performers but also told it was due to economic conditions… guess the comp reduction didn’t “keep our family together.” So the email I got yesterday from a person saying (s)he was […]
Newly Promoted RSM US Employee Ponders Life and COVID-19’s Impact on Future Earnings
RSM US isn’t making it rain much these days for those receiving a promotion. Compensation discussions are underway at RSM US, and if you remember, only those getting a promotion at the House of Adams are receiving raises—which were capped at 5% this year as the firm muddles its way through the COVID-19 crisis. Looking […]
Layoff Watch ’20: At Least One BDO Canada Office Is Downsizing Its Headcount
[Updated on July 10 with additional information.] Unfortunately we are hearing more news of Canadian accounting professionals losing their jobs. Although we haven’t been able to confirm yet if there have been firm-wide job cuts at BDO Canada, we were told by a source at BDO in Vancouver on July 9 that several people at […]
Layoff Watch ’20: RSM Is Apparently Lightening Its Load In Canada
Hearing word today that RSM Canada has started handing out pink slips, and the culprit seems to be lower-than-expected revenues due to a downturn in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a source, a practice leader sent out this email to staff on Tuesday: Although as a firm we remain in a strong […]
Grant Thornton U.K. Given Seven-Figure Fine For Totally Blowing Ethics and Independence Rules
In hockey if you get penalized for misconduct, you spend the next 10 minutes in the penalty box and feel shame. In auditing if you get penalized for misconduct, you pay some slap-on-the-wrist fine from a regulator, vow to be better next time, and go on your merry way. The Queen’s Grant Thornton is the […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Someone From EY and Issues a Press Release, Part I
While public accounting firms in the U.S. are registering about zero on the competitive poaching Richter scale these days, the bigger firms in the U.K. continue to shake things up. Take Grant Thornton, for example. Dan Dickinson, GT’s newest partner in its tax practice, is an EY refugee. From a press release seen by the […]
Comp Watch ’20: BDO USA Is Restoring Everyone’s Pay—But Promotions and Raises Will Have to Wait
Hope everyone had a good weekend celebrating the ol’ red, white, and blue. Speaking of red, white, and blue, the firm that sports these colors, BDO USA, is ending pay cuts effective Aug. 1, according to sources. You gotta hand it to BDO thus far. The firm cut employee pay 5% to 10% in early […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Grant Thornton U.K. Is Forcing 70 Employees to Take Early Exits
Over the past three months, we’ve chronicled as best we could all the job cuts—which unfortunately have affected several thousands of professionals so far—that have occurred at U.S. public accounting firms during the coronavirus pandemic. Incredibly we haven’t been made aware of or read about any layoffs that have gone down at the biggest accounting […]
Comp Watch ’20: Raises and Bonuses Are Looking a Bit Paltry at RSM US
If we look back at the firms in ’Murica that have sent the most people packing during the COVID-19 pandemic, three immediately come to mind: Deloitte (obviously), Crowe, and RSM US, which had not one but two rounds of job cuts. Those left standing at RSM must be feeling pretty resilient, having somehow dodged two […]
Rumor Mill: Grant Thornton Canada Employees Are Still Being Asked to Work Crazy Hard Despite Reduced Hours and Pay
While other big Canadian firms are strongly encouraging their staffs to voluntarily scale back their billable hours and take a reduction in pay (but not in their workloads) for the sake of saving jobs (even though that didn’t work out too well at Deloitte), folks at Grant Thornton aren’t being voluntold to do this, they’re […]
BDO USA Auditors Are Still Riding On the Struggle Bus, Latest PCAOB Inspection Report Reveals
People who know, know BDO USA has had some of the suckiest audit inspection reports recently among the firms that are annually inspected by the PCAOB. From 2012 to 2017, an average of 59% of BDO audits inspected by the PCAOB had significant errors. Yeesh. Things were sorta looking better when the PCAOB released BDO’s […]
Grant Thornton’s 2018 PCAOB Inspection Report Is Not As Good As 2017’s, Not As Bad As 2012’s
Monday morning we got an email that the PCAOB had dropped six 2018 inspection reports on us—the Big 4 firms, Grant Thornton, and BDO USA—so everyone’s favorite audit cops could show off their new snazzy inspection report format. This might have been the largest one-day release of reports of firms that are inspected annually by […]
