Big 4 Global Revenue Numbers For 2022 Have Started to Trickle Out
While not officially official yet, two of the Big 4’s global CEOs recently teased how good things were revenue-wise at their respective firms in 2022. In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this month, PwC’s Bob Mortiz said the firm’s global revenue for its most recent fiscal year would be close to $50 billion, […]
The SEC Only Gives Out Wrist-Slaps to the Big 4 When They Break Independence Rules On Providing Non-Audit Services to Audit Clients
The big news in the accounting profession yesterday afternoon from Dave Michaels of the Wall Street Journal was that the SEC is investigating the Big 4 and other public accounting firms on whether the consulting and non-audit services they sell to clients is conflicting with their independence as the auditors of said clients. Michaels reported […]
Deloitte Joins the Rest of the Big 4 to Cut Ties With Russian Clients
Well that’s that. All Final Four Horsemen of the Accounting Apocalypse have now announced they are abandoning their operations in Russia in response to Vlad Putin’s war against Ukraine. PwC and KPMG announced on Sunday they were cutting ties with their member firms in Russia, EY released a similar statement earlier this morning, and Deloitte […]
EY Joins Big 4 Exodus From Russia
In the span of 24 hours or so, we’ve gone from the Big 4 practically saying nothing about separating themselves from their member firms in Russia over the country’s attack on neighboring Ukraine to three of the four—PwC, KPMG, and now EY—saying their affiliates in Russia would be leaving their global networks. EY released the […]
Reports: PwC Is Withdrawing From Russia and Belarus (UPDATE)
[UPDATE] PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz released this statement a little over an hour ago confirming that PwC is pulling out of Russia: We all continue to be shocked and horrified by the senseless war that the Russian government is inflicting on Ukraine and its people. As we galvanized to find ways in which we […]
Ex-Big 4 Partner On Why the Big 4 Firms Should Pull Out of Russia: ‘It’s the Right Thing to Do and You Know It’
I was scrolling through LinkedIn last night and came across this post by John Robinson, a former partner at both EY and Deloitte, who gave six reasons why the Big 4 should cut ties with their Russian member firms. He makes some pretty interesting points, and I was wondering if you guys agree or disagree […]
Big 4 Firms Condemn Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, But Will They Sever Relationships With Any Russian Clients? (UPDATE)
[Updated with additional statement from Deloitte Global.] When Deloitte’s global HQ posted a statement on its website on March 1 (see below in original post from Tuesday), the firm said it had “suspended business operations and client service in Ukraine as we focus on taking care of our people and their loved ones.” But on […]
Elizabeth Warren Shocked to Learn Big Public Accounting Firms Do Shady Sh*t (UPDATE)
[UPDATE] It looks like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is still on her quest to make life miserable for the biggest public accounting firms in the US. According to a Feb. 22 report by the New York Times, Liz and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) are asking the US Treasury Department to investigate the cozy relationship Treasury […]
Report: PwC and Deloitte Among Companies That Have Continued to Make Political Donations to Republican Lawmakers Who Voted to Overturn Presidential Election
Shortly after the riot at the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6, the Big 4 each put out statements saying they were either suspending all political contributions or suspending PAC funding to the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the presidential election results. It was a move, they said, to “facilitate a smooth […]
Audit Market Caps In the UK: The Financial Times Fails a Math Test
“The Glacial Pace of Audit Reform Needs To Speed Up” The Financial Times might wish to reconsider this headline, above its editorial of late last week. Global climate change considered, the metaphor may be more apt than intended, as the likely fate of the world’s glaciers is their tragic and accelerating collapse into muddy puddles amid massive fields […]
Deloitte Doesn’t Want to Play In the Sandbox with the Big Law Kids Right Now
“We are monitoring these developments. At this point in time, though, we just don’t believe it’s practical to enter the practice of law.” — Steve Kimble, CEO of Deloitte Tax in the U.S., said in an interview with Bloomberg Law about the possibility of Deloitte stomping around Big Law’s turf in the States. What developments […]
Happy National Kool-Aid Day to All You Big 4 Kool-Aid Drinkers
Enjoy this day created just for you! But don’t spill any. Those who do are the first to get “coached out” or put on PIPs. Plus those Kool-Aid stains are hard to get out of your clothes. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Audit ‘Reform’ in the UK: Hello … Is Anybody There?
