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Even PwC Is Hyping Up GTA VI Now

With 14 days to go until the release of the most anticipated game of this decade, PwC has pushed out a bit of thought leadership-slash-economic analysis titled "Vice City, everywhere:…

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Deloitte Guy’s Love Life Has Become a Federal Matter

Last Friday, 42-year-old Ian Brinksman was picked up by the feds for allegedly passing top secret national defense information to another individual. Though that individual wasn't named by any reports,…

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robber takes PwC learning data

Hackers Have Apparently Stolen a Whole Lot of PwC Homework

Oh no, hackers have swiped oodles of slides! PwC has confirmed that a third-party vendor it uses for employee records has been breached after a "cyber extortion group" said they…

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PwC building exterior with sign

PwC Ekes Past EY With $60.2 Billion in Reported Global Revenue

Wow, Big 4 are really rushing out revenue numbers this year aren't they? First we got Deloitte in late September, EY two weeks later, and now PwC has just dropped…

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KPMG office but upside down because Australia

KPMG Australia Has Made a List of Things It Probably Should Have Done Already

...such as "support whistleblowers" and "punish people who do stuff that will give Australian Financial Review an easy 9 months of negative headlines." So KPMG Australia is still in its…

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News

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PCAOB Announces Five Specialized Enforcement Units to Ferret Out Audit Violations

The PCAOB announced yesterday that they've put together five new units underneath the enforcement umbrella, each with their own specialized expertise. In the PCAOB's words, those units are: Strategic Risk…

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: PwC to Teach Thinking; Support Your Local Whistleblower | 11.9.26

Hey. Got some news for you so you have something that isn't politics to talk about at the water cooler. In this news briefPwC Will Certify ThinkersThat's a Big Number"People…

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Friday Footnotes: KPMG Settles With Investors; AICPA Proposes Outside Investor Guidance | 11.6.26

Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you're here, subscribe to our newsletter to…

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PS5 controller

Even PwC Is Hyping Up GTA VI Now

With 14 days to go until the release of the most anticipated game of this decade, PwC has pushed out a bit of thought leadership-slash-economic analysis titled "Vice City, everywhere:…

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Philippines currency, phone, and pen on desk

Turns Out Offshoring Isn’t a Cheap Forever Solution to Talent Problems

Well we knew this would happen eventually. An article published today in Accountants Daily is all about how small firms over in Australia are struggling to hire talent. Now, if…

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Technology

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Just in Case You Were Unsure, IRS Official Clarifies AI Is Not a Person Under Circular 230

The Journal of Accountancy has published an interesting article about comments made by the director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility at the AICPA National Tax Conference yesterday, an…

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The Robots Want Your Emails, and the AICPA Has Concerns

Last month a pitch arrived in our editor inbox, the title of which was "Going Concern, meet the startup helping accounting firms turn old Slacks and emails into free money."…

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robber takes PwC learning data

Hackers Have Apparently Stolen a Whole Lot of PwC Homework

Oh no, hackers have swiped oodles of slides! PwC has confirmed that a third-party vendor it uses for employee records has been breached after a "cyber extortion group" said they…

Read More
woman being annoyed by clients

Bill Gates Predicts AI Will Be Taking Clients’ Most Tedious Questions 24/7 Within a Few Years

Did you catch Bill Gates' recent chat with Ezra Klein? I didn't, thankfully my washed colleague regularly reads NYT and sent it to me via Slack. Many people are stuck…

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Business guys with AI robots

The AICPA Wants Tax Pros to Take a Hit From Its New AI Risk CART

Rather than dropping a strongly worded letter on the topic of the IRS's position on AI in tax practice and dropping the topic there to focus on other pressing matters,…

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Practice Management

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Robot using calculator

Just in Case You Were Unsure, IRS Official Clarifies AI Is Not a Person Under Circular 230

The Journal of Accountancy has published an interesting article about comments made by the director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility at the AICPA National Tax Conference yesterday, an…

Read More
Vintage tin toy robot hiding behind orange computer circuit board

The Robots Want Your Emails, and the AICPA Has Concerns

Last month a pitch arrived in our editor inbox, the title of which was "Going Concern, meet the startup helping accounting firms turn old Slacks and emails into free money."…

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two gentlemen solving business problems

Finance Leaders Are Shopping for a CAS Partner, and They Brought a List

Cash flow, automation, fraud protection. Your firm can deliver all three. Finance leaders would like some help with the accounting. Not a little help, either. BILL asked 354 finance decision-makers…

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Man struggling with paper expense receipts

Expense Management: Because Apparently Clients Will Pay You to Make Expense Reports Suck Less

Spend and expense management is one of the most in-demand CAS services—and one of the most underutilized. There’s still plenty of room to get into the game. Clients are drowning…

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For Firms, Growth is Down But Profitability Is Up

That's the headline from INSIDE Public Accounting based on the results of their 2026 Practice Management Report: The report draws on survey responses from 605 North American accounting firms, spanning…

