Well this is interesting. You know KPMG is sitting back saying "who is the joke of the Big 4 NOW, biatch?!" Anyone could have snapped up Rothstein Kass, but KPMG got there first.
As it turns out, hedge funds are a big business for all accounting firms thanks to PTA new regulations that require qualified accountants just to figure them out. Via FINalternatives:
New international hedge fund regulations are proving a headache for the industry—but a boon for accounting firms.
The so-called “Big Four” accountancies are ramping up their offerings to hedge funds, helping them navigate complex new rules and regulations on both sides of the Atlantic. In particular, the European Union’s new Alternative Investment Fund Managers’ Directive is driving hedge-fund managers to seek more advice from accountants—and driving those accountants to bolster their hedge-fund teams and services.
Thanks, global regulators and lawmakers!
Now, here's the super fun part:
“To be a global practice you need the ability to service both the fund and the managers in different jurisdictions, both of which need local support,” PwC hedge-fund head Rob Mellor told the FT.
That has given accountants a large number of ways to penetrate the hedge fund industry. “We’re completely in bed with these guys,” one London-based hedge fund chief operating officer told the newspaper.
Yeah, I'm not sure describing it as "completely in bed with these guys" is the correct way to phrase it, especially when one is discussing penetrating the entire industry. Maybe it's because the profession as a whole is still walking funny after that last big independence violation.
Sexual jokes aside, "in bed with" isn't a good thing. Per the Cambridge dictionary:
to work with a person or organization, or to be involved with them, in a way that causes other people not to trust you:
The newspaper editor is obviously in bed with the president.
That is not where you want to be with your accounting firm. Just sayin.
