WTF Happened at SVB and Should KPMG Auditors Have Seen It Coming?
While the general investing public is asking “where were the auditors?” in regards to the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the banks’ auditors are insisting that, having exercised requisite due professional care, their unqualified opinions were based on the information available to them at the time and as such, the firm […]
Layoff Watch ’23: KPMG Let Some Advisory People Go Today
Article photo from a scathing review of KPMG’s metaverse space Alright folks, the moment we’ve been saying wasn’t going to happen to us now has: layoffs are here. Bet you feel dumb for saying firms won’t be laying anyone off because they don’t have enough people to lay off eh? I know I do. We’ve […]
Former KPMG Employee’s Parents Awarded $6.5 Million In Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The family of 25-year-old Peter Smith, an audit associate at KPMG who died of Lyme carditis—which occurs when Lyme disease bacteria enter the tissue of the heart—on July 2, 2017, was awarded $6.5 million by a jury in Cumberland County, ME, last week after deciding that a Mercy Hospital doctor had failed to accurately diagnose […]
The Largest Accounting Firms in Portland, Ranked by Number of CPAs Working There
Been a while since we’ve ranked anything, thankfully Portland Business Journal came in clutch today and gave the world a good old fashioned ranking of Portland accounting firms. The full list of 30 firms costs $30 and we don’t have money like that so we’re looking at the five we can see for free. There’s […]
The Most-Fined Big 4 Firm in the UK is Raising Audit Fees, Knows Clients Will Complain About It
Bloomberg reported today that KPMG UK CEO Jon Holt told them the firm plans to raise audit fees, news that comes on the same day we find out KPMG UK revenue increased 12% to £2.72 billion ($3.3 billion) for their fiscal year ending in September. Much of that did not come from audit however, deal […]
An Audit Associate at KPMG’s NYC Office Has Died
Ed. note: an earlier version of this article used male pronouns based on the information available at the time. We have been informed the associate was female, confirmed this information with the NYPD, and have updated pronouns in this article. We have also removed a link to a dubious outside source. I debated even posting […]
KPMG Vice Chair Hopes All the Tech Layoffs Will Scare College Kids Into Accounting
KPMG Vice Chair Greg Engel has been having trouble sleeping lately. It isn’t climate change or social justice or the price of eggs keeping him up at night, like most accounting leaders he is consumed by the talent shortage. No really, that’s what he told CFO Dive. Not to worry, Engel has hope. Hope that […]
If Your Parents Were Poor, It Takes Longer to Climb the Ladder at KPMG (No Really)
Big 4 firms spit out all kinds of research — very little of which rates a mention beyond maybe somewhere in a linkwrap if that — but this research from KPMG we’re about to share with you (which we did bury in a linkwrap some weeks back) deserves a callout of its own. Not because […]
KPMG Still Rocks at Having the Worst PCAOB Inspection Report Among the Big 4
The last of the 2021 Big 4 PCAOB inspection reports belongs to KPMG, which has had the highest audit deficiency rate of the four firms for six out of the previous seven years—the lone exception being 2019. Make that seven out of the last eight: In the 2021 inspection of KPMG LLP, the PCAOB assessed […]
KPMG Pulled In a Kool $34.6 Billion in Global Revenue in FY 2022
Well, well, well, KPMG had a 14% increase in global revenue in its 2022 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30—the second largest year-over-year increase in revenue among the Big 4 firms behind Deloitte’s 18.1%. And of course there’s a press release: KPMG International announces strong annual aggregated revenues for KPMG firms globally of US$35 billion […]
We Forgot to Mention KPMG Got Caught Cheating Again
The PCAOB announced Wednesday it has imposed $7.7 million in penalties against KPMG Colombia (Firm: $4 Million Penalty; Individual: $25,000 Penalty), KPMG UK ($2.6 Million), and KPMG India (Firm: $1 Million Penalty; Individuals: $75,000 Penalty) for a variety of infractions. Failure to cooperate with a PCAOB inspection, cheating on training exams, signing off on blank […]
Carillion Liquidators Roast KPMG: “A Competent Auditor Would Have Detected the Misstatements”
The Carillion failure is still working its way through the courts and now KPMG is accused by Carillion’s liquidators of missing multiple red flags, the likes of which should not have been missed had KPMG had any clue what it is doing. So say the liquidators. WSJ: KPMG received £29 million from Carillion without qualifying […]
