Moss Adams Got Sued Because They Kinda Forgot to Tell the Client About an Important COVID Relief Deadline (Allegedly)
Thanks to the tipster who sent this over. The California comedy club that helped launch the careers of such comedy greats as Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, and David Letterman to name a few is suing Moss Adams because they say they missed out on $8.5 million in COVID relief funds thanks to Moss Adams not […]
Supply Chain Disruption and Risks Around Remote Work Among PCAOB Inspection Focus For 2022
In a spotlight released by the PCAOB just a few days ago [PDF] the auditors of auditors laid out inspection priorities for 2022, among them increased risk of missing material misstatements (say that 5x fast) due to staff turnover and remote audit work. Oh, and supply chain disruption, the shitty economy, and Rona are also […]
As of May 1 You Are No Longer Required to Wear a Mask at Prometric But You Still Can If You Want To
May 1 marks the two year anniversary of Prometric reopening its testing centers to CPA candidates after shuttering every single American test site in March 2020 due to… you know what I don’t need to type all this out, you know why they were closed. While the nail techs waited anxiously for Prometric to reopen […]
How Many Non-Auditors are Getting Pulled Off the Bench to Do Inventory Counts This Year?
Hello and Happy post-Christmas Monday, everyone. Quick show of hands (let’s just pretend I can see them through the screen OK?), how many of you NOT in audit have been pulled off the bench to do inventory counts this week? We’re hearing some grumblings of tax people being thrown into the gauntlet and thought it […]
KPMG Director’s Thoughts On Firm’s ‘Unethical’ Vaccine Policy Will Be Loved By Some and Hated By Others
Once Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson began rolling out their COVID-19 vaccines in the US, unless you had your head in the sand for the past four or five years, you just knew people would take sides on whether or not to get the jab—for whatever reason. And that has certainly been the case. […]
Deloitte Is the First Big 4 Firm to Clear $50 Billion In Global Revenue
Big 4 revenue bragging season is officially underway with Deloitte being the first out of the gate. But before we get to Deloitte’s haul for fiscal year 2021, let’s recap last year’s global revenue results: Deloitte: +3.9% to $47.6 billion PwC: +1.4% to $43 billion EY: +2.3% to $37.2 billion KPMG: -1.8% to $29.2 billion […]
Here’s What We Know Right Now About the New COVID Vax Requirements at KPMG US
It was only a matter of time before another Big 4 firm would follow Deloitte’s lead in requiring COVID-19 vaccines for employees to enter its facilities. But I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that firm to be KPMG. (PwC, to be honest.) Here’s what was posted Tuesday morning on Fishbowl: I texted a source at […]
Number of the Day: 73%
Deloitte US made national headlines last Tuesday when CEO Joe Ucuzoglu told employees in an email that the firm “will require PPMDs and professionals to be vaccinated [against COVID-19] to access US Deloitte facilities,” effective Oct. 11, which led Adrienne to speculate that the other Big 4 firms will eventually fall in line behind Deloitte […]
Beginning October 11, You Won’t Get Into Deloitte US Offices Without a COVID Vaccine
In a firmwide email today, Deloitte US announced that the firm is strongly suggesting its 113,257 people get their Rona jabs if they haven’t already, and should they not do so, they can expect to be shut out from Deloitte offices beginning October 11. The “no shirt, no shoes, no vaccine, no service” policy has […]
[UPDATED] PwC Delays Its Reopening Plan to Mid-Pumpkin Spice Latte Season, Mulls a Vaccine Mandate
News on the wire today is that PwC is pushing back its plan to get everyone back in the office, which had been tentatively planned for some time in mid-September but, well, y’all know how that’s been going. And by “the wire” we mean Reddit, which is generally a decent source for accounting news because […]
Things Are (Sort Of) Getting Back to Normal at Prometric Soon
As we trudge ever onward toward month 18 of “two weeks to stop the spread,” it’s time to start thinking about a return to normal at everyone’s favorite place where CPA candidates’ goals and unreasonable expectations get crushed: Prometric. The company recently announced a softening of policies enacted early on in the pandemic, some of […]
The Pandemic Paid Off For PwC Partners Across the Pond
Good afternoon and happy Monday, grunts. Boy do I have something that is going to warm your cold black hearts. As we can all agree, the last year and a half has been rough. We’ve all had to make sacrifices, though thankfully many of us have at least gotten through it without having to put […]
Is It Time For Prometric to Ditch the Mask Mandate?