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Quick Reads

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Here Are Tax and Audit Salaries at Top 25, Top 300, and Regional Firms

Recruiting firm Brewer Morris has released its 2025 US CPA salary guide and should you want to read the whole thing you can request it from them here. Perhaps you,…

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Friendly Reminder Not to Work Yourself to Death For This Profession

Saw this on the bird app yesterday and thought its message would be worth passing along what with 20 days remaining until April 15 and nerves as strained as ever…

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Accounting Firm Abruptly Nopes Out of Tax Season Early (UPDATE)

Ed. note: An earlier version of this article's headline stated the sheriff is investigating. The Alexander County Sheriff's Office informed us they are not investigating, only fielding calls from the…

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This Deloitte Office Has Eliminated Trash Cans at Desks to Make Staff Get Up Off Their Asses

Boston Business Journal wrote an article about Deloitte's new office in Boston and for some reason they chose to lead with this: You won’t find trash cans at the desks…

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The IRS Decided to Troll Tax Pros For 10/15

We realize the decision to run maintenance on IRS systems likely isn't made by anyone who understands deadlines but surely someone who does could inform the IT department of these…

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two gentlemen solving business problems

Finance Leaders Are Shopping for a CAS Partner, and They Brought a List

Cash flow, automation, fraud protection. Your firm can deliver all three. Finance leaders would like some help with the accounting. Not a little help, either. BILL asked 354 finance decision-makers…

Read More
Man struggling with paper expense receipts

Expense Management: Because Apparently Clients Will Pay You to Make Expense Reports Suck Less

Spend and expense management is one of the most in-demand CAS services—and one of the most underutilized. There’s still plenty of room to get into the game. Clients are drowning…

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Top Remote Accounting Freelancers: February 3, 2024

Looking to staff up for a season or hire a freelancer for a project? Accountingfly is ready to partner with you! Gain full access to a pool of highly skilled…

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10 Essential Project Management Principles for Accounting Firms

Every accounting firm struggles with project management, with smaller practices that are rapidly expanding taking the brunt of the damage. As your firm adds new clients, takes on more work,…

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Review Comments | 08.25.09

Phil_9 box_round 2.jpg• Unfounded Rumor Of The Afternoon: Dick Fuld Staging Dress Rehearsal For Comeback? – If Fill made his way over to 345 Park to get his 9 box review and you didn’t inform us, we don’t even want to begin to tell you about the wrath that will ensue. [DB]
• White House Raises Long-Term Deficit Forecast – “The Obama administration shaved $262 billion from its estimated 2009 federal budget deficit but said the U.S. will run a $9 trillion deficit over the next 10 years — $2 trillion more than it forecast earlier this year.” Can we all agree that the government needs to quit releasing stats? Great, thanks. [WSJ]
• Brewers Planning to Raise Beer Prices – If you didn’t have an excuse to revolt before, you’ve got one now. [WSJ]
• Bernie Madoff mistress Sheryl Weinstein to send copy of book to scammer in prison – The class on this gal continues to impress. [NYDN]

Possible Confirmation for Your Unfounded Rumors about Partner Expenses

magic money.jpgThere’s a large misconception that partners and directors can run anything through on their expense reports. Lapdances, red meat at Bobby Van’s, shoes at Bergdorf’s, you know, the usual rumored fare.
Alleged abuse notwithstanding, one KPMG director in London has managed to live up to the reputation of flagrantly assaulting the expense reimbursement policy:
More, after the jump

Andrew Wetherall, a director at the firm, fraudulently claimed expenses to pay for holidays, cars, computers and even his divorce from his first wife. The 49-year-old also used them over five and a half years to keep his second wife happy by funding her £15,000-a-month lifestyle. Southwark crown court heard today how he falsely claimed £545,620.89, making several claims for flights abroad and expenses relating to business trips he never went on. After a boss raised the alarm, Wetherall initially claimed it was a mistake. But he owned up to the fraud after an internal probe.

We’re all for bending the rules for some bagels here and there but seriously. What did this guy spend his salary on? Did he have a Stevie Nicks-type coke habit? Whatever happened, all’s forgiven because according to the piece, Wetherall was “suspended by KPMG and has repaid more than £337,000.” It’s only money, right?
Accountant paid for divorce and holidays with £545,000 fraud [London Evening Standard]

Chipotle is Here to Help Increase Your Chargeability

ChipotleBurrito.jpgChipotle must have got word that Deloitte was handing out iPhones because the bean slingers have developed an app that will allow you to order your 1,000+ calorie lunch directly from said gadget.
It wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to wonder if the accounting firms had something to do with this. The only thing we can’t figure out is how this fits in with some firms’ newfound trend of caring about your health. Regardless, now that ordering Chipotle is totally portable, accountants won’t have an excuse to leave the office, EVER.
No more excuses about “I’m going to get something to eat”. Nonsense. Order your brick of deliciousness from your iPhone and get your ass back to your cubicle. The intern will pick it up and return with your tin foil surprise, pronto. Nevermind that food coma that will ensue after consuming one of these beasts, you’ll be in front of your spreadsheets, looking chargeable. Besides, some of you have extra hours to come up with for next month anyway.
Chipotle launches iPhone ordering app [Denver Business Journal]