It’s one thing to discuss the breadth of the UK government’s March 18 consultation paper, “Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance,” with its 98 questions spread over 232 pages, as I did recently in a conference mixing academics and practitioners. It’s quite another, and thoroughly dispiriting, to observe the public silence on the likelihood […]
Audit ‘Reform’ In the UK: The Government Finally Speaks, and Says Little
On March 18, the UK government weighed in with its long-promised consultation paper (the “Consultation), “Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance.” Ninety-eight questions, spread over 232 pages, contain much that is cautious and little that is innovative. The problem is, what is cautious would not innovate, and what would innovate is not cautious. For another day, […]
Female Big 4 CPA: ‘My Performance and My Compensation Do Not Match’
Just wanted to say that this article (“Women, Can You Love Your Job But Still Be Pissed About Your Compensation?”) really struck a nerve, because it is TRUE! This week in particular, I found myself having this exact conversation on multiple occasions. I absolutely love my job, my team, and the partner I work for, […]
Big 4 Firms’ Reward Structure Contributes to Their Bullying Ways, Says Guy
“This is a constant Darwinian contest of survival of the fittest. We need a much better Big 4. Let’s hope the generation coming through will finish off this archaic system of tutelage and abuse based on the dream of the million pound pay day.” — Ken Charman, CEO of uFlexReward, a London-based data company that […]
Political Contributions Watch: Big 4 Suspends Donations to Lawmakers Who Voted Against Certifying Election Results
Here is how the Big 4 firms are responding to last week’s riot on the U.S. Capitol and Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying the presidential election: Deloitte Capitol siege reaction: Here is a letter to staff signed by CEO Joe Ucuzoglu and Board Chairman Janet Foutty: Colleagues, We wanted to share some brief thoughts […]
Number of the Day: $157 Billion
The year of our COVID Lord 2020 proved to be the biggest challenge the Big 4 firms have faced since the financial crisis, as the pandemic wreaked havoc on global revenue forecasts that looked so promising at the start of each firm’s fiscal year. Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG had combined global revenue of approximately […]
The Big 4, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Is it Just Corporate BS?
I am a Big 4 alum and I spent many years in the audit profession before I transitioned to academia. I teach accounting in the Southeast at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), which means that at least 25% of the students are Hispanic. I am also Hispanic. I grew up at Deloitte, the same as Joe […]
Number of the Day: £44 Million
That is how much the Big 4 firms have been paid to advise the U.K. government on its response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Financial Times. In comparison, the three biggest consulting firms—McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group—were awarded contracts worth £9.5 million. According to FT: A total of 106 contracts worth £109m […]
Let’s See How the Big 4 Firms In India Are Faring During the COVID-19 Pandemic
[Updated with additional information.] This GIF from Mad Men pretty much says it all, but things could be worse. To our knowledge, there haven’t been any pandemic-related layoffs … yet … at any of the Big 4 firms in India. I kinda buried this in the article we posted last week on accountants’ layoff predictions […]
Listicle of the Day: Big 4 Bliss?
Each Big 4 firm has unhappy employees. But if you work at Deloitte, EY, and PwC, you must not be as miserable as those lost souls who work at KPMG, according to CareerBliss’s 2020 ranking of the 50 happiest companies in the U.S. The career and recruiting website used 10 factors—including culture, leadership, work atmosphere, […]
Listicle of the Day: Glassdoor’s 100 Best Places to Work In 2020
So far today, I’ve received at least three emails letting me know that Glassdoor just came out with its ranking of the 100 Best Places to Work in 2020. And for most of the day, I ignored them. But curiosity got the best of me, and I took a look at the list to see […]
Report: Big 4 Firms Are Cesspools For Sexual Harassment, Bullying, and Discrimination
Did you guys read the Financial Times’ article today about the “culture of fear” at the Big 4? If you have a subscription or know a trick around the paywall, you should carve out some time to read it. FT spoke with 20 ex-Big 4 employees who were victims of sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination […]
New Ranking Shows Big 4’s Legal Brands Are Still Kinda Sorta Relevant
Legal research firm Acritas came out today with its 2019 Global Alternative Legal Brand Index, the best of the best non-law firms that provide nontraditional legal or quasi-legal services to clients. And just like last year’s index, the Big 4 firms’ legal arms take up four of the top five spots. But there’s a new […]
Which Big 4 Firm Audits the Most Insurance Companies?