On May 16, 2021 the CDC announced that fully vaccinated individuals could enthusiastically rip the masks from their faces and go forth out into the world maskless like they did prior to all this mess. Social distancing? Gone. Hiding in your apartment? Forget it. From the CDC website: If you are fully vaccinated, you can […]
PSA: You’ve Still Got to Wear a Mask at Prometric
At this same time last year, we were all wondering if the world as we knew it pre-March 2020 would ever return or if we’d be stuck in dystopian purgatory forever. Thankfully we — we as in those of us in the United States — made it through and might even have a normal summer, […]
Number of the Day: $26.7 Billion
Deloitte has the most valuable brand among commercial services firms worldwide, as the Green Dot is valued at $26.7 billion, according to the 2021 Commercial Services 100 report from Brand Finance. However, the value of the Deloitte brand slipped nearly 18% in the past year—from $32.5 billion in 2020 to $26.7 billion—due to the Rona, […]
I Started a New Controller Role During a Global Pandemic and Found Silver Linings
After years at a private equity-backed technology company in Seattle, I had an opportunity to take on a new role as controller at CorneaGen, a mission-driven organization devoted to transforming cornea care and eliminating corneal blindness worldwide by 2040. This role blended two passions: my love of accounting and a childhood love of medicine. The […]
Number of the Day: 59%
While not public accounting specific, that is the percentage of top performers who had their promotions postponed within the past year due to the Rona pandemic, according to the results of a recent Robert Half survey. So as a result of not being able to drink that sweet promotion juice, 38% of professionals surveyed said […]
Let’s All Hope This Finding From Korn Ferry’s 2021 Global Salary Survey Is Wrong
Do what you will with this information. I’m just throwing it out there. Korn Ferry recently released the results of its 2021 Global Salary Survey, in which the management consulting firm combines “ongoing data we collect from 25,000 clients across 150+ countries with additional data gathered at key points throughout the year.” OK. So. Right […]
Bonus Watch ’21: At Least Deloitte U.K. Gave Its Employees Money As a Thank You Gift Instead of a Lame Pizza Party
For some reason Big 4 partners think buying their capital market servants pizza will make everything all better. Here, have a free slice of pepperoni or two as a token of our appreciation for working those 80-plus hours last week. Your employees are adults, not elementary school children. But some of my favorite public accounting-related […]
Right or Wrong: Bill Michael Is No Longer KPMG U.K. Chairman Because He Didn’t Mollycoddle Millennials and Zoomers
After a roller coaster of a week that ended with the fall of Bill Michael at KPMG, it is time to don the forensics hat to determine how it went horribly wrong. The Titanic may have hit an iceberg, but where did Michael trip over his didgeridoo? Michael the F-bomber: Ben Marlow, a business columnist […]
KPMG U.K. Chairman Makes Himself Scarce After Calling His Staff Whiny Little Bitches
[UPDATE] Bill Michael quit today, according to the Financial Times and other U.K. outlets. “I am truly sorry that my words have caused hurt amongst my colleagues and for the impact the events of this week have had on them,” Michael said in a statement on Friday. “In light of that, I regard my position […]
KPMG U.K. Partners Took One For the Team
Those partners at KPMG U.K. who are living a lavish lifestyle might have to cut back on the golfing and become more frugal after the firm slashed their pay by 11% so more of their subordinates can stay employed. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday: Average partner profit distribution has been cut by 11 per […]
Did PwC Actually Pay Off Audit Staff to Do Inventory Counts Out of Desperation?
