Category: Big 4

If it happens at a Big 4 accounting firm, we’re talking about it here.

PwC Gives KPMG a Break, Appoints Insider as New Head of U.S. Tax

I guess it was funny the first four times (and that doesn’t count the chumps that don’t get press releases) but for the extra special positions, P. Dubs must prefer to keep things in house.

Mark J. Mendola has been named as PwC’s U.S. Tax leader and a vice chairman of the firm. He will also serve as a member of the firm’s U.S. leadership team and the global Tax leadership team. Additionally, he will be responsible for the network of Tax practices across the Americas, including Canada, Mexico and South America.

For those keeping close tabs on this sort of thing, MJM joined PwC in ’86, no doubt inspired to join the tax practice thanks to the efforts of the Gipper & Co. He joined the partnership in ’98 with no indication that he strayed to the HoK. Word on the street is that KPMG is pretty bent out of shape over the competitive poaching, so PwC must be backing off. For now, anyway.

[via PwC]

The Big 4 and the Revolving Door

Last week the bane of Big 4 auditors existence, the PCAOB, broke their cherry on releasing Part II of an inspection report for a Big 4 firm. The honor went to Deloitte, who sufficiently blew off the Board’s recommendations for 12 months, which led to the release of Part II.

Bloomberg‘s Jonathan Weil, who usually sits back with popcorn while these things go down before chiming in, got to it today but with a twist that you probably weren’t expecting:


board members had recused themselves from participating in meetings or discussions this year concerning Deloitte, because of past or current ties to the firm, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The board members — Lewis Ferguson, Jay Hanson and the board’s chairman, James Doty — were appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January. Doty had been a partner at the law firm Baker Botts LLP, where Deloitte is a client. Ferguson was a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, which also represents Deloitte. Hanson, a former partner at the accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen LLP, has a daughter who works for Deloitte in its Phoenix office.

The board’s policy is to not disclose recusals, in spite of its mission to “further the public interest,” as if these are none of the public’s business. “Recusals are confidential,” Colleen Brennan, a board spokeswoman, said. Doty, Ferguson and Hanson declined to comment. A Deloitte spokesman, Jonathan Gandal, said: “The PCAOB itself does not comment on recusals, and as such it would be inappropriate for us to do so.”

It’s a pretty nice scoop by Jon and we’re all used to the silence from the PCAOB and Deloitte when someone gets the best of them but honestly, is anyone surprised? Does anyone care? The answer to the first question is “No.” The answer is the second question is “Maybe.”

With the exception of Mr. Hanson (family connection, we’ll give you that one), the recusals seem a little silly since neither Ferguson or Doty actually worked directly for Deloitte. Okay, so Baker Botts and Gibson Dunn have Deloitte has a client. Which Big Law firm doesn’t? It’d be pretty tough to find any DC lawyer who didn’t do some time at a firm that represented Deloitte. That goes for any Big 4 firm. They’ve all got deep pockets with lots of legal problems, of course they’re going to hire the best lawyers money can buy. Does that make guys like Ferguson and Doty unfit to make decisions with regard to that firm?

Well, for one year it does. Under the Board’s ethics code, Doty and Ferguson will be able to vote on matters involving Deloitte in January. Still, Weil doesn’t like the smell of it. And it doesn’t stop with the PCAOB:

[T]alk about being wired: The SEC’s chief accountant, James Kroeker, is a Deloitte alumnus. At the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which writes U.S. accounting rules, the wife of one board member, Russell Golden, is a Deloitte partner.

Look, we like Jon (even if he is a Colorado grad). But how do you find accounting policy makers who aren’t from the biggest, best connected firms that have the most resources? Should the Commission start appointing academics to develop policy? Eeek. Or maybe we’ll let the public make recommendations, “Yeah, my cousin’s a CPA out of Tulsa. Really knows his stuff. He’d be good.” Please.

Dan Goelzer’s seat is coming up and he’ll be replaced by a CPA. Weil hopes that the SEC will find “a qualified person without Big 4 allegiances” but with the revolving door spinning, he’d better hope for a wild card.

Goldman Sachs Envy Gains New Meaning at Big Four [Jonathan Weil/Bloomberg]

A Slightly Haggard Tara Reid Says She Was Not Legally Married to That Deloitte Consultant

Back in August, we learned that Bunny Lebowski (aka Tara Reid) had become engaged and married to a Deloitte consultant named Zachary Kehayov in a matter of hours. We were quite happy to learn that someone in the Big 4 was able to grace the pages of TMZ and not because they were found dead in Charlie Sheen’s pool.