KPMG Australia Recruits From High Schools to Meet Demand For Talent
KPMG Australia was in the news the other day for a new recruiting program involving high school grads (who were clearly rounded up from the burnout section behind the building joke) and it’s an interesting idea: on-the-job training in lieu of university. You’ll note these are technology recruits, we’re not desperate enough for accountants yet […]
Compensation Watch ’22: Just How Scary Were Raises at KPMG This Year? (UPDATE)
[Updated original post from Oct. 19 with KPMG raise percentages for 2015 and 2013.] As the leaves start changing to PwC colors, it signals the start of compensation season at another Big 4 firm: KPMG. The results of the most recent round of comp talks are in and can be found on r/accounting, per usual. […]
ICYMI: KPMG Screwed Up
Didn’t see this press release when it came out last week and because we delight in taking every opportunity possible to point out how objectively terrible KPMG is we’re sharing it with you now. Via the PCAOB: The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today announced settled disciplinary orders sanctioning three audit firms for failing […]
Promotion Watch ’22: KPMG Admits 186 to Partnership
Now that summer has turned to fall and Deloitte, PwC, and EY have all had their comp discussions with employees, released their global revenue numbers for 2022, and deified all of their new partners and principals, it is KPMG SEASON! The firm with a Sept. 30 fiscal year-end has begun comp talks with Klynveldians (we’ll […]
KPMG’s ‘Do As We Say Not As We Do’ Tips to Prevent Employee Turnover
KPMG has some sponsored content in Harvard Business Review about how to keep employees from defecting (defecting? Really? It’s a job, not the Sandinistas) and in it, the firm offers some suggestions to encourage employee loyalty. Suggestions that they themselves would be wise to implement should KPMG want to hang on to their own people […]
Even KPMG in South Africa Could Not Escape the Clutches of PCAOB Enforcement
Earlier today the PCAOB gave KPMG of the South African variety a slap on the wrist and punished a couple of partners for the firm collaborating with an outside accounting firm not registered with the PCAOB on three years’ worth of audits of a public company. That non-registered accounting firm was KPMG Zimbabwe. And these […]
ICYMI: KPMG Is Downsizing Its NYC Digs Big Time
KPMG announced last week it will relocate its headquarters to Two Manhattan West, a new building in Midtown Manhattan’s West Side slated for completion in 2023. The new digs mean a huge 40% reduction in NYC office space, signaling the firm expects hybrid work to persist for the foreseeable future and then some (sorry, Boomers). […]
Only One Big 4 Firm Made This Top 100 Internship Programs of 2022 List, You’ll Never Guess Who
DEI and Early Talent Recruitment platform provider Yello has released its sixth annual Top 100 Internship Programs List to highlight “companies across all industries who have gone above and beyond for their interns.” This year’s winner is Boeing with the remaining 99 on the list unranked. Companies nominate themselves for consideration and the anonymized judging […]
Would You Rock These KPMG Kicks?
A simple yes or no will suffice.
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part XVII
Last month KPMG made a big deal in a press release about how it had added eight partners and managing directors to “advance its Tax Reimagined service offering.” Good for you, KPMG. But what’s somewhat interesting is that the eight new partners and managing directors came from two other Big 4 firms, one of which […]
Hoping Everyone Has Forgotten About All the Scandals, KPMG UK Is Bidding for Government Contracts Again
Late last year KPMG UK decided to stop bidding for government contracts for a bit while they worked out some scandals, piss poor audit quality, and client collapses. Well, it wasn’t so much that they decided but rather that the government threatened them and told them to get their shit together or they’d be banned […]
Happy 125th Birthday, KPMG!
Today is August 2 and KPMG is turning 125! Way to prove the naysayers wrong as they pointed and jeered and insisted that we’d be down to just three Big 4 firms by the end of the 2010s. YOU GO, KPMG. Don’t listen to those haters. There’s a press release because of course there is: […]
Mass Exodus at KPMG or Just a Day Ending in Y?
Meanwhile, in the Asia-Pacific (India, we think)… Twelve years ago my esteemed former colleague Caleb Newquist got clowned for calling six resignations at KPMG NYC an exodus so we’ll refrain from warnings about skies falling down for now.
