Big D’s UK revenue was down 2% to £1.93 bil for the latest fiscal year, marking the first time a Big 4 firm has reported declining revenues in six years.
Partners are still doing okay though, as they will receive £601 million. That’s an average of £883,000 per partner. Not too shabby, even though that’s down over 7%.
Leaders within the firm are expecting another rough year ahead for the economy but are still planning for “growth not contraction”. We’re not sure how that fuzzy math will work but whatevs.
Oh, and little D’s, don’t worry, you got a shout-out from John Connolly the UK CEO: “our success will continue to be the product of our exceptionally talented people being relentlessly committed to our clients, to market leading, innovative service and to an obsession with quality”.
Relentlessly committed. Obsession with quality. Sounds like they must have re-instituted the tradition of shipping the criminals lesser performers down under.
Deloitte revenue drops in `extremely tough’ market [Accountancy Age]
Deloitte’s UK revenues shrink 2% [FT.com]
Layoff Watch ’26: Deloitte Auditors Got Bad News This Week
We only just now saw this as we hadn't gotten any tips about it and happened to see it on Reddit. Contrary to popular belief, we don't spend all day…
Someone at Deloitte’s Atlanta Office Doesn’t Rerack the Gym Equipment
So I saw this tweet last night as it was making the rounds. If you're still on Xitter you may have seen it too: If you're a long-time GC reader…
Evergrande Liquidators Want to Take an Extra Grande Bite Out of PwC’s Whole Pocket
It's already cost PwC China as much as two-thirds of their revenue due to regulatory punishments and reputational fallout, and now the collapse of long-time audit client Evergrande in 2021…
EY Gets Busted and Yeets Cybersecurity Report Littered With AI Hallucinations
Yesterday we received a news release from a communications firm working for a group called GPTZero. Now you should know that we receive probably a hundred or more news releases…
Layoff Watch ’26: KPMG Cuts 4% From Consulting
We've got another RIF at KPMG, a consulting cull that went down yesterday (that's Wednesday the 29th for those of you reading this a week from now). Let's start with…
Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Is AI in Big 4 a Big Deal?; Consulting Isn’t For Everyone, Or Most People Really | 5.25.26
Good morning and Happy Memorial Day! I hope at least some of you have the day off and will be doing something fun and/or relaxing today. This will be a…
Friday Footnotes: Supposedly AI Isn’t Killing Offshore Hiring Yet; KPMG Cozies Up to Claude | 5.22.26
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…
CBIZ Ends Its Employee Stock Purchase Program
We received this on the tipline a few days ago, not much info but it's still a pretty decent happening so let's roll with it: CBIZ suspends employee stock purchase…
Layoff Watch ’26: Deloitte Auditors Got Bad News This Week
We only just now saw this as we hadn't gotten any tips about it and happened to see it on Reddit. Contrary to popular belief, we don't spend all day…
Evergrande Liquidators Want to Take an Extra Grande Bite Out of PwC’s Whole Pocket
It's already cost PwC China as much as two-thirds of their revenue due to regulatory punishments and reputational fallout, and now the collapse of long-time audit client Evergrande in 2021…
Starbucks Kills Off Its Automated Counting AI Tool After Just 9 Months Because It Sucked at Counting Beans
While people outside of the accounting profession continue to smugly insist that accountants will be out of work in 12 months 18 months two years five years any day now…
EY Gets Busted and Yeets Cybersecurity Report Littered With AI Hallucinations
Yesterday we received a news release from a communications firm working for a group called GPTZero. Now you should know that we receive probably a hundred or more news releases…
KPMG Plans to Hand Routine Testing Off to AI
Did you happen to see this WSJ article from the other day? In "In This Critical Part of Audits, the Accountant’s Role Is Shrinking Fast," we're given a look into…
AI Will Be EY Auditors’ New BFF, According to EY
While staff in tax at EY US will soon be spending more time with their flesh-based colleagues due to a return-to-office mandate that requires them in the office for an…
ICYMI: According to This AI CEO You Won’t Have to Go to Work in a Year
Commence to fantasizing about what you'll do with all that glorious free time when you lose your job to AI in 12-18 months because that's the confident prediction made by…
Top Remote Tax and Accounting Candidates of the Week | October 16, 2025
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Top Remote Tax and Accounting Candidates of the Week | October 2, 2025
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Top Remote Tax and Accounting Candidates of the Week | September 25, 2025
Struggling to Find Remote Accounting or Tax Talent? We’ve Got You Covered.If your firm or internal team is having a tough time sourcing qualified remote tax and accounting professionals, you're…
Top Remote Tax and Accounting Candidates of the Week | September 18, 2025
Struggling to Find Remote Accounting or Tax Talent? We’ve Got You Covered.If your firm or internal team is having a tough time sourcing qualified remote tax and accounting professionals, you're…
Top Remote Tax and Accounting Candidates of the Week | September 4, 2025
Struggling to Find Remote Accounting Talent? We’ve Got You Covered. If your firm or internal team is having a tough time sourcing qualified remote tax and accounting professionals, you're not…
Twitter Feed
"The first U.S. pope called for ownership of AI data not to be left solely in private hands, for policy-makers to protect the rights of workers and keep children safe from the technology, and urged the cooling of competition between AI companies."
