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Big 4
Big Four stronger than ever as UK audit clampdown eases [Financial Times Opinion]
Regulation is in retreat on both sides of the Atlantic. Long-promised legislation to beef up the UK audit regulator and dilute the oligopoly of the Big Four accounting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC — has been abandoned after almost a decade of lobbying. Meanwhile, the regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, is trumpeting an “evolved” approach that will mean less direct scrutiny of individual audits, in favour of a greater focus on firms’ systems. This easing of pressure has left some at the Big Four sounding gleeful. It’s great to “get rid of some of this stupid regulation”, says one partner.
KPMG UK Scraps Covid-Era Policy Letting Staff Leave Early [Bloomberg]
KPMG’s UK arm has told staff that they can no longer finish early on Fridays over the summer, in a reversal of a Covid-era policy, according to a spokesperson. “Every year we review our summer ‘jump start’ program to make sure we are considering market conditions and business needs,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement, referring to the policy.
PwC cuts partner payouts in China Evergrande fallout [Financial Times]
Proceeds from the 2022 sale of a business unit, which were due to be distributed to people who were members of the partnership at the time, will instead be kept for the “operations and investments” of the firm, PwC told retired partners in an email seen by the FT.
Deloitte to Debut Primary Livery with Arrow McLaren at World Wide Technology Raceway [McLaren]
McLaren Racing has partnered with Deloitte since 2017 and is the Official Transformation Partner of McLaren Racing across the organization’s racing portfolio.
AI
This Common ‘Negative Perception’ Is Holding Back New Graduates, Says a Top Deloitte Executive [Entrepreneur]
Deloitte Asia-Pacific CEO Rob Hillard says many colleges are falling short in preparing students for an AI-driven workplace because they are teaching graduates to see AI as cheating rather than a useful tool. In a Bloomberg interview this week, Hillard said many recent graduates enter the workforce with a “negative perception” of AI because they were taught in college to see it as a form of cheating. “We have to change that,” he said.
AI cited as top reason for US job cuts for third straight month [CFO Dive]
For the year, employers have cited AI in 87,714 planned layoffs, representing 22% of all announced job cuts in 2026. The total has already surpassed the 54,836 AI-related cuts recorded during all of 2025.
AI’s Billion Dollar Tax Breaks: Data Center Incentives Fuel Backlash [Bloomberg Tax]
The AI boom has kicked data center construction into overdrive, pitting states against each other in a competition for jobs and economic growth. Across the country, states have forgone billions of dollars in tax revenue to attract companies like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Now, lawmakers in several states are beginning to reconsider whether those tax breaks still make sense.
Accountants ‘don’t want to be left behind’ in the age of AI [Accountants Daily]
Recently, on an episode of Under The Hood, Michael DePrisco, president and chief executive of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), discussed how accounting and finance professions can begin adopting AI.
Tax
IRS Audits, Extra Tax Collected Dipped After Workforce Shakeup [Bloomberg Tax]
The IRS closed fewer tax return audits and collected billions of dollars less in additional taxes following the fallout of workforce losses last year. In 2025, the IRS closed 497,621 tax return audits which resulted in $26.8 billion in recommended additional tax, according to the agency’s data book released Friday. It’s a drop from 2024 when the IRS closed 505,514 tax return audits, resulting in over $29 billion.
Audit
Texas now requires cities to do an audit before raising property taxes. Some small towns can’t afford it. [Texas Tribune]
Some cities have seen staffing churn and difficulty courting qualified finance staff to move to a small town to replace them. In a small town, it can be difficult to find a replacement if a key executive like a city manager or finance director leaves, officials said. Alpine, a West Texas town about 25 miles east of Marfa, was two years behind on its audits when Henry Arredondo became city manager in January, he said. Alpine’s last city manager had previously been the finance director, so when they left last year, they took their know-how of the city’s books with them, Arredondo said. Arredondo saw something similar when he worked as Dilley’s city manager. That city advertised for a finance director for four years but could never hire one, he said.
Firm Watch
Armanino names Anthony Sciarra as head of tax practice [Consulting.us]
Based in New York, Sciarra brings more than 20 years of tax leadership experience, with expertise in tax strategy, organizational transformation, and client service.
Aprio Acquires Boston’s Waldron H. Rand & Co., Adding a Century of Client Service to Its Greater Boston Presence [PR Newswire]
Aprio, the 20th largest business advisory and accounting firm in the U.S., announces its acquisition of Waldron H. Rand & Company, P.C. (Waldron Rand), a Dedham, Massachusetts firm with more than 110 years of history serving New England’s businesses and families.
Brussels pushes US on accounting [