KPMG UK Somehow Won’t Be Getting a Record Fine From the Financial Reporting Council For Carillion Mess (UPDATE)
[UPDATE] The Queen’s KPMG was finally, officially fined £14.4 million by the Financial Reporting Council earlier this morning for all the stupidity that happened during the 2016 audit of collapsed construction and services company Carillion, as well as for the mistakes that occurred in its 2014 audit of IT software company Regenersis. KPMG UK and […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From Grant Thornton and Issues a Press Release, Part IV
It‘s been awhile since we paid attention to people leaving Grant Thornton for KPMG and vice versa, but this news that was made public yesterday is a biggie: well-known Grant Thornton Chief Economist Diane Swonk turned in her purple rose after more than four years with the firm and has joined the House of Klynveld […]
The KPMG Australia Cheaters Have Been Disciplined, Much Slapping of Wrists All Around
Back in May Australian Financial Review reported that 12 of the 422 KPMGers who took part in systemic exam cheating would be put through the Chartered Accountants ANZ individual disciplinary process. That process has now concluded. Here’s the update from CA ANZ: Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) takes all allegations of academic […]
Happy 4th of July and Also a Lesson in How Not to Be
On this, the best holiday of the summer, let us all try not to be angry and bitter like this guy who got mad at KPMG for flexing Omaha Steaks on Facebook many years ago: Speaking of steaks, did they ever come back after The Great Unsteakoning of 2020? Stay safe out there everyone and […]
KPMG Will Pay the Department of Justice $307k For Discriminatory Job Postings
Apparently KPMG was discriminating against non-U.S. citizens in job postings? News to us. Now it’s news to you, too. Anyway, the firm was ordered to pay $306,656, the largest fine of the 16 total employers involved in the Department of Justice settlement. These civil penalties depend, in part, on the number of discriminatory advertisements employers […]
KPMG CEO Pats His Firm on the Back For Being So Behind the Times, Roasts EY While He Does It
Sky News has obtained part of an internal memo KPMG Global Chairman and CEO Bill Thomas sent to firm partners earlier this month in which Mr. Thomas turns his nose up at EY’s plan to split consulting and audit practices. Some choice quotes from the memo: We are a partnership that has been strong and […]
KPMG’s New Metaverse Space is Like the First-Person Shooters You Played in 1999 But Worse
14 or 15 years ago I trolled Bill Sheridan of the Maryland Association of CPAs on Twitter about uncovering a weapons cache they’d stashed on CPA Island, a then-revolutionary virtual space in the game Second Life MACPA had set up for…accounting things. Back in 2008 CPA Island was the first (only? It never really caught […]
[UPDATED] KPMG Will Pay Audit New Hires to Study for the CPA Exam
Ed. note: update at the bottom, our hopes have been dashed. Second update includes a statement from KPMG As I’m sure you’ve heard by now the profession is having trouble recruiting future CPAs. Accounting student numbers aren’t critically low yet but fewer and fewer graduates are taking the CPA exam, an issue that keeps AICPA […]
Compensation Watch ’22: Big 4 Firm With the Most Negative Publicity In the U.K. Tries to Change All That By Giving Staff Raises of At Least £2,000
If you’re a regular visitor to this website, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out which Big 4 firm we’re referring to: Carillion, loads of fines from the Financial Reporting Council, chairman’s rant leads to his resignation, Carillion, “unacceptable” bank audits, partners who are bullies, lawsuits, and layoffs. And did we mention Carillion? Yes, […]
In KPMG Australia Cheating Scandal, Apparently Cheaters *Do* Win
From Australian Financial Review: Chartered Accountants ANZ has belatedly ruled that only 12 of the 422 members from big four consulting firm KPMG who took part in systemic exam cheating will be put through the professional body’s individual disciplinary process. The body’s disciplinary committee ruled that the “activities undertaken” by 410 KPMG CA ANZ members […]
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: KPMG #41 (2022)
Following one spot behind RSM US in the 2022 Fortune BCTWF is KPMG, the second Big 4 firm in the ranking behind Deloitte at No. 24. It’s not too often that KPMG finishes ahead of PwC in anything, so the House of Klynveld should celebrate this accomplishment while it can. For the most part, people […]
Someone Is Not a Fan of KPMG’s New ‘Reconnect with KPMG’ Ad Campaign
As a Fisbhowl user, I received a notification on my phone this evening that “KPMG was tagged in a post,” and this was the post: I had no idea this was a thing. Someone in the comment section said the commercial was on KPMG US’s YouTube channel, so I went there, and sure enough, there […]
If KPMG Was a Radio Station, What Would Its Slogan Be?