I know you guys are just dying to know the answer to this question, so let’s get right to it. Audit Analytics recently came out with its breakdown of the top 20 audit firms that had the most insurance clients in 2018. Yes, the Big 4 firms took the top four spots, combining for 2,300 […]
College Students Would Rather Work at Walt Disney World Than at the Big 4
There was a time when the Big 4 used to dominate the top 10 companies in the business category of Universum’s list of the 100 most attractive employers for U.S. college students. But not so much anymore. In 2017’s ranking, only two Big 4 firms made the top 10 (EY at No. 8 and Deloitte […]
Big 4 Shut Out of Working Mother’s List of the Top 10 Companies For Multicultural Women
The Working Mother list of the top 50 companies for multicultural women came out last week, and I honestly didn’t realize this was a thing until I saw this self-congratulatory tweet from PwC while scrolling through Twitter this morning: PwC is proud to be named a 2019 @_WorkingMother_ Best Company for Multicultural Women! Learn more […]
The Big 4 Will Stomp On Your Creativity Like a Grape
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Nicola Mansfield talked about why she jumped ship from Deloitte Australia recently to become the managing director of Interbrand, a brand consulting firm owned by global advertising company Omnicom Group. Mansfield joined Deloitte in late 2015 after the Big 4 firm bought the brand and spatial design […]
Audit Deficiencies Got Much Worse Among Big 4 Firms in Canada
I came across an article on the site Canadian Accountant this morning that said Canada’s audit regulator, the Canadian Public Accountability Board, recently issued its annual inspection results for 2018, finding significant audit deficiencies increased from 15 in 2017 to 34 in 2018. Thirty-four total significant deficiency findings might not seem that bad compared to […]
Gender Pay Gap at KPMG U.K. Is Actually Getting Larger, You Guys
From the Financial Times: KPMG is the only Big Four accounting firm [in the U.K.] to have failed to close its gender pay gap over the past 12 months, with the median gap between what its male and female staff earn increasing to 28 per cent. The other three firms, EY, PwC and Deloitte, all […]
Big 4 Calling On All Blockchain Nerds to Come Nerd Out At Their Firms
From CoinDesk: “Big Four” professional consulting firms Deloitte, KPMG and EY are all in the top five when it comes to posting blockchain job ads, according to new data from Indeed.com. The employment site released its latest figures for job postings relating to blockchain, cryptocurrency and bitcoin in the U.S. on Thursday, with the data covering […]
3 Reasons You Should Look Beyond the Big 4 for a Transaction Advisory Accounting Job
Needless to say, the Big 4 firms offer great opportunities across nearly every accounting-related career path. But for those with audit and/or tax experience seeking a job in a transaction advisory role, or those already working in transaction advisory who are looking for a change, there are plenty of midsize firms that can offer comparable—if […]
EY, PwC Not Fans of Giving Up Non-Audit Services for FTSE 350 Audit Clients in the U.K.
After reports out of the United Kingdom earlier this month said KPMG will stop providing non-audit services for FTSE 350 companies it audits to “remove even the perception of a possible conflict [of interest],” we wondered if the other Big 4 firms in the U.K. would follow suit. Well, we have our answer. The Big […]
KPMG U.K. Is Giving Up Non-Audit Work on FTSE 350 Clients. Will the Other Big 4 Firms Follow?
So, Sky News broke some pretty big news in the United Kingdom earlier this morning regarding the House of Klynveld: KPMG is to cease undertaking non-audit work for the FTSE-350 companies whose accounts it supervises, becoming the first of the ‘big four’ firms to make such a pledge in the aftermath of scandals surrounding the […]
Financial Reporting Council’s Skipper Is Jumping Ship
Stephen Haddrill, beleaguered chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, the audit regulator in the United Kingdom, is reportedly to debark by the end of the year. No surprise. Haddrill has been a marked man since early this year, his agency targeted in Parliament as “toothless,” “useless,” and “ineffective” amid an outbreak of outrage over the collapse of the […]
How Did the Big 4 Do in Snagging New SEC Audit Clients in Q3?