Promotion Watch ’20: A Dozen Grant Thornton Partners Have New Titles to Show Off On LinkedIn
These are your new Grant Thornton office managing partners: Brett Beightol, Orange County, CA, succeeds Alan Herrmann on Aug. 1. Hermann was promoted to lead Grant Thornton’s West region tax practice in 2019. Mike Desmond, Charlotte, NC, succeeds Dave Wedding who is retiring on July 31. David Gifford, Phoenix, succeeds Tim Zingraf on Aug. 1. […]
Furlough Watch ’20: Apparently RSM US Is Putting Many Of Its Recruiters On Ice, Conducted Second Round of Job Cuts
[Updated on May 20 with additional information.] Nearly a month after RSM US told a slew of underperformers that their services were no longer wanted, we got word on Monday afternoon that furloughs and job cuts have started to hit the firm’s recruiting staff. A source told us: As of right now, it is most […]
RSM Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part I
While RSM US is laying people off left and right, we haven’t heard about such things going on at Really Still McGladrey in the U.K. Sure, they’ve had their fair share of problems, like screwing up its internal accounting so bad that they got rid of their CEO, CFO, and COO. Then there was that […]
Grant Thornton to Staff: ‘Don’t Expect Raises or Bonuses This Year, Sry’
We’ve gotten news this afternoon from a few sources that Grant Thornton has broken it to their loyal employees that no one should expect raises this year, with one exception. One tipster writes: GT firmwide call – promotions continuing with raise commensurate with level, no raise or bonus to anyone else Another tipster informs us […]
Layoff Watch ’20: What’s This About Grant Thornton ‘Optimizing’ Some People?
We were told the other day that Grant Thornton recently got rid of some GTers who were not meeting their utilization goals. ’Tis the season for cutting loose low performers, regardless of a deadly pandemic and a shitty economy. Here’s the tip we got: They’re “optimizing” people at GT US in certain departments. Digital transformation […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Apparently Some Grant Thornton Canada Employees Had to Give Up Their Purple Roses
We got word recently that the Purple Rose of Chicago Toronto has shown some people the door at a few offices in Grant Thornton’s Southern Ontario Business Unit. Here’s what a source told us: 1. Layoffs occurred on March 30th and April 14th. Appears select few senior leaders in GT are short term layoff decisions […]
BDO Poaches Someone From Deloitte and Issues a Press Release, Part II
People who know, know BDO … just L-O-V-E-S poaching the Big 4, especially in Canada. It makes Bravo Delta Oscar feel all puffy-chested. Lately, Deloitte Canada has been a partner training ground for future BDOers, as weird as that sounds. In early March, Erica McCurdy joined BDO as a partner after a 10-year career at […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Here’s What We’ve Been Told About the Job Cuts at RSM US
[Updated with additional information.] Rumor had it that the hammer would be dropped on hundreds of RSM US employees on April 21. We can confirm that layoffs did occur on Tuesday in multiple offices, we don’t know how many people in total lost their jobs (but it wasn’t the 300 that was rumored), and from […]
BDO Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Parts II and III
With all this bad stuff like layoffs and pay cuts and furloughs going on in public accounting, it warms the cockles of my heart that there’s still a little competitive poaching going on. We have to go to Australia to find some, but like I tell my kids: You get what you get and you […]
Grant Thornton Reducing Partner Draws By 25% For the Rest of FY 2020
[Updated with message from CEO Brad Preber to Grant Thornton staff.] Yesterday evening as I was on my way home from picking up some Red Robin for dinner for me and my family, we got a text on the tipline that Grant Thornton partners in the U.S. are taking a 25% pay cut. That was […]
BDO USA Is Cutting Everyone’s Pay to Stave Off Layoffs
[Updated with additional information.] Just got this from the tipline: [BDO USA CEO] Wayne Berson just announced we were taking a 5-10% paycut at all levels (salaried) from May 1st-August 1st (St Louis is the one exception, they’re starting May 16). Hourly is the same, just starting one or two days later after the salaried […]
RSM US Joins the Mandatory Work-From-Home Party