According to this recent post on Fishbowl, the answer is yes: Hey, if you’re a low man or woman on the totem pole at PwC, didn’t mind traveling to a client site during a pandemic, and if you didn’t mind working during #PwCTakesABreak or whatever the hell PwC calls its two-week time-off period before busy […]
Ex-KPMG Advisory Employee Is Pissed Off By Wave of New Hires Following Mass Layoffs
I was one of the many lucky individuals laid off from KPMG US Advisory last October. I was catching up with one of my former colleagues earlier and learned that at least 10 people have recently been hired to the group that I was let go from, ranging in levels from associate all the way […]
Nearly a Third of Workers Say They’d Quit Before Returning to the Office When All This Is Over
When the world abruptly turned upside down and drove everyone inside their homes last March, many (perhaps optimistically) thought it would end up being a very brief experiment in what happens when white-collar workers are forced to do their jobs remotely for a couple weeks. We know now “two weeks to flatten the curve” was […]
Lakehouse Is Reopening Soon For KPMG Kampers
Since March, the $450 million, 780,000-square-foot cruise ship on land known as KPMG Lakehouse has sat dark and collected dust in Lake Nona, FL. Kamp KPMG had its grand opening only two months earlier before being temporarily closed due to the Rona. But there’s good news for KPMG kampers: Lakehouse will be opening its doors […]
It Seems PwC Issues Reports On Just About Everything, Including Babies
The Telegraph reported the following from PwC’s Lamaze practice (probably): Britain faces a baby bust this year as Covid and lockdown wreck the plans of millions of would-be parents. The birth rate could fall to its lowest level on record as chaos from the pandemic forces couples to delay starting a family and lockdown measures […]
2020: The Year of a Thousand Cuts
When the largest public accounting firms in the U.S. had their employees move their battlestations from the office to home in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic, we had no idea what was going to happen next. But some accountants who worked at the Big 4 and the top midtier firms during the financial crisis […]
Armanino Employees Were Made Whole For the Holidays
According to a tipster, here’s the latest news regarding employees getting their money back at Armanino, the 21st largest CPA firm in the whole damn nation: Back in April, everyone took a 10% pay cut as a result of COVID. Yesterday [Dec. 17], our CEO Matt Armanino announced during our fourth quarter webcast that the […]
0.7% Is How Much Grant Thornton’s Global Revenue Grew In 2020
Any kind of financial growth during a global pandemic, the likes of which we’ve never seen, should be touted as a win. So it’s no surprise that Grant Thornton’s global PR team really hyped up the fact that GT’s revenue (barely) went in the plus column (unlike KPMG’s) for the 2020 financial year that ended […]
So Is Anyone *Really* Missing Going to Your Firm’s Holiday Party This Year?
Some of the best content we’ve put on this site in mid-December of years past has been about office holiday parties, especially Adrienne’s posts about behaving around others and not getting sloppy drunk. Of course, things are different this year. Thanks, Rona. But do you actually, really, truly miss hanging out face to face at […]
Layoff Watch ’20: What In the World Is Happening at Deloitte Canada? (NEW UPDATE)
[Updated on Dec. 14 with additional information.] Heard through the grapevine recently that a third round of job cuts happened at Deloitte Canada in October. A source told us: They did it on a rolling basis in the entire month across service lines. They probably did this in advance of the new hires starting in […]
Number of the Day: £518,000
That is the average profit per partner before tax at BDO U.K. in the 2020 financial year that ended June 30, down 14% from the £602,000 in profits each partner took home the previous year, according to the Financial Times and The Telegraph. Overall, the Queen’s BDO had revenue of £660 million for 2020, up […]
Marcum’s Reopening of Offices Didn’t Even Last Two Months Before Everyone Was Sent Back Home to Work
Back in late September, we mocked celebrated the leadership of Marcum CEO Jeffrey Weiner who, pandemic be damned, told his troops that he wanted heinies in all seats at Marcum offices across the land on Oct. 1—even in New Haven, CT, where employees found out on Sept. 30 that one of their colleagues had tested […]
KPMG Auditors Working From Home During a Pandemic Was a Major Inconvenience For One CEO
From the Wall Street Journal: [Emerson Electric CEO David Farr] had just gotten off the phone with KPMG LLC, Emerson’s auditors since 1938, and he was steaming. The problem: It was June and they were still working from home. “Look. I make s—, and you can’t tell me how I’m making s— when you’re sitting […]
Marcum Reminds Employees That Client Deadline Work Won’t Get Done By Itself During the Holidays and Pandemic
Happy Thanksgiving week! Because Adrienne and I are going to be taking some much-needed time off later this week (and hopefully you guys are too), our posting schedule is going to be a little lighter than normal. But do you know whose workload isn’t going to be lighter than usual this week and in the […]
Get Sensitive or Else: How to Keep Talent When the World’s Gone Crazy