Answer: Nowhere near as good as Marcum, which brought 30 new SEC audit clients onboard during the third quarter—21 of which were former clients of GBH CPAs, a Houston-based firm that merged with Marcum in July, according to Accounting Today. New York-based Marcum ended the quarter netting 22 new audit clients, more than twice its […]
Re-allocating the Big Audit Market in the U.K.—Or Perhaps Not
Regulators and politicians in the United Kingdom may well disrupt the Big Audit model—judging from inquiries launched recently by the Financial Reporting Council and the Competition and Markets Authority. The series that I began on Re:Balance on Sept. 25 and Oct. 8 started to address the misguided nature of the purported “remedies.” It is making […]
According to New Analysis, It Might Be Time For Big Law to Fear the Big 4
I still don’t get all this fervor around the Big 4 entering the legal market. To me, it would be like if Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo. started brewing beer. Yes, they’d have the brand recognition and tons of money to throw at the best people to run their brewing operations, but I don’t think AB […]
Changing the Big Audit Model: Where Might the Regulators Go?
In the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s litigation against PwC over its audits of the failed Colonial Bank in Alabama, Judge Barbara Rothstein has loosed a second blast—her decision of July 2 fixed damages at $625 million for the liability spelled out at length in her decision last December. Appeals will come, making premature any crystal […]
Big 4 U.K. Leaders Ready to Wine and Dine With Trump This Evening
Unlike some business leaders who are worried that attending an invitation-only dinner with President Trump later on tonight during his visit to the United Kingdom will damage their reputation, Big 4 U.K. leaders seem more than willing to break bread with the commander in chief. Trump, who has already arrived in the United Kingdom after […]
Deloitte’s New Greenhouse Experience Unfortunately Has Nothing to Do With Plants
As a former writer and editor for a national horticulture trade magazine, my interest was piqued when I came across the June 19 press release, “Deloitte Digital Launches New Deloitte Greenhouse Experience for Enterprise Clients.” I thought maybe Deloitte was cultivating a new variety of, say, Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) with the cultivar name ‘Punit […]
What Next For the Big 4 in the U.K.? London Is Searching
A drunk, searching on hands and knees under a street lamp, tells the inquiring police, “I’ve lost my keys – over there in the dark alley.” “Then why look here?” they ask, perplexed. “Because the light’s better here.” In the city of London, where the modern audit profession was born in the Victorian era, no […]
EY Remains the Most Audit-y of the Public Company Auditors
Congrats to EY for once again having more public company audit clients than any other Big 4 firm. Of the 6,167 public registrants in the United States, EY audits 921 of them, or 14.9%, according to Audit Analytics’ Who Audits Public Companies – 2018 Edition. PwC is next with 658 public company audits, or 10.7%; […]
Think You Need to Stay in Big 4 Until Manager? Think Again
One of the most common pieces of advice given to young Big 4 professional is to “Stick around until manager.” The thinking goes, you will experience a number different of clients and situations, as well as give you the coveted title that many employers want to see. Firms suggest staying until manager because there’s always […]
U.K. Audit Regulator Encouraged to Slap Big 4 Wrists Slightly Harder
Despite what you might hear, Big 4 audit firms have it pretty easy when it comes to compliance. Yes, there a ton of rules to follow, but in the event that a firm, one (or several) of its partners and employees run afoul of those rules, the consequences range from a mild rebuke to a […]
The Number of Female Audit Partners Is Terrible
A new study shows that women are drastically underrepresented as audit firm partners, averaging only around 16 percent for audit partners with U.S. audit clients. In some cities such as Washington, D.C. and San Jose, California, the percentage of female partners was around 10 percent. Yikes. The Big 4 firms performed a little better than […]
How Should You Handle a Partner’s Facebook Friend Request?
Ding. It’s a friend request. You’re so popular. One problem. It’s from one of your engagement partners. Awkward. Now you have a dilemma. Are you obligated to say yes? Or, maybe, you let it sit in the unanswered request pile for eternity and pretend you never saw it. Weigh the options careful and may the […]
Labeling Big 4 as Systemically Important Would Only Confuse Their Sense of Importance
Way back in 2008, a small hiccup in the United States financial system brought upon by an even smaller hiccup in the U.S. housing market led to the mild threat of the collapse of the world economy.