Today’s been one of the most crazy and, in my opinion, unprecedented days we’ve ever seen covering public accounting, where three of the Big 4 and a slew of other firms are ditching their U.S. offices and going strictly remote work for the time being because of COVID-19. A tipster let us know this evening […]
Grant Thornton Canada Is Totally Giving Its Hourly Employees the Shaft
Hey, accounting firm CEOs, listen up. A global pandemic is not the time to be screwing your employees—salaried and hourly—out of pay and/or their PTO time. Grant Thornton in the U.S. is seemingly taking care of all of its employees as the firm has transitioned to all remote work until at least the end of […]
Grant Thornton Is Going All In On Working From Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
While many accounting firms are “empowering” and “encouraging” their employees to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak, but still ultimately leaving it up to them to make that decision, Grant Thornton employees had that decision made for them yesterday. A tipster sent us this message that all GTers received from CEO Brad Preber on […]
BDO Poaches Someone From Deloitte and Issues a Press Release, Part I
So around 12:30 this morning, as I checked BDO Canada’s website for any kind of update on the BDO employee in Toronto who has COVID-19, I noticed that the firm recently hired a new assurance partner for its office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her name is Erica McCurdy, and she left Deloitte Canada to join […]
BDO Employee In Canada Infected with Coronavirus
BDO is the first non-Big 4 firm that we know of that reportedly has an employee in Toronto who tested positive for COVID-19. Here’s what Global News in Canada reported on March 10: Global News has obtained a memo sent to workers at BDO Canada on Wellington Street East in Toronto advising them that a […]
Grant Thornton Economist Says Coronavirus Is an ‘Economic Pandemic’
“We know a health pandemic is global in scope, and although this has not been called a health pandemic yet, it may get there, we are seeing a global in scope reaction to the virus. As countries move to contain the virus, those actions in and of themselves are disrupting global economic activity, and that […]
RSM’s 6.9% Increase In Global Revenue For 2019 Seems Respectable
Revenue growth for RSM’s global network of firms over the past few years has been steady, if not unremarkable. From 2014 to 2018, global revenue increased an average of about 5.3% each year. But everything was on the up and up for RSM in 2019. Other than what’s in this infographic, RSM wasn’t too transparent […]
BDO Canada Took a Page Out of BDO USA’s Playbook of Bad Auditing
We’ve had some fun over the years picking on BDO USA for its auditing imperfections, from blowing the 2009 audit of General Employment Enterprises Inc. to three former BDO accountants getting into trouble for misdeeds made in the 2013 audit of AmTrust Financial Services Inc. to god-awful PCAOB audit inspection reports. How horrible have BDO’s […]
BDO’s World Domination Tour Makes Its Next Stop: Baltimore
Cookies will be served. Why Baltimore? Maybe because BDO USA CEO Wayne Berson is a big fan of Under Armour apparel? Or maybe because he’s binge-watching all five seasons of The Wire on HBO Now? Nah, it’s because BDO just bought a Baltimore-area investment and tax advisory firm. Baltimore Business Journal reported: Chicago-based BDO completed […]
Mike McGuire Is Retiring From Grant Thornton
Mike McGuire with his man-crush, Rickie Fowler. Farewell to Mike McGuire, former CEO-turned-CEO emeritus of Grant Thornton, who is hanging it up in February after 17 years with the Purple Rose of Chicago. “I am so pleased about the progress we’ve made growing our firm and serving clients’ needs during my time at Grant Thornton,” […]
Grant Thornton Made a Little Magic Happen In 2019
Despite layoffs at its U.S. firm and general malaise about its audit practice in the U.K., Grant Thornton pulled a rabbit out of its hat and managed to increase global revenue by 5.1% to $5.72 billion in the 2019 financial year that ended on Sept. 30. Instead of me regurgitating all the numbers provided in […]
RSM U.K. Did a Little House Cleaning
There recently was a shake-up among management at the Queen’s RSM, as the firm kicked a couple people out of the C-suite after it misstated its results by almost £10 million over two years. Sound familiar? Does anyone here remember RSM Tenon? This is the second time that RSM’s internal accounting has tripped it up. […]
BDO Knows You Just Wasted One Minute of Your Life Watching Its Latest Holiday Video Card
I just did. Thanks for nothing, BDO. It might not be the lamest accounting firm holiday video card we’ve seen, but it ranks right up there.