As hardcore accountants, you and your talent probably aren’t suffering quite as much from the death of office culture as the rest of the world. How many of you really cared about the PR puff stuff that was a distraction and time suck? However … Even the most laser-focused, bottom-line-oriented accountant is missing something in […]
Deloitte Australia Secures Bragging Rights As ‘First Big 4 Firm Not to Totally F*ck Staff Cuz Rona or Something’
In a Wednesday message to staff, Deloitte Australia CEO Richard Deutsch shared the good news that although the firm had instituted pay cuts earlier in the year when no one really knew how bad things might get, they’re pulling a Mike Ehrmantraut and making their guys (and gals) whole. Financial Review reports: Big four consulting […]
One EY Employee Is Getting Antsy About the Prospect of More Layoffs Next Year
With the stench of the performance-based separations layoffs from a couple months ago still lingering in the air at EY, one person who survived the wide-ranging job cuts told us recently that (s)he is already worried about a similar situation happening across the firm in 2021. Here’s what this EYer said: A few weeks ago, […]
CohnReznick Employees Were Made Whole Once Again
Got this tip earlier today: FYI, CohnReznick ended the temp pay cut and paid back the reduced wages. While we appreciate the update, the tipster was a little skimpy on the details. Back in early May, we reported that CohnReznick was cutting employee pay on a sliding scale as part of its pandemic uncertainty measures: […]
Life at Deloitte Is Obviously Sick of DoorDash and Pining For DU Cafeteria Food
Damn you, ’Rona! One of the things our people remember about the #DeloitteU experience is the amazing food. What’s your favorite food at DU? pic.twitter.com/4nrfkryuC6 — Life at Deloitte US (@lifeatdeloitte) October 27, 2020 Related article: Brisket, Blueberries Some of the Best Fare at Deloitte University: Sources
It Seems Andersen Employees Are Getting Back the Money That Was Taken Away From Them (UPDATE)
[Updated on Oct. 28 with additional information.] A tipster provided us this week with a post-busy season update about the goings-on at Andersen, and it seems like good news all around: All offices and laptops were closed on 10/16 and 10/19 to give employees 4 days of uninterrupted time off. Then the following announcements were […]
Wayne Berson Admits He Is Driving Some People Crazy at BDO USA
In a wide-ranging interview with CJ Prince of Chief Executive magazine, BDO USA CEO Wayne Berson used “BDO” and “powerhouse” in the same sentence, said “no one wants to go to the 5th best firm” (you got dissed, RSM US) but “we don’t see ourselves as inferior to the Big Four,” and explained what CLIMB means […]
Tracker: These Accounting Firms Have Either Cut Jobs or Pay (or Both) During the COVID-19 Crisis
[Updated on Oct. 19 with information about BDO USA.] In case you haven’t noticed, there have been a lot of salary reductions and jobs lost throughout public accounting over the past couple weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And it sucks. So we’ve started compiling a list of firms that have resorted to […]
Layoff Watch ’20: EY Ireland Is Letting Go of 36 Non-Client-Facing Staffers
Let’s see, since the start of the pandemic, EY has done performance-based separations layoffs in Canada, Israel, Mexico, and, of course, the U.S. Now we can add Ireland to the list. This just hit our tipline: Not as impressive as the few hundred pink slips being given out across the US, but it was announced […]
Number of the Day: $868,000
That’s how much Canadian companies paid on average in audit fees in 2019, up from $621,000 in 2018, according to a post by our friends at Canadian Accountant, citing research from Audit Analytics: “Since 2007, the average amount of audit fees per Canadian company has continued to increase each year, with the largest increase coming […]
Number of the Day: 1,114
That’s how many consultants Deloitte UK has deployed to work on a coronavirus contact tracing project for the UK government. Some other notable numbers: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has engaged the services of other consultants from McKinsey, BCG, PWC, KPMG and EY as well however the number of consultants from all […]
Let’s All Shed a Tear For Deloitte Partners In the U.K.
Sadly, Deloitte partners are probably going to have to put off buying that new McLaren 720S or Mercedes-Benz S-Class until next year. The Times reported today: Partners at Deloitte are in line for a 17 per cent pay cut after revenue growth slowed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 709 equity partners of Deloitte’s British arm […]
Marcum Has Positive COVID Case, Still Expects Employees to Come to the Office Bright and Early on Oct. 1
[Updated with additional information.] As I am writing this, it is 12:30 a.m. ET on Oct. 1. Happy first day of October, everyone. And happy return-to-the-office day for all of you Marcum capital market servants. Especially to the employees who work at the firm’s office in New Haven, CT. These poor folks still gotta come […]
Layoff Watch ’20: It’s Pink Slip Day at KPMG
[Updated on Sept. 30 with additional information.] Two days before the start of KPMG’s 2021 fiscal year, massive layoffs unfortunately occurred at the firm on Tuesday. We received confirmation that 1,400 people, less than 4% of KPMG’s workforce, would be notified this afternoon that they no longer have a job with the firm. In a […]
