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The Job Market
CFO hires increasing; average age of hires decreasing [Journal of Accountancy]
If the first half of 2026 is any indication, opportunities for CFO roles at large companies are on the rise — and younger candidates are getting a closer look. The midyear Crist | Kolder Associates Volatility Report projects an 18.3% CFO turnover rate at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies over the entirety of 2026, a level of turnover last surpassed in 2019. The CFO turnover rate in 2025 was a similarly robust 18.1%. The average age of the 72 CFO hires made halfway through 2026 was 48.2 years old, down from an average of 51.9 years for 2025 hires.
Bain Wants to Boost Consultant Hiring by 12% on Client AI Demand [Bloomberg]
Bain wants to add about 1,400 client-facing roles this year to its base of around 12,000 staffers, managing partner and chairman Christophe De Vusser said in an interview. AI is driving double-digit revenue growth at the firm, he said, and Bain needs to expand its headcount to help harness that growth.
Audit
AI sounds the death knell for audit fee inflation [Financial Times]
Auditors make a point of looking for unexpected shifts and unusual trends. They may find some of both among their own fees. Companies’ audit bills have generally increased 4 per cent to 5 per cent a year. Yet last year, the increase, at less than 2 per cent, was basically in line with inflation. There is good reason to think the days of reliable audit-fee increases are numbered.
With $865K spent and no 2024 audit, council questions city’s progress [Valley Breeze (Rhode Island)]
The city of Woonsocket has spent some $865,000 in hopes of completing a financial audit now 18 months past due, leading to ongoing concerns from the state auditor general, officials said last week. Finance Director Christine Chamberland said she now expects to submit the required financial data before Labor Day, and that as more office staffing finally lands in place, the city’s process should become more timely.
Halifax County town penalized after not submitting 2025 audit on time, officials say [WNCN (North Carolina)]
This article from April discusses why Littleton has been struggling to submit timely audits since 2020.
In May, Littleton officials said they submitted their overdue 2021 audit, but their four remaining audits, including last year’s, remained unavailable. Due to not submitting a 2025 audit by the March 31 deadline, according to state officials, Littleton received a notice of noncompliance.
Technology
AI’s productivity boom will likely create a ‘winner-takes-all’ economy, top EY economist warns [Fortune]
Despite promises that AI could prove to be society’s great equalizer, Gregory Daco, the EY-Parthenon chief economist, argues that “productivity growth protects margins, not income.” “You tend to have greater concentration and more of a winner-takes-all type of environment when you have these technological advances,” Daco said in an interview with Fortune’s Eva Roytburg. In almost every technological revolution—the railroad boom of the late 19th century, or the 90s dot-com revolution—large, vertically-integrated firms initially capture the gains, while smaller ones face “persistent cost pressures, persistent policy uncertainty, higher interest rates,” Daco noted.
U.S. Servicemember, KPMG Employee Are Targets of Prediction Markets Crackdown [WSJ]
Remember this analysis from February when people were talking about a bunch of oddly successful bets on KPMG-audited companies? Could be related, or not.
Another case authorities are pursuing focuses on an employee at KPMG, the global accounting and consulting firm, people familiar with that investigation said. The employee is under investigation for betting on whether a specific public company would beat the consensus estimate for quarterly earnings, one of the people said.
Tax
Congress approves funding bill that maintains IRS budget [Journal of Accountancy]
Congress avoided a government shutdown when the House approved a stopgap bill that maintains current funding levels for federal government agencies, including the IRS, and forwarded it to the president for his signature.
IRS audit revenue plunged following workforce reductions, Treasury watchdog finds [CBS News]
Revenue from IRS audits plunged 35% in fiscal 2025 as the agency shed thousands of enforcement workers, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, an agency watchdog. The IRS collected a total of $6.5 billion from audits in fiscal 2025, which ended Sept. 30, down from $10 billion a year earlier, TIGTA said in its Aug. 26 report.
Fraud
Belgium seizes €65 million in French McKinsey tax-fraud investigation [Reuters]
Belgian authorities have seized €65 million ($76 million) in a French investigation into suspected aggravated tax fraud and money laundering involving the U.S.-based consulting firm McKinsey, French and Belgian prosecutors said on Friday. In a statement, McKinsey said it was cooperating with French authorities and denied any wrongdoing.
Utah launches first-of-its-kind team to prosecute fraud, other financial crimes [KSL]
Utah has seen a “five-fold increase” in the amount of money stolen through financial crimes in the past five years, according to Attorney General Derek Brown. That increase is part of why his office on Monday launched a new team focused solely on investigating and prosecuting financial fraud across the state. The Financial Crimes Intelligence Center is the first team of its kind in the state to work with federal agencies and financial institutions to fill gaps in the current fraud prevention system.