PwC and BDO Hong Kong Affiliates Got Their Hands Slapped by the PCAOB
As we begin to take a look back at the year that was 2019, one of the weird things public accounting firms were disciplined for this year by the PCAOB was for not disclosing that they’ve been the focus of a non-PCAOB disciplinary hearing. According to PCAOB Rule 2203, if a firm is a defendant […]
Grant Thornton Elects Three Dynamic Individuals to Partnership Board
Purple roses were bestowed to three dynamos who were elected to the partnership board at Chez Preber. The newest board members are: Robert Fox: Bert is national managing partner of professional standards, based in Chicago. He leads the Purple Rose of Chicago’s national office teams over accounting principles, audit methodology, SEC and regulatory matters, and […]
Another Grant Thornton U.K. Audit Was a Total Disaster
So say the folks at the Financial Reporting Council in the U.K., which fined Grant Thornton £650,000 earlier today for crapping up the audit of a publicly listed company in 2016. The name of the company wasn’t released by the FRC, which is bogus, and neither was the name of the engagement partner at GT […]
BDO Is the Little Dipper of Accounting Firms
While we patiently wait for KPMG’s 2019 global revenue results to be released sometime within the next week, BDO slid into our inboxes today announcing that its global revenue hit $9.6 billion in 2019, up from $9 billion last year. One of the keys to BDO’s growth is all the shopping the firm has done […]
RKL Poaches Someone From BDO and Issues a Press Release, Part I
When the 61st ranked accounting firm in the nation steals someone away from a firm like BDO, it’s kinda newsworthy. Well, newsworthy enough for a slow Wednesday late afternoon in early December. And newsworthy enough for RKL that it warranted a press release: RKL LLP announced that Michael T. McAllister, CPA, CITP, CISA, has joined […]
There Will Be Two Fewer Drunk People at BDO U.K.’s Holiday Party This Year
Not looking to be the next EY, BDO U.K. is taking steps this year to ensure female staff can enjoy themselves at firm holiday parties without worrying about getting groped by randy colleagues. How? By suggesting a pair of squares stay sober to monitor the festivities. In an internal memo obtained by The Financial Times, […]
RSM’s Golf Tournament Is Being Upstaged By a Huge Capsized Cargo Ship
The RSM Classic, also known as “Joe Adams’ Annual Schmoozefest,” is going on right now at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia. And unless you work for RSM, the saying “saving the best for last” doesn’t apply to this tournament, the finale of the 2019 PGA Tour season. Only one golfer in the top 20 […]
RSM Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part I
Scott Wilson has more than 15 years of professional experience “helping businesses innovate, transform, and grow.” RSM US was in need of a new audit innovation leader. So it was a match made in heaven, or the cloud, or whatever. RSM US LLP (“RSM”) – the nation’s leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Someone From Deloitte and Issues a Press Release, Part II
It’s been more than four years since Going Concern has reported on someone changing their team colors from green to purple, but that happened recently as Grant Thornton nabbed a former managing partner at Deloitte Consulting to join its Public Sector Healthcare practice. David B. Weir, Jr. has joined Grant Thornton LLP’s Public Sector Healthcare […]
Hiring Watch ’19: BDO Nashville Wants You and Some of Your Friends
It looks like EY isn’t the only firm going on a hiring spree in Nashville. BDO is getting some new digs and will be needing some new capital market servants. The Nashville Post reported: Fifth + Broadway developer Brookfield Properties on Tuesday announced professional services firm BDO USA will take space in the multi-building development’s […]
It’s Now Official: Grant Thornton Has Elected Brad Preber as CEO
UPDATE: Nice work, tipsters. Grant Thornton released the following press release today confirming the story we broke yesterday (see below line break): The Partnership Board at Grant Thornton LLP announced that Bradley J. Preber will serve as the firm’s CEO. The board appointed Preber to the role following a comprehensive search process, and the firm’s partners and […]