Pope, urging AI regulation, warns some weapons now beyond human control http://reut.rs/3PGQTHi http://reut.rs/3PGQTHi
Accounting too 🥺
You could carve out a nice life for yourself with just a bachelor's degree from a state school (and a lot of hard work, ofc).
Still can but it's getting a lot more competitive at the entry levels and equity is getting tougher to grab at the top.
Tech was one of the last paths into the upper middle class without family money, credential laundering, or nepotism.
Now those jobs are disappearing too.
That is why the layoff story matters beyond tech.
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
6 Ways Email is Secretly Destroying Your Accounting Firm
Email: The word itself sounds innocent, doesn't it? Kind of like "snail mail," but faster, sleeker, and without the slimy trail. But don't be fooled—email is secretly a sinister beast,…
Don’t Grow Your Accounting Firm Out of Business! Break Up With These Unscalable Practices Now
Business growth is always a high priority for accounting firms, especially small-to-midsize practices. Take care, though, because growth can be a double-edged sword. If your firm expands too quickly or…
Barry Salzberg’s Imaginary Advice for the President on Healthcare
We’re not going to debate about healthcare here because after about one-tenth of a nanosecond we’d consider jumping out the window. What we would like to discuss is Barry Salzberg, CEO of Deloitte-period, giving imaginary advice to the President on how to proceed with his strategy in getting support behind his reform efforts.
Check out some real advice, after the jump
Bar lays out his advice for B to the O in classic accountant fashion, ” I would counsel more patience.” and “Measured haste, you might call it. My advice to the president would be to find that balance of urgency and patience.” Haste. Balance. VOMIT. Wouldn’t you like to see one of these stoic Big 4 CEO’s just give completely batsh!t crazy advice on something, JUST ONCE?
Like if Salz advised that Obama’s strategy should consist of hosting Lebowski Fest at the White House. Bowling, white russians, chicks in viking costumes. That’ll get the people behind your plan Bam.
Measured haste. Pfffft. Is it any wonder everyone thinks accountants are boring? Feel free to discuss your favorite Big 4 CEO and all their words of wisdom they’re constantly bestowing upon you.
Subtlety Not a Strong Suit for Some Deloitte Aussies
Rumor out of Deloitte down-under, where, supposedly, some associates got canned because of organizing drug deals on Big D’s premises. Details are pretty scarce but this got us thinking:
More, after the jump
1. They were probably tax associates. They’re an unassuming bunch.
2. Is the pay so bad in Australia that Big D associates are resorting to illegal means of earning supplemental income? Wouldn’t turning tricks be easier?
3. How in God’s holy name did these f’n amateurs get busted? We’re they walking around soliciting potential customers like they were at a Phish concert?
We reached out to a Deloitte spokesperson who said they won’t comment on rumors. If you hear of other extracurricular activities going on at any of the firms, shoot us the scoop at tips@goingconcern.com
Stanford Goes to the Bullpen
The task of keeping Allen Stanford out of hell no longer falls on Dick DeGuerin. Clearly DeGuerin didn’t appreciate his client’s crusade to vindicate his name and reputation because he couldn’t even get the guy A/C.