One of our favorite nicknames we’ve given KPMG through the years is “The Radio Station,” for obvious reasons. So in this Saturday shitpost, we ask: If KPMG was actually a radio station, what would its tagline or slogan be? We have a handful of suggestions: Good Auditing’s No. 1 Alternative Playing All the Hits (and […]
Better Late Than Never: PCAOB Fines Ex-KPMG Vice Chair of Audit Scott Marcello $100,000 In Connection With Inspection Scandal
It only took five years, but Scott Marcello finally received some sort of punishment for what happened in KPMG’s audit practice several years ago as partners were working with PCAOB insiders to illegally receive advanced notice of the PCAOB’s inspection plans for KPMG audits. Marcello, KPMG’s former vice chair of audit, was fined $100,000 today […]
PwC Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Parts X and XI
While the Great Resignation in public accounting hasn’t slowed down much recently, there are still people who are jockeying for a better job in the Big 4 and have left one firm for another. In this case, it’s something we used to write about A LOT back in the day: people bolting KPMG for PwC. […]
In Non-Russia-Ukraine War News, KPMG UK Screwed Up Another Audit
Let’s take a break from what’s going on right now in Ukraine to tell you something we’ve written a lot about in recent years and that we enjoy writing about: KPMG UK being bad at auditing. While we await KPMG’s punishment for that whole Carillion debacle, the Financial Reporting Council announced on March 8 that […]
KPMG Is Pulling the Plug On Its Operations In Russia and Belarus
A source just sent us this statement from KPMG International that says its member firms in Russia and Belarus will be leaving the KPMG network: “We believe we have a responsibility, along with other global businesses, to respond to the Russian government’s ongoing military attack on Ukraine. As a result, our Russia and Belarus firms […]
One KPMGer Is Livid That She Won’t Be Able to Check Her Personal Email On Her Firm-Issued Laptop Ever Again
These screenshots of an internal KPMG memo hit our tip box earlier today: Because the first part of the document is a little blurry/difficult to read, I’ve transcribed it below: Protecting our IT systems Published: Thursday, 03/03/2022 As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, KPMG is staying vigilant and guarding against cyber threats while continuing to stand […]
You Won’t Be Seeing Phil Mickelson Wearing a KPMG Hat Ever Again
A relationship we thought would never end came to an end today. At least we won’t feel the need to write “Happy Birthday, Phil Mickelson” posts anymore. KPMG has had Mickelson’s back even when he was accused of being involved in an insider trading scheme, complained about having rich man tax problems, and fell short […]
Bonus Watch ’22: KPMG Generously Gifted 1/5th of a Grubhub Order to Industrious Staff Working Through the Super Bowl
The lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch. From Reddit (of course): The screenshot reads: A message from [redacted] and [redacted] | February 9, 2022 On behalf of the NYFS Audit partners and MDs, we would like to thank you for all your efforts and perseverance. This Sunday, in honor of the Super […]
Soooo KPMG Canada Did a Thing Yesterday
If a Big 4 firm adding an undisclosed amount of bitcoin and ethereum to its corporate balance sheet interests you, then you’re in luck because that’s what KPMG Canada did, according to the approximately 1 million articles about it on the interwebs today. We’ll help you mine (see what I did there) through all the […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From Deloitte and Issues a Press Release, Parts IV, V, and VI
There’s been quite a bit of poaching activity across the globe lately among the four horsemen of professional services firms, so here’s a quick recap of people who have left their green dots behind and joined the redheaded stepchild of the Big 4. In the UK, Serdar Cabuk joined KPMG as a partner in the […]
EY Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Parts IV, V, VI, and VII
EY-Parthenon recently lured four people away from the Queen’s KPMG, three of whom were added to the partnership and one hired as a director. Akif Jawaid joined EY-Parthenon in the UK as a partner on EY-P’s private equity team. He previously was a partner and global head of private equity (Strategy Group) and the UK […]
Compensation Watch ’22: KPMG Employees Are Getting Richer on April 1 (Not An April Fools’ Joke)
KPMGers got some good news today as the firm announced salary adjustments for all Klynveldians effective April 1. Here’s what was sent to our tipline: KPMG US just announced firmwide mid-year raises effective 4/1. $5k for SM, $7k for manager and senior, $3k for staff. According to an internal document posted on Fishbowl yesterday, here’s […]
KPMG UK’s Piss-Poor Auditing Is Once Again Coming Back to Bite Them In the Ass
As the UK’s audit cops are kicking back and watching KPMGers throw each other under the bus and a former audit partner feign ignorance about documents being forged during a tribunal hearing on the clown show that was the firm’s auditing of Carillion, the Financial Reporting Council decided to give KPMG a small taste of […]