Layoff Watch ’19: Grant Thornton U.K. Cuts Reach the Partnership Level
Let’s face it, 2019 hasn’t been the best year for the Queen’s Grant Thornton, and neither was 2018. Let’s recap: 2018 Stopped bidding for new audit work at the largest U.K. companies. Patisserie Valerie accounting fraud; Grant Thornton was the auditor and is under investigation by the Finanical Reporting Council. Fined £3 million by the […]
Promotion Watch ’19: RSM Adds 80 New Partners and Principals
Whoa, the newest crop of partners and principals might be the largest ever at R to the S to the M. The good news was shared via Twitter on Oct. 1. AND THERE ARE FUN FACTS! Let's give it up for our 80 newest partners and principals! 🎊🎉 https://t.co/CEF9Uo7kDy pic.twitter.com/vKD78mYRyN — RSM US LLP (@RSMUSLLP) […]
Promotion Watch ’19: BDO Admits 48 New Partners
Wayne Berson is letting 48 lucky guys and gals join the club, in what is one of the largest new partner classes in BDO USA’s history. Says Wayne-o: “We are proud to welcome the largest class of partners at BDO in more than 20 years,” said Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA. “Each of our […]
Grant Thornton Reports 5.4% Increase In FY 2019 Revenue, Still Gloating About Its 2017 PCAOB Inspection Report
Grant Thornton sent out a snoozer of a press release earlier today announcing that its fiscal year 2019 revenue totaled $1.9 billion, up 5.4% from $1.8 billion in 2018. The only fun thing in the release is that GT is still taking a victory lap over its 2017 PCAOB inspection report, which found that only […]
Those Who Know, Know BDO CEO Wayne Berson Is Back for Another Term
You’d be smiling too if you were Wayne Berson. Wow, what a day at Bravo Delta Oscar! Not only did BDO USA announce that supreme leader and ex-cricket player Wayne Berson was re-elected by partners to a third term as CEO, but the firm achieved another record-setting year of revenue, topping out at $1.64 billion […]
RSM US Revenue Rose to $2.4 Billion In FY 2019
So says the RSM US 2019 annual report: That’s a 14% increase over the firm’s FY 2018 revenue of $2.14 billion. RSM’s fiscal year ends on April 30. There’s not a whole lot more to add because RSM doesn’t usually send out glitzy, congratulatory press releases on its year-end revenues like EY did today. But […]
RSM US’s $950,000 Fine Is a Reminder That Performing Non-Audit Services for Audit Clients Can Get You Into Trouble
You’d think a firm like RSM US would know this by now, but guess not. The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged public accounting firm RSM US LLP with violations of the agency’s auditor independence rules in connection with more than 100 audit reports involving at least 15 audit clients. Yes, auditor independence is a […]
Promotion Watch ’19: Grant Thornton Admits 42 New Partners and Principals
The last month hasn’t been the greatest for Grant Thornton, as the firm gave pink slips to 230 professionals and 40 PPMDs, approximately 3.5% of its workforce, at the end of July. So GT’s leadership probably wanted to wait until the dust settled before they announced that interim CEO Brad Preber had recently handed out […]
Ex-Grant Thornton U.K. CEO Sacha Romanovitch Has a New Gig
The first female CEO of a major accounting firm in the U.K. won’t have to worry about partners stabbing her in the back in her new position as CEO of a financial inclusion organization called Fair4All Finance: We are happy to announce the appointment of our first CEO, Sacha Romanovitch. From 1st Sep she will […]
House Dems Want BDO Puerto Rico to Stop Shredding Documents Already
When a document shredding truck pulls up to an accounting firm whose former managing partner was just indicted for his role, and that firm’s role, in a massive corruption scandal in Puerto Rico, it’s going to raise some eyebrows. And those eyebrows belong to U.S. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY). Velázquez, a […]
Who Will Be the Next CEO of Grant Thornton?