ANYWAY, yesterday I was trolling over some incoming links and discovered that the Celebritology Blog over at the Washington Post was wondering aloud if the wedding was legit based on a TMZ video featuring Bunny and also that “some blogs” (i.e. Going Concern) reported that he lived in DC. After peeling my palm off my face, realizing that Tweets, pictures, and all the media hysteria around BL’s wedding could all be BS, I watched the video:

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Now there are only a few scenarios that would cause me to look like this: 1) After obtaining leaked financial statements from all the Big 4 firms, I reach levels of paranoia that rival Eric Bana’s character in Munich; 2) 24-48 straight hours of dancing in an undisclosed location; 3) Watching an Oz marathon with Adrienne. Typically in the aftermath of those scenarios, I would probably say anything that would disavow any past reckless behavior. Or, on second thought, I’d probably just own up to it.

That said, I’m not a celebrity and I don’t typically do things that are quite as impulsive as getting engaged and married to a Deloitte hack in less time than it takes to fly from New York to L.A. But that’s just me. Discuss as you see fit.

PwC Associate Quits…To Work For a Food Truck

Sorting through Moanday’s emails, I received one from a very proud (and former) P’Dubber. He wanted to share his resignation letter, where he pretty much tees off on his former colleagues.

An excerpt: “burning bridges ain’t all that bad if people want to jump off of them.”

Thought you guys may enjoy this – my name is [redacted] and this was my resignation letter to PwC I sent to the entire group a few weeks ago…. had to get this forwarded from friends within the group as they confiscated my laptop and disconnected my phone service after i sent this out – also deleted it from everyone’s mailbox by the next afternoon. nonetheless, already has circled around like wildfire. if you do happen to use this – please take out any other names, don’t want word getting back of my moles within the group 🙂

[DWB note: names removed and yes, there’s lots of capitalization issues.]

Sent on : 10/03/2011 06:50:43 PM
Subject : dueces!

fellow underpaid laborers,

no need to bs here, it’s been a pleasure w some, a nightmare w most. my
last words –

to my friends, see you on the flipside

to the newbies, one word: dignity. you are not a part of a meritocracy and climbing the corporate ladder’s just a game. if you a snake, slither your way to the top and look down on everyone with misguided pride. otherwise be real and dont do anything that jeopardizes your values. if you plan on being the future of this group don’t bitch about it together in secret and ruin the sacredness of the pantry, with all that free milk and napkins. and soap. lead by example, not your examples. shit gets pushed down and blame gets pushed up, your boss’s boss’s boss has a boss to blame your grievances on. don’t just be a product of a farming system of the ML of finance. you may leave and feel better, but you’re leaving a bunch of people behind that will go through the same shit you did. respect and loyalty is nonexistent in this group.. act on it. if you can spare yourself a moment in retrospect that you’d remember with disdain, why not. and if this isn’t for you and you already know it stop wasting your time.

to my “superiors”, from the great and timeless Remember the Titans, “Attitude reflects leadership, captain”. oh and this whole external hiring thing is completely hit or miss, the lack of trust in organic growth is pure use-em-while-you-can turn over (pun…HA) culture and it shows.

well, I guess I won’t be getting any recs from here, but f it burning bridges ain’t all that bad if people want to jump off of them.

ohh and to the all bark, no bite HR Manager with an office for midgets, give the man credit for havin some sass, but he has memory issues. the people you told verbatim that sittin for the gmats would be enough, the email that proved it, the way you denied it and put it back on them and didn’t have a care in the world u were losing good talent (not myself of course, letsbehonest), manager of the year. I’d say you were the [redacted] of pdub managers. and don’t text message me man, cmon, seriously? i ask who u are, u reply “your HR manager”? well, not anymore (expletive). and no one likes to be text messaged by middle aged men, no one.

on that note, in the words of the amazing [redacted], dueces!

SHAMELESS PLUGS *YAY*
KorillaBBQ – the new face of Korean BBQ
As seen on the Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race”
Web: www.korillabbq.com
Facebook: Korilla BBQ
Twitter: @KorillaBBQ

Those of you at PDubs – was it really erased from computers? Do former colleagues get a discount at the truck? We want details.

Layoff Watch ’11: KPMG Asking for ‘Voluntary Redundancies’ Down Under

From the land that brought you Michael Andrew:

KPMG is to push ahead with a round of voluntary redundancies following a slowdown in merger and acquisition activity. The privately-held firm launched the cost cutting program this week, offering voluntary redundancies and part-time working options for its 5000 Australian-based staff.

[…]”We’re seeing a tough, uncertain, challenging and patchy market,” KPMG’s Australian chief executive officer, Geoff Wilson, said yesterday. But he declined to say how many staff would be affected by the shake-up. “While we’re experiencing year-on-year growth, we’re seeing some softening in that growth. [We are trying to] create flexibility in response to the patchiness we’re seeing in the market,” he said.

Crikey. I guess by “create flexibility” Mr. Wilson means, “Your work-life balance is going to get a whole lot easier.”

KPMG calls for redundancies amid slowdown in mergers [SMH via Francine McKenna]

Let’s Get to Know KPMG’s New International Chairman, Michael Andrew

Yesterday we learned that new KPMG International Chairman Michael Andrew doesn’t think too highly of second-tier accounting firms. Sure, they might have fancy ad campaigns, or offer Starbucks cards for being tattletales but could they audit a global bank? No. Hell no. Rubes. According to Andrew, those firms are “quite lazy” about investing in their businesses which means you couldn’t trust those audits as far as you could throw them.