Deloitte Just Gave the Malaysian Government Several Wheelbarrows Full of Ringgit (UPDATE: KPMG Pays Up Too)
[Updated article originally posted on June 3, 2021 with additional information about KPMG settlement.] From the Ministry of Finance in Malaysia on June 3: The Government has received a settlement payment of RM336 million (US $80 million) related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) from Deloitte PLT. In a statement today, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) […]
KPMG UK Already Gearing Up For Massive Punishment Over Carillion Audit Failures
“It is of course for the tribunal to reach a conclusion on the allegations as they relate to the individuals concerned. Nevertheless, it is clear to me that misconduct has occurred and that our regulator was misled. The misconduct that this tribunal will hear about over the coming weeks is disturbing and upsetting for me […]
Guy Sues KPMG Over Getting Left Out of the Team Group Chat
Greg Eldridge — an eight-year vet of the House of Klynveld — has sued KPMG Australia over what he alleges was a critical level of cold-shouldering from his people, seeking monetary damages for what he says was a failure of the firm to address an unruly colleague who never liked him. An exceptionally boring Deal […]
KPMG Got Dibs On Being the Big 4 Firm With the Biggest Year-Over-Year Revenue Increase In FY 2021
The last of the Big 4 firms to release its global revenue results for fiscal year 2021 did so last night, as KPMG posted $32.1 billion, an increase of 10% over its 2020 revenue of $29.2 billion. Things could only get better for the House of Klynveld in 2021, as KPMG was the only Big […]
KPMG Director’s Thoughts On Firm’s ‘Unethical’ Vaccine Policy Will Be Loved By Some and Hated By Others
Once Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson began rolling out their COVID-19 vaccines in the US, unless you had your head in the sand for the past four or five years, you just knew people would take sides on whether or not to get the jab—for whatever reason. And that has certainly been the case. […]
With Omicron Threatening to Send Everyone Back Inside, KPMG UK Reminds Audit Staff to Get Back to the Office
Alright so we’re sourcing this one from Reddit which, yeah, I know but since the bulk of our sources are on this side of the pond, it’s the best place to find international Big 4 news other than obscure local papers or from unmemorable African newspapers. A screenshot of an email sent out by KPMG […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From EY and Issues a Press Release, Part VIII
Just like our waistlines over Thanksgiving weekend, the tax practice at the Queen’s KPMG got larger earlier this month with the addition of three new partners. Candice Nichol, a tax lawyer with 14 years of experience, joined KPMG as a deal advisory tax partner in London from international law firm Simmons & Simmons, while Justin […]
KPMG Norway Has Achieved the Impossible And Created a Mildly Amusing Video (For an Accounting Firm)
KPMG couldn’t audit their way out of a paper bag but some props are due for proving themselves capable of making a mildly entertaining two-minute YouTube video which we’re about to share with you momentarily. The last time we caught KPMG embarrassing themselves on YouTube, it was this unspeakable disaster from KPMG Denmark and things […]
You Know the World Is Getting Back to Normal When KPMG Has the Worst PCAOB Inspection Report of the Big 4
When the PCAOB released its first batch of 2019 inspection reports earlier this year, there was one outcome that left us at Going Concern HQ feeling like we were living in some auditing bizarro world: PwC had a worse audit failure rate (30%) than KPMG (29%). It’s rare when KPMG doesn’t have the worst PCAOB […]
Does KPMG Lakehouse Have Hairdryers?
Not sure if Going Concern readers and random Googlers who end up in this sacred temple of Big 4 gossip are aware, but we can see the keywords you search prior to clicking through onto our site. And man, some of them are disturbing, due in part to the fact that we’ve written about questionable […]
One KPMGer ‘Annoyed’ By New Enhancements to 401(k) Match and Pension Programs
I wanted to make a comment about KPMG’s new 401(k) rules. As a recent US hire, the changes annoyed me in some ways. Here’s why: What the article (“Changes to KPMG’s 401(k) Contribution Policy Seem to Be Getting Positive Reviews”) didn’t mention or what your source material may have left out is that in addition […]
Changes to KPMG’s 401(k) Contribution Policy Seem to Be Getting Positive Reviews
In mid-July 2020, when public accounting CEOs were still looking at ways to slash costs because of the Rona’s impact on their firms, we started receiving tips from KPMGers about their retirement and pension plans taking a hit: KPMG announced this week they are cutting pension and 401k contributions in half for 2020. According to a 2018 […]
Big 4 Item of the Week on eBay: Peat Marwick Cap
Klynveldians, forget about all of the dark blue and plain white Phil Mickelson KPMG golf hats currently on eBay. If you want to look good even if you don’t play good the next time you have a tee time scheduled (probably sooner than later for many of you KPMGers), then you need this rare teal […]
A Big 4 Firm Being Untruthful? You Don’t Say!