Big 4 Auditors Are Probably Looking Forward to More Amiable PCAOB
Michael Rapoport reports in the Wall Street Journal on the waning James Doty era at the PCAOB and that he will probably exit with unfinished business: Mr. Doty, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, may only have months left to pursue his wish list, including a change that would require auditors to tell […]
Hey Look, Some Bay Area Big 4 Senior Associates Aren’t Happy With Their Pay
While I was on the road last week, a thread from r/accounting dropped into my inbox: Big 4 Bay Area office thought it would be a good idea to screw seniors with one of the worst raises since 2008 and whoa boy: They thought an $85k cap on all Seniors, regardless of performance, was a […]
For Once, a Burned Out Auditor Wrote an Honest Answer to a Stupid Question
A large part of any accountant’s job is to write boring answers to boring questions. Most people meet an accountant and think, “Oh, you’re good with numbers,” and while that’s a safe assumption, what really lurks underneath is a masterful chronicler of complex rules in the most banal language possible.
Are Big 4 Firms Getting Stingy?
The benefits to working for a Big 4 firm can be embarrassing sometimes. It’s just not things like weeks of PTO that you’ll never use or pet insurance, but also the day-to-day perks that come along with carrying the water for a behemoth professional services firm.
Brace Yourself for the #AuditorProud Social Media Blitz
Ding. Ding. Are you ready for Round 2? It’s the second annual #AuditorProud day. Hey, wait a second. Wasn’t it in December last year? Actually, yes. At least we know now that the folks over at the Center for Audit Quality took a haphazard approach when selecting the day and it’s totally random. But hey, […]
Reminder: The Big 4 Are Big, an Accident Waiting to Happen
James Ulvog published an excellent post this morning that puts the size of the Big 4 firms into context. Some of these you've likely heard us mention before: If the next three firms after KPMG merged, the[y] would be just over half the size of KPMG. To surpass KPMG at #4 revenue, the next 9 […]
“Rise of the Robots” – It’s Time for Accountants to Be Afraid
“They’re coming – for your job.” That’s the ominous message for everyone benighted enough to believe in job security under the Big Audit model, as delivered by Martin Ford in last year’s Financial Times business book of the year, Rise of the Robots. Ford’s book brings focus to the question posed here at Going Concern […]
Here Are a Bunch of Horrible Big 4 Anthems for Your Listening Pleasure
When I die, I want my Wiki to say: Hooper had amassed the world’s largest collection of accounting music and literature, which is now kept in the Hooper Memorial Museum of Accounting. Even accountants are too embarrassed to visit it. While my contemporaries are out collecting Pokemon to dull the pain of working in public, […]
Let’s Welcome Public Accounting’s Summer Interns
Monday marks the first day of summer so I suppose we should salute the young men and women who will invade accounting firms for the next couple of months. To the Twitter! BDO is excited to welcome over 300 summer #interns! Check out some tips from former #BDO interns: https://t.co/2pEUkFzabk — BDO USA Careers (@GetToKnowBDO) […]
Layoffs Watch: Big 4 Texas
Here's one from the mailbag: Big 4 in Houston and Dallas have been laying staff off due to "performance reasons." I wonder if this is going to trickle down to other regions as well given the declining oil market. Good question! Here in Colorado, big names like Anadarko and Encana have shed jobs but there […]
It’s Only a Matter of Time Before Big 4 Firms Offer Legal Services in the US
One of the topics that we occasionally discuss around here is the Big 4 expanding into professional service areas that you wouldn't expect for an accounting firm. In the US, we've seen PwC and Deloitte build enormous digital agencies and just last month, EY announced a partnership with Adobe that will "expand [the firm's] digital […]
Big 4 Firms Still Getting Used to This Whole Regulation Thing