Among the slew of tips we received about the layoffs that went down at Grant Thornton last week and what interim CEO Brad Preber had to say about it was this one that also piqued our interest: As Brad Preber is the “interim” CEO, there are three people (women) currently being considered for the CEO […]
Why Grant Thornton Quitting As Auditor of Sports Direct Matters
In an ordinary midsummer news slump, only yawning disinterest would greet the July 29 news of Grant Thornton’s notice to the U.K. authorities of its intent to resign as auditor of troubled retailer Sports Direct International plc. The times are not ordinary; the cauldron of auditor criticism has bubbled since the collapse of Carillion in […]
Well, At Least RSM Plaza Won’t Have to Be Renamed
RSM US (the firm formerly known as McGladrey) will be sticking around RSM Plaza (the building formerly known as McGladrey Plaza) for a little while longer. Chicago-based RSM US LLP on Tuesday [July 16] announced that it’s renewed its lease at RSM Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. Though the building bears RSM’s name, it’s actually owned […]
Layoff Watch ’19: Interim CEO Brad Preber Addresses the Grant Thornton Layoff Rumors
It’s Brad Preber’s first day on the job as interim CEO of Grant Thornton after now-former CEO and hero of the wastes Mike McGuire noped on up out of that seat. And boy did he have a shitstorm to deal with first thing. Rumors of Grant Thornton layoffs started swirling earlier this week, and no […]
Layoff Watch ’19: It’s Going Down at Grant Thornton
Back in March, Jason let us know about a handful of layoffs out of Grant Thornton U.K. and now it seems the fun is coming to ‘Murica. First, a tipster informed us of a shake-up in the Northeast Region, with the Westborough, MA office closing up and possibly more closures planned. Our tipster says they […]
RSM Did a Little Talent Shopping At the Big 4
And Adams & Co. came away with a new tax principal and a new risk consulting leader. First up is Brad Collins: In his role as a principal with the firm’s national tax team, Collins leads the firm’s efforts to identify opportunities where RSM can eliminate tax data management challenges for private equity and hedge […]
Recruits Will Get to Virtually See Why They’d Be ‘Mad As a Hatter’ to Work at BDO
From Consultancy.uk: BDO has announced it has joined the workplace gaming scene. It is attempting to attract top new talent with an Alice in Wonderland-themed game which tests potential recruits’ abilities in problem-solving and assessing cause and effect. As reported by the Telegraph, the games will see recruits try to find a key in a specialist […]
All Fat Guys Can Relate to Ex-BDO Puerto Rico Managing Partner Trying to Put On a Belt
Here’s a question to all my fellow overweight brethren: Is there anything worse than trying to put on a belt while wearing a dress shirt? If you’re like me, after you tuck in the shirt, you poof it out in the front, back, and sides so it doesn’t cling to your stomach and love handles, […]
BDO Puerto Rico Managing Partner Resigns After Indictment In Massive Corruption Scandal
The words “managing partner” and “corruption” used in the same sentence is never a good thing, as we found out in the KPMG/PCAOB information leak scandal. But while there was no scheme to steal confidential information from an audit regulator going on in Puerto Rico, there were allegations of money laundering, theft, and wire fraud […]
U.K. Inspection Reports Reveal That Grant Thornton Can’t Audit Its Way Out of a Paper Bag
Here’s some good news for the 300 new auditors Grant Thornton in the U.K. is expecting to hire within the next 12 months: You can’t be any worse than the auditors GT has employed in recent years. The Financial Reporting Council released its annual audit inspection reports for the Big 4 firms, as well as […]
Let’s Give a Big Hand to BDO For Not Having the Worst 2017 PCAOB Inspection Report
The PCAOB released the 2017 inspection report for BDO USA at the end of June, and while the firm should still hang its collective heads in shame for there being deficiencies found in nine of the 23 audits inspected in 2016, for a 39% failure rate, there are a few positive things that Bravo Delta […]
Hiring Watch ’19: RSM Planning to Add to Its KC Headcount
Not Kansas City, KS, but Kansas City, MO, where in July 2020, RSM will be moving into a swanky new office space currently being developed in Country Club Plaza. RSM will occupy all of the ninth floor and half of the 10th floor in the 14-story, 214,000-square-foot office tower that will be called 46 Penn […]
Hiring Watch ’19: Grant Thornton U.K. Is Looking For Competent Auditors to Fill 300 Jobs
Hey, auditors! How confident are you that you wouldn’t royally screw up auditing the financial statements of a well-known U.K. cafe chain and could uncover a £94 million accounting fraud? Pretty confident, eh? Well, you couldn’t do much worse than the dolts Grant Thornton U.K. had handling the audit work on Patisserie Valerie’s accounts. While […]
Have You Been Approached By a Colleague to Participate In a Fraud?