But perhaps that wasn’t the best introduction for the man replacing Tim Flynn (who is, frankly, irreplaceable). Luckily, in addition to the FT piece we mentioned yesterday, there was also a much longer profile of MA that will give you a better idea of the man who has to fill T Fly’s shoes.


For starters, being the chair of an international accounting behemoth can be a quite the harried job, it’s important that Drew be afforded the quickest transport possible:

Holding court in a hotel at London’s Heathrow airport, Michael Andrew is boasting about how easy it is to get from his desk to the runway back home in Hong Kong. “I basically walk out of the office and they guarantee me to be sitting on the plane in 45 minutes,” he says.

The new chairman of KPMG International is not trying to rub salt into the wounds of harried air travellers in the UK and US. Rather, the 55-year-old Australian is explaining why he recently became the first head of a major global accounting network to be based in Asia.

And since he is based in Asia, this should put everyone on notice that the House of Klynveld isn’t caught up in the old world thinking of being centered in New York or London like other firms:

The bosses of KPMG’s three bigger rivals – PwC, Deloitte and Ernst & Young – are all based in New York or London: “We are trying to say we are a much more globally balanced firm.”

Okay, so PwC had over $29 billion in revenue. And Deloitte’s results were nothing to sneeze at. Even E&Y managed to put up a decent number. But do their respective Chairmen reside in the eastern hemisphere? I think you know the answer.

But just because he is the new Chairman of one of the largest accounting firms on Earth, you might expect that Drew is caught up in the high-flying lifestyle of a rockstar accountant. Sure, he golfs like the rest of you but that shouldn’t give you the wrong idea about Mike:

Mr Andrew’s hobby of racehorse breeding suggests he is more unbuttoned than the stereotypical accountant, even though three of his horses are called Discretion, Tactfully and Chatham House – the latter a reference to the famously off-the-record UK forum. But Mr Andrews himself is certainly willing to make punchy comments.

That’s right. This means stomping through shit. Bossing stable boys around. Firing trainers when necessary. Clearly, he’ll get down in the mud if he has to.

An accountant betting on Asia [FT]

Layoff Watch ’11: Cuts a Comin’ at Deloitte?

From the mailbag:

Heard this from a Director in the firm: Deloitte layoffs coming. Lists are made…cuts coming soon. Said a lot of it has to do with thinning out the ranks (too many people jumping ship because their level is top heavy and promotion nowhere in sight) as well as letting go underperformers.


As you probably noticed, 2011 hasn’t had much in the way of layoff news with the exception of some support staff that were cut at McGladrey, Grant Thornton, and KPMG. That said, this seems like an opportune time to kick a few people to the curb. If you wait until November, well, that just looks bad.

Keep us updated with any news and if you’re in the know, get in touch.

Brits To Give Big 4 the Full Monty

Britain’s top accountants are to have their own books scrutinised after the consumer watchdog referred the business of checking companies’ figures for a full-scale competition inquiry. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it had been concerned for some time that the audit market is highly concentrated with low levels of switching and substantial barriers to entry. The watchdog estimates that in 2010 the “big four” firms, PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young, earned 99% of audit fees paid by FTSE 100 companies, while between 2002 and 2010 only 2.3% of FTSE 100 firms changed their auditor. [UKPA]

Schwag Watch ’11: Deloitte May Be Implying That Recruits Have Poor Personal Hygiene

Earlier this month our resident big man on campus, DWB, put out a call for all the schwagtacular gear that recruits were snatching up this fall. We didn’t get much for submissions at first but luckily a friend from the north passed along photos that ranged from “a bunch of junk” to Dr. Seuss to a PwC cookie describe as “soft” and “amazing.”

Things have quieted down since then but thankfully, another enterprising young recruit who is right in the wheelhouse of recruiting passed along a couple more pics that include examples of loot from Deloitte and Grant Thornton.


First our tipster’s thoughts on GT’s offering: “The GT cup is ok but the straw is totally useless.” And for the gazillionth time, purple just sucks.


According to our tipster, the Deloitte sanitizer is really the most perplexing item: “I am not sure what to think of Deloitte’s hand sanitizer.”

So what do we make of this? It’s not a surprise that Deloitte isn’t a “If it’s brown flush it down; if it’s yellow keep it mellow” kinda place but what does this bottle of freshness really communicate? Do they simply think college students are unkempt? Is Deloitte making the assumption that all the recruits are applying there because the Occupy movement rejected their applications? Or, since there is fairly new leadership in place, does this speak more directly to the firm’s position on germs in general? Put simply: Are Joe Echevarria and Barry Salzgerg germophobes? I’m inclined to go with option 3 but would entertain other theories.