Sometimes I get the impression that the Big 4 don’t fully appreciate what the PCAOB is supposed to do as a regulator. Now, please don’t confuse “appreciate” with “like.” The Reuters report from yesterday makes it perfectly clear that the firms don’t like what the PCAOB does at all. What’s become obvious, though, is that […]
Law Firms Need Not Worry About the Likes of EY Law, Says EY Law Guy
This is amazing. The head of EY Law Global Leader Cornelius Grossman is saying — with a straight face, presumably — that firms like his won't pose a threat to law firms. Saying that accounting firms providing legal services doesn't threaten law firms is like saying Uber doesn't threaten taxis, but okay! "The threat of […]
Big 4 Firms Are All the Same
Oh sure, these accounting firms have different names, leaders, team colors and one has a giant amusement park disguised as a training facility but judging by the feedback collected by Vault and parsed through by eFinancialCareers, it's hard to tell the difference. Observe the pros: PwC: "most prestigious," "very smart people," "frequent and thorough training." […]
Deloitte US Will Definitely Not Practice Law, You Guys
Soon-to-be official Deloitte U.S. CEO Cathy Engelbert is sure making the rounds on the interview circuit these days. This is a good thing, as it allows everyone to get to know her before she begins her term next month. In an interview with Forbes contributor David Parnell, Chatty Cathy makes it clear Deloitte U.S. will […]
The SEC Folded Like a Cheap Lawn Chair in Its Settlement With Big 4 Chinese Affiliates
As you know, the much-awaited SEC settlement with Big 4 China affiliates hit the pages on Friday. This particular dust-up came about over some workpapers the SEC has waiting on since the Ming Dynasty or thereabouts. Here's the TL;DR ICYMI: The Securities and Exchange Commission today imposed sanctions against four China-based accounting firms that had refused to […]
The SEC Finally Got Around to Sanctioning Big 4 Firms in China
The SEC has been pretty busy lately, what with tongue-lashing the PCAOB about their duties and all. But somehow they found time in their busy schedule to get around to that whole sanctioning Big 4 affiliates in China thing: The Securities and Exchange Commission today imposed sanctions against four China-based accounting firms that had refused […]
Which Big 4 Accounting Firms Offer the Best Perks for Parents of Adoptive Children?
The last time we dared to bring up the controversial topic of paternity leave, someone suggested breeding is great and all but what about the adoptive parents out there? "Many of you will be dads one day" And what about us who are gay? And for the dumbass who is going to ask – most […]
Let’s End the Big 4 or Bust Myth Once and For All
It’s recruiting season on campuses all across America; that special time of year when accounting students get a taste of what it’s like to be a five-star middle linebacker — minus the “hostesses,” envelopes stuffed with cash, and any semblance of athletic ability. For you soon-to-be graduates deciding on your first employer, however, recruiting season […]
EY Admits They’ll Still Take You Even if Your GPA Sucks
In FT's Test results can define young careers, we learn that EY will give you a chance even with a 3.0 if you can explain your crappy grades: At Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm, good grades are a key qualification for entry-level jobs and a reliable measurement of “technical ability and work ethic”, […]
Three Out of Four Big 4 Firms Made the Working Mother 10 Best Companies List
The 2014 Working Mother 100 best companies list is out, and you can expect several self-congratulatory press releases to follow over the next few hours and days. The list itself is in no particular order, but Working Mother does break out a list of the top 10 companies. See if you can spot the familiar […]
Which Big 4 Firm Audits the Most Large Accelerated Filers?
This is a question you've probably never asked yourself but now that you're here, you're dying to know. Our friends over at Audit Analytics broke it down and figured out not only which of the Big 4 audits the most large accelerated and accelerated filers but also how many of those filers are audited by […]
Which Big 4 Firm Makes More From Consulting Than Audit and Tax Combined?