Good morning, GCers. Some friends of ours at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario are conducting research on group fraud and other highly unethical acts, and we’re hoping you can do them a solid and help them with their project. While I’m sure they wouldn’t pass up an opportunity […]
We’re Sure Mike McGuire Will Be Dynamic In His New Role as Grant Thornton ‘Brand Ambassador’
Bear with me, I’m writing this on my phone at the side of a pool. Anyway, talk about your Friday night news dumps. This came out of the blue: Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL), one of the world’s leading audit, tax and advisory firms, announced today that […]
Man Who Was Arrested For Repeatedly Stabbing a Hiker Near Los Angeles Apparently Works at BDO
We got a tip the other day that said an employee of one of the top accounting firms in the U.S. got into some trouble with the law last week: Look into the stabbing from Altedena on May 29th. The alleged suspect, Kristopher Brown works as a Senior for BDO Los Angeles. He’s currently in […]
Auditor Swap: AZZ Says Buh-Bye to BDO USA, Hires Grant Thornton
Auditor shopping has made the news a little more than usual of late, with high-profile companies like Fitbit and Goldman Sachs in the U.K. both kicking PwC to the curb in favor of a fresh, new set of eyes. Then there’s General Electric, which might end its century-old relationship with KPMG after this year. While […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part II
In the comment section of an article we posted on May 10 about a managing director and a partner recently fleeing KPMG to join Grant Thornton’s Corporate Value Consulting practice, we got a tip that the Purple Rose of Chicago recently poached KPMG again—Candice Turner left the HoK to join GT as a principal in […]
Grant Thornton Poaches Two People From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part I
A couple of months ago, we reported that a partner and a principal bolted Grant Thornton earlier this year for the blue-and-white confines of KPMG, one of whom actually left and came back to the House of Klynveld. Well, it looks like the Purple Rose of Chicago has turned the tables on KPMG. Grant Thornton […]
The PCAOB Is Sick and Tired of Not Being Told About Firms’ Past Disciplinary Hearings
RSM US isn’t the only firm that has been lazy about disclosing to the PCAOB that they’ve been involved in a non-PCAOB disciplinary proceeding. In fact, RSM’s affiliate in Hong Kong and Deloitte’s affiliate in Colombia are also guilty of taking too damn long to send the PCAOB the proper paperwork. And now both firms […]
Grant Thornton Partner Killed In Car Crash
Some sad news to report, as a partner in Grant Thornton’s New York City office died in a one-car crash in Westport, Conn., on April 14. Cullen Walsh, 39, was identified by authorities on Tuesday as the person killed in the crash, according to the Westport News. Shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday morning, first responders […]
You’ll Have to Pry Vault’s ‘Most Prestigious Firm’ Title Out of PwC’s Cold, Dead Hands
A little while ago, we told you how PwC locked down the top spot in Vault’s 2020 Accounting 50—the seventh consecutive year the firm has been ranked No. 1. But believe it or not, this isn’t the longest win streak P. Dubs has going when it comes to Vault’s rankings. Even though the House of […]
PwC Once Again Tops Vault Accounting 50 (2020)
It’s one of our favorite times of the year at GC HQ when our friends at Vault put out their yearly rankings of the top accounting firms in the U.S. in several categories. But for now, we’re going to focus on the overall top 50 ranking. The No. 1 firm in the U.S. for 2020, […]
Grant Thornton Surprises Everyone By Not Sucking at Auditing
Grant Thornton gets a bad rap around here, much of which is kinda justified to be fair. They’re sort of like your annoying little brother who always wants to come with you to hang out with your friends but he smells like curdled milk and always has crusty gunk on the corners of his mouth. […]