From the Financial Times yesterday: A senior KPMG partner advanced an “untruthful” defence at a disciplinary hearing into the accounting firm’s misconduct in the sale of bedmaker Silentnight to a private equity fund, a tribunal has found. The tribunal also found that KPMG and David Costley-Wood, the partner who led the Silentnight work, had failed […]
Promotion Watch ’21: KPMG US Admits 170 New Partners
The partnership at KPMG grew by 170 people earlier this month, as 120 men and 50 women were outfitted with new golf attire before being handed keys to the club by Chair and CEO Paul Knopp and Deputy Chair and COO Laura Newinski. This latest class of new partners (for FY 2022) is larger than […]
Compensation Watch ’21: So Many People Are Bailing That KPMG UK Had to Change Its Bonus Structure
Attrition is the word on everyone’s lips these days, and you can bet that the ongoing Big 4 exodus is keeping plenty of partners up at night. Given the aforementioned stress-related insomnia, surely firm leaders are spending their extra awake hours coming up with creative, generous ways to hold on to the staff they have […]
EY Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Part III
Finally we have some Big 4-on-Big 4 poaching action here in the good ol’ US of A to write about, even though it involves a lateral move. After an 11-year stay at the House of Mickelson as a principal, Mitch Kenfield has joined EY’s Consulting practice in the same role. He announced his recent departure […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part XVI
It looks like the hot spots for Big 4-on-Big 4 poaching lately are the U.K. and Australia, where KPMG Down Under recently made champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true for one PwC managing director. Australian Financial Review reported: Sally Torgoman, 38, has joined KPMG as a partner in the firm’s infrastructure business. Ms Torgoman was […]
KPMG Australia Audit Partners and Staff Didn’t Get Away with Cheating on Internal Training Exams Either
At the end of the Married With Children episode, “Go For the Old,” Al Bundy says: “It’s only cheating if you get caught.” Well, KPMG got caught. The firm was busted for cheating on internal training exams. Again. Just like in the US. This time the cheating was running rampant in Australia. The PCAOB fined […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part XV
In today’s edition of “Big 4-on-Big 4 Poaching From Around the World,” we head to the largest country in South America where Carlos Augusto da Rosa Gomes recently left PwC in Brazil for the bluer pastures of KPMG. He announced his new home away from home on LinkedIn earlier this month: KPMG is Carlos’s third […]
Guy May Have Gone Through Puberty While Working At KPMG
“Well, I’m KPMG man and boy. I actually did engineering at university and then decided that I wanted to get a business qualification alongside that, so I joined the KPMG audit team in Glasgow and did my charted accountant training there. And then post-qualifying I moved into our transaction services team in order to implement […]
Here’s What We Know Right Now About the New COVID Vax Requirements at KPMG US
It was only a matter of time before another Big 4 firm would follow Deloitte’s lead in requiring COVID-19 vaccines for employees to enter its facilities. But I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that firm to be KPMG. (PwC, to be honest.) Here’s what was posted Tuesday morning on Fishbowl: I texted a source at […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From Deloitte and Issues a Press Release, Part III
We haven’t heard or seen anything about the Big 4 exodus being as big of a thing in the UK as it is in the US, but it seems like there’s been a slight uptick in the amount of Big 4 hopping going on across the pond. The latest is Daniel Barry joining the partnership […]
KPMG UK Asks Staff to Stop Snitching to the Media When the Firm Does Something Stupid
Do y’all remember way back in February when then KPMG UK chair Bill Michael had to resign after he told staff to stop moaning in a virtual town hall? A few hundred KPMGers were in (virtual) attendance for Michael’s rant which included observations about how staff are a bunch of whiny little bitches who don’t […]
Deloitte Poaches Someone From KPMG and Issues a Press Release, Parts I, II, III, and IV
Damn, Deloitte Australia got quite the haul recently from the Australian House of Klynveld, nabbing four KPMGers—two partners and two directors—who will join Big D’s risk advisory business starting in October. That is some hardcore poaching. Australian Financial Review reported on July 27: Daniel Houseman, 42, is joining Deloitte as a partner from October. Mr Houseman is […]
KPMG Just Missed Getting a Record-Setting Fine In the U.K. By *This* Much