Robert Luskin, a managing partner at Patton Boggs now gets the honor of leading Sir Al’s defense team. At the rate things are going, we’ll handicap the over/under on the number of attorney changes prior to 2010 at 4. Any takers?
Allen Stanford replaces criminal defence lawyer [Reuters]
KPMG Thinks the Appearance of Independence is Overrated
The Radio Station is throwing caution to the wind in the UK, accepting a new arrangement with Rentokil Initial, that brings out the ghosts of accounting scandals past. Under the new agreement, the firm will serve as both the external auditors and take on internal audit work, working alongside the client’s internal audit staff.
Prior to the new agreement with KPMG, Rentokil’s external auditor was PwC and internal audit services were provided by Deloitte.
Last we checked, audit textbooks still state that external auditors are to be independent in fact and appearance but KPMG UK must have got their hands on an edition that was printed in auditor bizarro world.
Rentokil’s KPMG deal raises eyebrows [FT.com]
Firm Watch: PwC
This week we’re putting together a series of posts on the six largest accounting firms to give you an idea what their latest image seems to be based on the latest news and rumors we’ve read or heard about them. At the end of the week we’ll wrap up with a completely unscientific and probably unfair ranking which you will be allowed expected to take exception with.
We’ll start with P. Dubs because they seem to have had the uncanny ability to attract bad news lately:
Get the gory details, after the jump
• Satyam Fraud in India – $1b fraud, two auditors rotting in jail, Satyam throwing the Firm under the bus every chance it gets. This is the story that will definitely not go away.
• Discrimination Suit in London – GBP 40 million lawsuit, including alleged sexual harassment. P. Dubs is saying the lawsuit is “without merit” but at the very least there are a number of bigots working there.
• Rumors of PwC interns working 60 hour weeks in the New York office. Might as well give them an idea of what they’re in for, right?
• Chosen to take a suicide mission contract in Somalia to monitor the incoming aid
• Wage and hour lawsuits in California – Listed as defendant in three cases
• Huron Consulting Restatement – P. Dubs isn’t mentioned in this debacle. YET.
• Madoff exposure – listed as a defendant in over a dozen lawsuits.
As for layoffs, we haven’t heard much lately. There was a rumor that the PwC Denver office had let some associates go in the past few weeks but we don’t have any more details than that. Layoffs that have occurred in the past year at PwC we’re rumored to be of the stealth variety and not related to the recession which nobody really believes.
So, that does it for P. Dubya for now. What are we missing? Whatever office you work out of, send us the latest scoop on layoffs, performance reviews, promotions, pay raises, bonuses, juicy gossip, scandalous stories, etc. to tips@goingconcern.com and we’ll update the posts appropriately throughout the week.
Huron Consulting is Clearly Not a CPA Firm
Fridays are great for lots of reasons. They’re especially great for announcing bad news long after everyone has left work to get their drink on.
Huron Consulting announced late last Friday that the CEO, CFO, and Chief Accounting Officer were all quitting and that their financial results for 2006-2008 were being restated. The restatements result in total net income for that period being reduced by nearly 50% from $120 million to $63 million.
According to Reuters:
The restatements are being made because Huron’s board audit committee discovered that shareholders of four businesses that Huron acquired between 2005-2007 redistributed portions of their acquisition-related payments among themselves and to certain Huron employees.
More, after the jump
Soooo, regardless of what Huron is saying, the CEO, CFO, and CAO sounds like someone might have been taking kickbacks, which we totally understand considering the economy and whatnot.
Huron was ranked 43rd on Fortune’s list of 100 fastest growing companies just last year. They help their clients “face complex matters that demand extraordinary combinations of financial, technical, and industry expertise.” Clearly they are not using any of this expertise on their own books but whatevs, nobody’s perfect.
What’s also strange is that Huron really goes out of their way to put the universe on notice that they are not a CPA firm and do not provide attestation services.
“Huron is a management consulting firm and not a CPA firm, and does not provide attest services, audits, or other engagements in accordance with the AICPA’s Statements on Auditing Standards.” This is stamped at the bottom of virtually every page on the website because THEY WANT TO MAKE THAT CLEAR.