Countdown for Current CPA Testing Window

olinto_cpa.jpgSince exam scores were being released last week, we probably don’t need to remind some of you that next Monday marks the end of the current testing window for the CPA exam. For some of you that means that you’re working 10-12 hours a day and then going home to study on your own or to listen to the sweet voice of Peter Olinto. For a few of you, it may mean that you’re coming up on your 18 month deadline to finish the exam. SHUDDER.
Of course if you were/are up for manager and you’re still studying, you probably haven’t been sleeping for months. We’re guessing that tax associate didn’t even bother registering to sit this summer but we could be wrong.
Whatever your situation, we’re sure that you feel like you could be studying more. Does your firm allow you to study at work? If so, is that even feasible for your current workloads? The firms put a big priority on passing the exam but your work better get done, right? Are they still paying bonuses for passing or did they cut that too? Let us know about your firm and whether or not passing the exam is a reality considering you’re all doing more with less.

Apparently There Was No Rush on the Naming of the Chief Accountant

mary_schapiro_1218.jpgIt’s nearly September and Mary Schapiro has finally gotten around to naming a Chief Accountant. It’s been a busy 7-8 months, and with Ponzi schemes popping up out of nowhere and Steve Job’s liver, sometimes getting appointments made can’t be squeezed in.
James Kroeker, a former partner and Deloitte gets the honor of whatever it is the OCA actually does. Oh wait:
More, after the jump

Kroeker, who has held the job on an interim basis since January, would be responsible for interpreting rules requiring companies to disclose their financial health to shareholders. If named, he would referee disputes between banks and investors over writedowns for assets that lost value during the recession.

That’s it? This will be a breeze. Get crackin’ Jimmy. You’re got eight official months to get caught up on.
SEC’s Schapiro Said to Name Kroeker as Agency’s Top Accountant [Bloomberg]

Preliminary Analytics | 08.25.09

graduation.jpg• Obama to Reappoint Bernanke as Fed Chief – “Mr. Bernanke is seen by supporters inside the administration and in markets as a creative and steady hand who helped to keep the financial chaos, which became especially dangerous in the past year, from becoming much worse.” Now that the next four years are in the bag, the beard is getting grown out. [WSJ]
• Volcker: Money funds weaken financial system – Sounds like someone wants headlines on someone else’s big day. [Reuters]
• Appeals Court Says Stanford Must Remain in Jail – Let’s get this circus of a trial started already. [DealBook]
• GameStop says CFO will retire in March – Presumably to work on his GTA game [Reuters]

Review Comments | 08.24.09

KenLewisNOPEb.jpg• BofA Denies It Misled on Merrill Bonuses – In other words, piss off. [WSJ]
• Swine Flu May Cause 90,000 U.S. Deaths, Report Says – We’re looking forward to hysterical 24 hour swine flu coverage again. [Bloomberg]
• Bureau of Prisons Denies Madoff Has Cancer – Chest hair removal and getting high is definitely accurate though. [DealBook]
• Philadelphia Eagles Pass on $10k Tax Credit for Hiring Ex-Convict Michael Vick – That explains it. [TaxProf Blog]
• IRS Could Target Off-Shore Hedge-Fund Investors Next ‘Expect U.S. investors in off-shore hedge funds in places like the Cayman Islands, who failed to properly report earnings to the IRS, to be the next target of U.S. tax authorities’ [WSJ]

E&Y is Freezing Pay Because it’s Fair

E&Y has officially entered the pay freeze zone, via a voicemail left for employees, according to multiple tips we received. This follows the rumor that was announced a couple of weeks ago.
The following factors led to freeze:
Excuses Reasons and our explanations, after the jump


• Fairness – “It’s fair that everyone’s pay is being frozen.”
• Market Competition – “Monkey see, monkey do”
• Invest in Top Performers – “Top Performers” is subject to interpretation.
• Market Pressure – “Our clients are biting the dust or they’re ditching us”
• Fiscally Responsibility – “It’s a recession”
One exception to the freeze is that second year associates will get a raise in order to put them at the level of or above the incoming new associates, which is consistent with the earlier rumors. Select cities and practices may receive increases but it doesn’t sound too promising.
Bonuses are being paid to those of you that got promoted and they break down as 5k to SA’s, 6.5k to Managers, 8k to Sr. Managers. Sounds like partners took a pay cut this year so dammit, no belly-aching. Just kidding, go ape. If you have your own interpretation on the reasons given for the freeze, discuss in the comments.