When an independent disciplinary tribunal concluded in June that KPMG U.K. and one of the firm’s partners failed to comply with the fundamental principles of objectivity and integrity in their work on the sale of bed manufacturer Silentnight to U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital in 2011, the panel recommended KPMG be fined a record-setting […]
KPMG Senior Audit Associate Ryan Kiess Among 5 Killed In Car Accident On Long Island
The University of Scranton remembered alum Ryan Kiess (photo above), who got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and played lacrosse at the university. Funeral services will be held this week for Ryan Kiess, a 25-year-old senior audit associate at KPMG in New York City who was one of five people killed in a […]
Two of the ‘KPMG 5’ Barred By the SEC Indefinitely For Being Dirty Cheaters
Ex-KPMG partners David Britt and Thomas Whittle were told by the SEC on Wednesday that their accounting privileges were being taken away for a long time because of their involvement in a multiyear scheme with three other KPMGers to steal regulatory information from the PCAOB to cheat on audit inspections. The administrative proceeding orders released […]
KPMG UK Got Absolutely Dragged By the FRC For Its ‘Unacceptable’ Bank Audits
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) released its 2021 inspection reports today, which include BDO, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG, Mazars, and PwC. I’ve linked the individual reports for each firm (note they are in PDF) should you feel like wasting a Friday afternoon reading overseas audit inspection reports but we need to talk about the […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From EY and Issues a Press Release, Part VII
Another day, another EYer getting poached by KPMG. This time Marlon Richardson (pictured left) has departed the Ernstiverse to join the partnership at KPMG U.K. The website Energy Voice reported: The “big four” accountancy firm KPMG has appointed a former oil and gas partner at rival EY to its energy practice. Marlon Richardson spent seven […]
This Is Not Good, KPMG. Not Good At All.
Here’s some less-than-stellar news about the Queen’s KPMG from today’s Financial Times: KPMG faces a record fine of more than £15m after advising bed manufacturer Silentnight on the sale of its business despite the accountant’s “conflict of interest” with the buyout fund that bought it. An independent tribunal found that KPMG and one of its […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part XIV
Andrew Yates has put together a squad—six men (including Yates) and six women—who will act as his right hand when he takes over as CEO of KPMG Australia on July 1. One of the members of KPMG Australia’s new National Executive Committee is a recent refugee of PwC, according to a press release: External hire, Dorothy […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From EY and Issues a Press Release, Part VI
Poaching season never rests, especially in the U.K. In today’s edition of “Big 4-on-Big 4 Poaching From Around the World,” Ian Wood can get his old KPMG coffee mug out of storage because he’s back at where it all began, this time as part of the firm’s Energy Lead Advisory team. According to a press […]
KPMG Managing Director Alan White Will Be Laid to Rest on June 3
A memorial service will be held in West Virginia on Thursday morning for KPMG Managing Director James Alan White who passed away in Dallas on Oct. 22, 2020. Internment will follow the memorial service, according to his obituary. White, who would have turned 56 on June 16, was born in Charleston, WV, and was a […]
Old Guy Wearing KPMG Hat Wins At Golf
Congrats to KP(hil)MG’s most beloved and valuable employee for winning his second PGA Championship on Sunday—his sixth major overall—and for becoming the oldest major champion ever at age 50. Phil Mickelson and his blue KPMG hat shot a one-over-par 73 during the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday, finishing with a two-shot lead […]
RIP James Alan White, Managing Director at KPMG In Dallas
Just saw on my Twitter feed the sad news that the remains of James Alan White, the KPMG managing director who went missing last October, were found Thursday afternoon and identified by the Dallas County medical examiner’s office on Friday, according to the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper reported: Dallas police said that a survey […]
KPMG Can’t Get Out of Class-Action Suit Filed By Miller Energy Investors
A Tennessee federal judge on May 7 greenlighted class certification in a multiyear lawsuit against KPMG by investors of the now-defunct oil and gas company Miller Energy Resources Inc., despite KPMG’s best efforts to get the lawsuit thrown out. According to Law360, U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra C. Poplin had recommended that the Miller Energy investors […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Parts XII and XIII