Did you wake up this morning and think "gee, I really would love to know how much Big 4 firms make from consulting as share of overall revenue!" Boy, are you in luck. A recent report called Cheques and the City by the non-partisan but totally hater-y High Pay Centre looks at the top accounting […]
Russia Will See Your Sanctions and Raise You a Ban on the Big 4
On Tuesday, some parliamentary officials called for a law barring the world's top accounting firms from "aggressor countries" from doing business in the country after officials opened a health probe into McDonald's last week, and rolled out possible trade restrictions on Monday on fruit from Europe and chicken from the U.S. for alleged sanitary reasons. […]
Groundbreaking Study Discovers Big 4 Partners Tend to Be Hardworking, Male, and White
What makes a Big 4 partner? Chris Carter, Crawford Spence and Claire Dambrin (academics, natch) set out to find that answer, looking specifically at partners in Canada, France and the UK. You will not be surprised by the results. First, they discovered that only about 2-3% of those who start out at Big 4 make […]
Big 4 Fears of Social Unrest in Hong Kong Were Totally Overblown
So, not only did fans of democracy have a successful protest in Hong Kong yesterday but the Big 4 — who felt compelled to take out an ad warning against assembly — were totally wrong about downtown festivities clogging up the center of business! OK, first of all, July 1st was a local holiday. So […]
Big 4 in Hong Kong Will Not Let Democracy Get In the Way of Providing Exceptional Client Service
As you may have heard, the Big 4 found it within themselves to unite in a recent advertisement taken out in three Chinese-language newspapers warning against pro-democracy protests that would clog up downtown and make it really hard to lube up the capitalist machine with trust and reliable audit opinions. Thanks to our pal Professor […]
Let’s Talk About the Accounting Firms Talking About Flextime
You will recall an article Colin linked to in ANR yesterday that boasts of KPMG's generous flextime policy. I will quote the original article linked on that link for your review: "We have a firm-wide flextime policy as part of our approach to flexibility," says Barbara Wankoff, KPMG's national director of workplace solutions. Wankoff estimates […]
As Luck Would Have It, Big 4 Partners are Pretty Much Just Like You
This kind of goes with the article we shared last week, which quoted one Jacob Soll as saying accounting as a profession has been de-elited and made Midwestern (which is another say of saying pedestrian and not all that special). Side note but you will be happy to know Jacob reached out to us, tried […]
Big 4 Dominance Bad For Audit Quality, Says Research
Well this is fascinating research from across the pond. Do you mean to tell me the fact that four audit firms basically rule the roost is bad for audit quality? I'm shocked. Here's the scoop from Economia: According to the YouGov research which was carried out for the Financial Reporting Council, “Overall there is a fear […]
The Big 4’s Spurious Independence in One Chart
Mark O'Connor of Monadnock Research wrote an epic post over at re:The Auditors yesterday on the Big 4's advisory performance for 2013 and the resulting "conflict metrics." The whole post is worth a read but this chart sums things up well. […]
Is There an Auditor Exodus in the Works Or Is It Just Business as Usual in the Big 4?
Finally, a somewhat challenging "question" has found its way into the tip box: Hello Going Concern! I am writing to you because I have come to the realization that there is a bubble forming and it is on the brink of erupting, and no I am not talking about the internet bubble–I am talking about […]
Audit Fees By Industry, As Presented By Audit Analytics
Audit Analytics puts together some great data points from time to time, and this latest on audit fees by industry is no exception. Let's take a peek: In this entry, we investigated the relative audit fees of Russell 3000 companies on a broader industry basis (using the NAICS classification system), looking at audit fees compared to […]
The Important Questions: Do You Self-Identify as a Hippie?
This tip box entry may or may not be a serious question, but since it's the Friday after a holiday and all, let's allow it to be asked anyway: Do a lot of ex-Big4 or Big4 professionals self-declare as Hippies? I consider myself a hippie. And I may or may [not] have worked for a […]
How to Choose Between Two Big 4 Offers When You Have No Clue What Either Involves
In this week’s accounting conundrum, a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed accounting student is mustering up the courage to click “accept” on one of two offers: Big 4 Business Valuation vs. Big 4 Supply Chain Consulting: Hey guys, I just started reading your website and it has so much helpful information about the big 4. I'm in […]
Why Referrals Mean Nothing If You’re a Nothing
Ed. note: There's another new face around here and though his name might make you think he should have been a lawyer or, possibly, a comic book villain instead of an auditor, we hope you'll welcome him with open arms. Andrew Argue is a CPA and the founder of Ten Key Heroes, a freelancing platform […]
Someone With Lots of Spare Time Has Doodled Big 4 Stereotypes
Like 'em or not, stereotypes exist for a reason. For example, guys like Colin are always riding around on their bicycle and using high brow words to show how obscure their compendium of knowledge is. And cat ladies like me are always sporting cat hair on our t-shirts and talking about what our cat did […]
Deloitte Is the Biggest Accounting Firm in the World Again (No Thanks to Its Audit Business)
If you recall, Chez Salzberg put up a good number, $32.4 billion in global revenues to be precise. PwC, as we mentioned this morning, came in at $32.1 billion so yes, that puts Deloitte on top of the Big 4 heap again after it's one-year wonder back in FY10. In such a tight race, every […]
EY Confused on Meaning of “Competitive” as All Four Big 4 Make Working Mother Best List
The interesting part in PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte making the 2013 Working Mother 100 Best Companies is not that they all made the top 10, but this quote out of EY: As Karyn Twaronite, partner of Ernst & Young LLP and the EY Americas Inclusiveness Officer (EY has been on the list for 17 […]
Why Aren’t Big 4 Firms Aggressively Marketing Their CPA Exam Policies?