RSM Pulled In $5.37 Billion In Revenue Globally In 2018
This slipped through the cracks, but it might be of interest to a few of you RSM fanboys and fangirls. RSM posts record revenues as consulting services power growth. Click here to read more: https://t.co/5EJKaHBnBT#RsmGlobal #revenue #RSMae #People pic.twitter.com/Vym6mOuC9j — RSM UAE (@RSM_AE) January 31, 2019 The $5.37 billion in global revenue the firm hauled […]
PCAOB Fined RSM US $15,000 for Taking Its Sweet-Ass Time to File a Form 3
Say a PCAOB-registered accounting firm is a defendant or respondent in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding that was initiated by another regulator. That firm has to let the PCAOB know about this by filing Form 3, Special Report, within 30 days after the event. The firm also has to let the PCAOB know that it […]
Layoff Watch ’19: Grant Thornton U.K. to Part Ways with Up to 60 Staffers
Some unlucky folks at Grant Thornton U.K. are taking the hit for the firm’s miserable 2018, which saw GT stop bidding for new audit work at the largest U.K. companies, the CEO not seeking a second four-year term after a partner revolt, revenue dip from £500 million in 2017 to £491 million last year, partners’ average […]
Auditor Swap: Fitbit Dumps PwC In Favor of Grant Thornton
The Purple Rose of Chicago just got itself a new engagement. Via Reuters: Wearable device maker Fitbit Inc has dismissed auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP after a review of its fees and appointed Grant Thornton LLP, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The filing states that Fitbit chose not to renew its engagement with PwC […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From Grant Thornton and Issues a Press Release, Parts I and II
We here at GC HQ love a good poaching, especially when it involves two of the top six firms in the U.S. So we were happy to see this press release from KPMG come across our virtual desk this morning: Mark Rems has joined KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, as a principal […]
Grant Thornton Current and Former Partners Will Have a Seat In the PCAOB’s Penalty Box
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board doled out suspensions to a current partner and a former partner at Grant Thornton on Feb. 26 for their roles in screwing up the 2013 audit of a real estate investment trust. Richard Huff Jr., CPA, was censured and given a one-year ban by the PCAOB. Huff was the […]
RSM Moving Its U.S. Headquarters Just Down the Road
Kinda big news this morning from RSM US: RSM’s new digs won’t be that far away from its current digs. The firm will be moving its headquarters from 1 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago to the 30 S. Wacker tower of the CME Center in late 2020 or early 2021. CME Center currently houses such […]
Number of New Partners Admitted at CohnReznick Balloons to 23
Feb. 1 was a record-setting day for New York-based CohnReznick, as it admitted the largest partner class in the firm’s history. CohnReznick, the 11th-largest accounting firm in the U.S., gave new partner gift bags to 23 CPAs (four women and 19 men) last Friday. Maybe they got new hats, too. Last year, the firm admitted […]
BDO Is Officially the Fifth-Largest Accounting Firm In the U.K.
Step aside, Grant Thornton. BDO’s merger with Moore Stephens has been completed, making Bravo Delta Oscar the largest non-Big 4 accounting firm in the U.K. From Economia: The merger gives [BDO] a combined workforce of 5,000 staff members and 350 partners working in 17 locations across the UK. The firm is expected to deliver revenues […]
Grant Thornton Topped $5.4 Billion in Global Revenue in 2018
It’s a dynamic time to be a GTer (unless you work in the U.K.), as Grant Thornton International announced this week that its network of firms around the world combined to reach a record $5.45 billion in revenue for the financial year that ended on Sept. 30, 2018. Global revenue grew 9.4% in U.S. dollar […]