Happy Columbus Day to those who celebrate, happy nondescript Federal holiday to everyone else. There are a few things going on today but it goes without saying that this will be a short news brief.
In this news brief
KPMG Eyes New Digs in Chicago
Crain’s Chicago Business reports that KPMG might be moving in Chicago:
KPMG is nearing a deal to relocate its Chicago office to a River North skyscraper, a move that would punctuate a remarkable leasing comeback for a landlord that lost its two massive anchor tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The accounting giant is in advanced talks to lease around 250,000 square feet in the 60-story tower at 300 N. LaSalle St., according to sources familiar with the matter. If the deal is finalized, KPMG would move to the riverfront building from the Aon Center skyscraper, where it occupies about 236,000 square feet on a lease that expires in 2029.
Filed Under: Duh
In less innocuous KPMG news, we’ve got this from AFR: KPMG culture inquiry reveals pressure to cheat
An investigation into KPMG has found that the firm systematically mistreated, marginalised and took retaliatory action against anyone who spoke up internally about unethical behaviour, confirming a whistleblower’s allegations about its practices.
The report by consultancy Principia Advisory, released to partners on Friday, also found that a relentless commercial pressure to win work and increase revenue fuelled a culture of systemic internal cheating – driving partners to steal sales credits, under-cost proposals and pressure staff into under-reporting actual hours worked.
I know, I know, insert shocked Pikachu face here.
Deloitte Did WHAT!?
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has dropped a bomb on Deloitte. Deloitte Cyprus specifically and its relationship with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich:
The accountancy giant Deloitte fabricated corporate documents to help Roman Abramovich conceal at least $10bn in assets and dodge large amounts of tax, the Bureau can reveal.
Our forensic analysis of leaked documents shows that senior staff at Deloitte and later Meritservus, the firm spun out of it, falsified paperwork for the oligarch as a matter of routine for over a decade. We found more than 1,000 corporate records that had been “backdated” – given a fake earlier timestamp – sometimes by as far as five years.
This created a false paper trail of contracts, payment orders and correspondence for more than 100 companies. Deloitte then signed off many of these companies’ accounts as “true and fair”, relying in some cases on the documents it had helped fabricate.
All this was a regular feature of the service offered to the oligarch by Deloitte’s Cyprus branch. It enabled Abramovich to keep his immense wealth hidden from the authorities and dodge tens of millions of dollars in tax. One leading expert told us it amounted to “straightforward and blatant” tax evasion.
Further reading from BBC: Documents falsified to evade tax on Abramovich’s wealth
AI Not Replacing Accountants (Who Had Already Been Replaced By Offshoring)
Xero surveyed New Zealand accounting firms and found that most don’t think AI will be putting people out of work in the next year. Those of us who know what time it is know that the kinds of jobs most at risk have already been offshored anyway:
Xero has released New Zealand research showing most accounting and bookkeeping firms do not expect artificial intelligence to cut jobs in the next year.
The survey of 526 senior accounting and bookkeeping professionals, part of Xero’s Modern Practise Playbook for New Zealand, found that 94% of practices do not expect team numbers to fall because of AI over the next 12 months. The findings suggest firms are using AI to reshape workloads rather than reduce headcount.
Scrolling down on the article:
The report also points to changes in recruitment. About 61% of practices said AI had already changed how they hire, while 35% said they were placing greater emphasis on soft skills and relationship management.
We’ve been saying for a while now that the average accounting firm employee of the future will be more salesperson than anything else so that tracks.
That’s What You Get For Surveying Asian Countries, They’re All In
Meanwhile, CPA Australia finds that their home country is lagging behind in AI adoption:
The 2026 edition of the professional accounting body’s annual Business Technology Report, informed by a survey of 1,679 accounting and finance professionals across Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Chinese Mainland and Singapore, found while 88 per cent of local businesses use AI, only 10 per cent have embedded it across their backend operations.
Across the regions surveyed Australia recorded the lowest level of deep AI integration, suggesting that the gap between businesses leveraging AI occasionally and embedding it strategically is widening.
The full report can be accessed through CPA Australia here.
Look, It’s Just Easier to Have Them Do It OK
POLITICO talks in depth about government contracts of Deloitte’s that shouldn’t be a thing per the government’s own rules:
Deloitte was paid 2.2 million Australian dollars to administer grants for upskilling the child care workforce, despite a government policy specifying this is core work that should ordinarily be done by public servants.
Although Deloitte was praised by an independent review for its use of “automation” to fulfill the contract, the Australian Greens and Community and Public Sector Union, affiliated with the ruling Australian Labor Party, have raised concerns the contract shows the Albanese government has failed to wean itself off expensive and unnecessary outsourcing.
And that’s it for this news brief. Like I said, a short one. Email or text if you have a tip or story for us and for those of you grinding it out to the 15th, you’ve got this! Bye.