While the firms are busy trampling each other to recruit top talent with a salary/benefit/work-life balance pissing contest, many of them are missing one important component to their seduction strategy: CPA exam incentives. We already know some firms pay for materials, give you time off to study, and offer cash incentives for passing the exam […]
Let’s Discuss: Switching From Your Firm’s Audit Practice to the Advisory Practice
Last week during Caleb’s pseudo office hours, someone threw out the following question:
Have y'all covered the transition from Assurance to Transaction Services in GC?
The Big 4’s Stranglehold on the Audit Market Is Worse Than You Thought
In a speech entitled "Accountability: Protecting Investors, the Public Interest and Prosperity," PCAOB member Jeanette Franzel shares some numbers: Currently, about 2,360 firms are registered with the PCAOB, including about 915 non-U.S. firms located in 85 jurisdictions. Not all PCAOB-registered firms regularly issue audit reports for issuers, but we inspect those that do […]
Ernst & Young Hired Some People
We like to call attention the competitive poaching that goes on behalf of accounting firms because they do such a good job of bombarding the world with that knowledge. It probably got started when we noticed that PwC was using KPMG as its farm team, but more so lately, we've noticed that Ernst & Young aggressively shouting about all the BSDs that are joining the Black and Yellow.
Paternity Leave at Accounting Firms Better Than Getting a Tie for Father’s Day
Sunday is Father's Day, so our friends at Vault have shared the results from their working parent survey that cover the dear ol' dads and accounting firms faired pretty well: [S]urvey respondents who work in accounting rate their firms highest when it comes to how accommodating they are for working fathers (survey respondents were asked […]
Mid-tier Accounting Firms Have Much Brighter Futures Than the Big 4
One of the more interesting Vault rankings is the "Best to Work For: Business Outlook" list. All of the BtWF rankings have 20 firms listed, and that seems like overkill. Really, they could cut it off at ten and I think the list would have a more exclusive air to it, so that's what I'll […]
Public Accounting Winter Intern Full-time Offers, Round 2
Today, there are a lot of dazed tax interns walking around, wondering what happened to the last three months of their lives. However! They aren't so out of it that they can't help but wonder what their full-time offers look like compared to their peers around the country. We've had a couple of requests this […]
Vault Survey: Male Big 4 Partners Most Satisfied; Female Senior Associates Least Satisfied
Our friends at Vault will release their Accounting 50 ranking on Monday, but if you simply cannot contain your excitement until that day comes, they've got a little teaser in this post that reveals Big 4 men are happier than Big 4 women. Is this a shock or is it more predictable than a creep […]
Despite Entering a ‘War Zone’, the Next Auditor of Herbalife Should Find Solace in All the Fees They’ll Earn
Part of the reason this KPMG resignation is such a conundrum for both Herbalife and Skechers is that the firm withdrew its audits back to 2010. The clean-up crew for each company will have its work cut out, and according to Georgetown professor James Angel, Herbalife's new auditor, especially, will "be walking into a war […]
Here Are Some Possible Outcomes of the Papal Conclave If a Big 4 Firm Counted the Votes
As you may have heard, some guys in funny hats are trying to find a new leader to ride around in a funny car. No, it's not Barnum & Bailey's clown troupe; of course I'm talking about the College of Cardinals and their quest for a new Pope. It's quite the serious affair, as a billion or […]