Btw, Huron’s auditors are PwC, who really don’t need any additional bad publicity. If any of you Chicago P. Dubs peeps got any inside info on this story, shoot it our way to tips@goingconcern.com. The stock is getting hammered today so we’ll continue to watch this to see how it plays out.
Huron CEO, CFO quit as restatements slash profits [Reuters]
Preliminary Analytics | 08.03.09
• UBS not to pay fine in U.S. tax settlement: reports Chocolate solves everything. [Reuters]
• Jobless graduate sues her college Worth a shot, no? [BBC]
• Goldman Sachs’ reputation tarnished – Being referred to as a “vampire squid on the face of humanity” certainly couldn’t have helped. [FT.com]
• HSBC, Barclays profits hit by surge in bad debt [Reuters]
• Bank Spy Scandal Widens – “A detective at the center of the Deutsche Bank AG spying affair says the international banking giant’s effort to monitor its critics was more extensive than previously disclosed in that it involved a plan to target as many as 20 people, including a number of investors.” We’re thinking that a spy scandal is probably the last thing the banking industry needed. [WSJ]
Review Comments | 07.31.09
• House Votes to Extend ‘Clunkers’ Program – We just printed more money. It’s fine. [WSJ]
• U.S. House Passes Bill Allowing Ban on Incentive Pay None of that printed money will be going to bankers. [Bloomberg]
• Court Orders Shorter Sentence For Ex-Qwest CEO – Might have been worth it had there been some adultery involved. [NPR]
• Nothing like a little shameless PR… – Deloitte providing accounting services, pro bono [Accounting Nation]
Tchotchke Wrap-Up
We know you’ve all been shaking with anticipation about the tchotchke results and frankly, we expected more of you. P. Dubs and Deloitte turned out squat and they’re the top two dogs, so that really dashed our hopes. Grant Thornton and BDO are zeros too. Are you all working too much? Regardless here are some results from our experiment:
Check out the schwag after the jump
Bandage container for those E&Y Dads who have kids that wear harnesses and helmets.
Radio Station magic 8-ball so the employees can get answers on whether they’ll have jobs in the next six months.
Rubik’s cubes are way more difficult than anything a 2nd year associate does.
Chairs that Radio Station partners with Napoleon-complexes sit.
We do things with so much quality we don’t bother using spellcheck.
Newt Gingrich Doesn’t Like the FASB
Congress seems hella determined to keep accountants from writing accounting rules. HR 1349, aka the Federal Accounting Oversight Board Act, which was introduced in the Spring would create a board that would consist of the chairs of the Fed, SEC, FDIC, PCAOB, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
This merry band of bureaucrats would basically get to slap the FASB around whenever they want. According to Newt “My head isn’t that big” Gingrich, a supporter of the bill, because of the FASB’S independence, politicians can’t torpedo accounting rules that are “destructive”.
More, after the jump
This gem of legislation has 14 co-sponsors, including seven members from the House Financial Services Committee, along with Gingrich and Paul Volcker. It has been referred to the Financial Services Committee so it will getting some Barney Frank lovin’ soon enough.
Say what you will about the wonks in Norwalk but we’re of the strong opinion that handing over the accounting rule bazooka to this board could possibly be the worst legislation since…anything Maxine Waters has introduced.
Congressional Bill Supports Federal Takeover of Financial Reporting [FinCriAdvisor via Jr. Deputy Accountant]
UK Court Decides it Will Leave the Major Lawsuits to the Americans
Big 4 firms dodge a bullet in the UK as the highest court dismissed a negligence lawsuit against an accounting firm that failed to detect fraud that brought down a trading company. The ruling will significantly limit the firms’ liability in cases “where a determined criminal drives a company to financial ruin”.
Doesn’t make sense to us, since if you can’t make auditors accountable, who the hell is accountable? Hey, whatevs, we’re sure the Big 4 and other accounting firms won’t be celebrating long anyway, since a ruling like this won’t happen in the States, which is where the serious money gets handed over.
Auditors win ruling over Madoff-style frauds [FT.com]