In today’s edition of “Big 4-on-Big 4 Poaching From Around the World,” we have two more examples of PwCers hoping the grass is more greener at KPMG. First, we go to Scotland where Rob Aitken left PwC to become KPMG’s newest transaction services director in Aberdeen. The website Insider.co.uk got some information about KPMG of […]
KPMG Proves Its Commitment to Women By Firing the Guys Who Expensed Strippers and Gave Interns Alcohol Poisoning
Determined to steal the crown from public accounting’s reigning fuck-ups (that’s EY for those of you out of the loop), a group of former KPMGers are doing their best to bring shame upon their former firm now that news of their “boys’ night out” shenanigans has reached the unwashed masses. And they have the Australian Financial […]
Qualified Woman Obviously Pissed She Was Passed Over for KPMG U.K. CEO Job Eventually Given to Guy (UPDATE)
UPDATE: Mary O’Connor quit. According to the Financial Times, she said: “I am privileged to have been able to make a significant contribution to rebuilding the trust in our business and to help set it on the path to even greater future growth. However, I have decided that my corporate experience and approach are now […]
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: KPMG #39 (2021)
Following one spot behind PwC at No. 39 in the 2021 F100BCTWF is KPMG. One of the biggest things that happened at the Radio Station during the pandemic was (no, not Phil turning 50) a change in leadership. Lynne Doughtie led the troops for the first few months of the Rona outbreak, trying to convince […]
KPMG U.K. Partners Seem to Like This Jon Holt Guy
KPMG in the U.K. made it official this morning that head of audit Jon Holt will replace Bill Michael as the firm’s new CEO. The U.K. House of Klynveld said: KPMG in the UK has confirmed that following a partnership vote, Jon Holt has been elected with overwhelming support as the firm’s Chief Executive. He […]
KPMG Agrees to $10 Million Deal with Female KPMGers In Lengthy Gender Discrimination Case
It took 10 years but an age bias lawsuit first filed against KPMG in 2011 by former senior manager Donna Kassman that now includes eight other plaintiffs and hundreds of other KPMG ladies, a vast majority of whom no longer work for the firm, is finally reaching the end of the road. Law360 reported yesterday: […]
KPMG Poaches Someone From PwC and Issues a Press Release, Part XI
Hey. Hope you are having a good Monday so far. Danielle Malone wasn’t as scared of KPMG coming after her as the dog in the video we posted on Sunday. In fact, she actually left PwC in Australia (the biggest of the Big 4 in terms of revenue) to join the Australian House of Klynveld […]
Tweet of the Day: KPMG Frightens Dog
Alternate title: When You Receive Offers From Both KPMG and PwC. pic.twitter.com/czY7qWpzWo — TB4A.eth (@TheBig4Tweets) March 28, 2021 Have a good rest of the weekend.
Two Ex-KPMG Auditors Were Told By the SEC to Have a Seat On the Sidelines For a While
Two former KPMG auditors who worked on the ill-fated audit of a not-for-profit college agreed to having their wrists slapped by the SEC for their roles in the school’s collapse: The Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended two former KPMG auditors [Christopher Stanley and Jennifer Stewart] from practicing before the SEC in connection with settled […]
Right or Wrong: Bill Michael Is No Longer KPMG U.K. Chairman Because He Didn’t Mollycoddle Millennials and Zoomers
After a roller coaster of a week that ended with the fall of Bill Michael at KPMG, it is time to don the forensics hat to determine how it went horribly wrong. The Titanic may have hit an iceberg, but where did Michael trip over his didgeridoo? Michael the F-bomber: Ben Marlow, a business columnist […]
KPMG U.K. Chairman Makes Himself Scarce After Calling His Staff Whiny Little Bitches
[UPDATE] Bill Michael quit today, according to the Financial Times and other U.K. outlets. “I am truly sorry that my words have caused hurt amongst my colleagues and for the impact the events of this week have had on them,” Michael said in a statement on Friday. “In light of that, I regard my position […]
LOL, PwC: For Once, KPMG Doesn’t Have the Worst Audit Failure Rate Among the Big 4
Because it’s #TriviaTuesday, here are a couple of questions regarding PCAOB inspection reports: When was the last time KPMG did not have the worst audit deficiency rate among the Big 4? When was the last time KPMG had a lower deficiency rate than PwC? The answer to the first question is 2013’s inspection reports, when […]
KPMG U.K. Partners Took One For the Team
Those partners at KPMG U.K. who are living a lavish lifestyle might have to cut back on the golfing and become more frugal after the firm slashed their pay by 11% so more of their subordinates can stay employed. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday: Average partner profit distribution has been cut by 11 per […]