CliftonLarsonAllen’s Leadership Pays Up
We heard some good news late on Friday for those serving the capital markets at CliftonLarsonAllen. From the tipline: Lost wages are planned to be paid back to all employees therefore making all employees whole for 2020. This will happen as of Oct. 19, our tipster added. It’s been an interesting six months for CLA […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Apparently It’s Doomsday for Some at EY (UPDATE)
[Updated on Sept. 23 with additional information.] EY management stuck to their narrative today that the recent layoffs at the firm aren’t layoffs but performance-based separations that were justified, even though many of those who have contacted us after losing their jobs said they weren’t on any type of performance improvement plan. First, before EY […]
Marcum CEO Wants to See Those Cube Farms Filled on Oct. 1 (UPDATE)
[Updated on Sept. 23 with additional information.] Thanks to two sources, here’s the email Marcum CEO, Chairman, and Going Concern bestie Jeffrey Weiner sent to employees on Sept. 14 about expectations for returning to the office: Stay-at-home orders were put into effect in March as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most businesses and schools […]
EY Employees Don’t Have to Work with Pants On Until January 2021 at the Earliest
We meant to post this a few weeks ago, but with the layoffs, angry letters about the layoffs, FY 2020 global revenues, and new partner promotions at EY taking up a lot of our time of late, this got put on the back burner. Thanks to a source, here is the return-to-the-office update from Jay […]
Layoff Watch ’20: EY Canada Job Cuts Are Underway (UPDATE)
[Updated on Sept. 15 with additional information.] While EY in the U.S. is continuing to tell people in its tax, risk, and assurance practices that their services are no longer needed, we’ve been told that a second round of layoffs has begun in Canada, particularly in Ontario. A source said: Another round of firings has […]
Deloitte’s 3.9% Increase In FY 2020 Global Revenue Is the Smallest Growth In About 5 Years
After perusing Deloitte’s FY 2020 global revenue announcement and impact report today, I thought I’d highlight some of the good news and some of the bad news over the past 12 months for D-towners everywhere. First, the good: For the fifth consecutive year, Deloitte has won the Big 4 revenue dick-measuring contest by reporting $47.6 […]
EY Won’t Let a Mere 2.3% Increase In FY 2020 Global Revenue Ruin Its Thursday
The second contestant in the Big 4 global revenue pissing match came out with its FY 2020 financial results today, and EY continued to exert its dominance of third place. The Black and Yellow announced global revenue of $37.2 billion for the fiscal year that ended June 30, a 2.3% increase in U.S. currency terms […]
BDO USA Reports $1.8 Billion in FY 2020 Revenue, Wants Everyone to Know It Is the Most Resilient Firm Ever
The Little Dipper of accounting firms, BDO USA, announced today that its FY 2020 revenue increased 11.3% (I calculated 9.8%, but whatever) to $1.8 billion, up from $1.64 billion last fiscal year. That all looks great on paper, especially during this year of our COVID Lord 2020, but like RSM US, which also reported a […]
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 […]
Pandemic Pay Cuts Didn’t Sit Well with One Deloitte Employee In Australia
Yesterday Adrienne wrote an excellent post about winners and losers in accounting during the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve got one to add to the losers side: Deloitte Australia employees. Why? Not only have most Australian Green Dotters taken a 20% cut in pay since May (which CEO Richard Deutsch said was “the least worst option” to […]
RSM US FY 2020 Revenue Results: $2.7 Billion and 4 Guardrails
The 2020 RSM US annual report is out, and boy is it a real page-turner. But I found what I was looking for in the “Our Perspective” portion of the report: RSM’s FY 2020 revenue. If you’ve perused INSIDE Public Accounting’s latest ranking of the top 100 public accounting firms in the U.S. based on […]
The Rona Postpones Big 4 CEOs’ Swiss Alps Vacation In 2021
Aw, no trip to Davos for BoMo, T-Ry, Carmen, Kelly, Punit, Joe U., and Paulie this January. Here are the first three graphs of the media release we received this morning from Adrian Monck, managing director of public engagement for the World Economic Forum: I would like to share with you the news that the […]
Thanks to the Rona, PwC’s Global Revenue Only Went Up a Measly 1.4% in FY 2020
Big 4 revenue gloating season kicked off today with PwC being first out of the gate. In a normal year, EY is typically first bragging about its third-place global revenue, then Deloitte, P. Dubs, and KPMG. But 2020 has been anything but normal, and that is reflected in PwC’s results for the most recent financial […]
BDO USA Staff Are Back to Getting Their Pre-Rona Paychecks
It feels like it’s been four years, not four months, since BDO USA told employees their paychecks would be a little bit lighter for a while as the firm began to navigate the rough waters caused by everyone’s favorite pandemic. But that 5% to 10% pay cut BDO staff had to endure from May 1 […]
Number of the Day: $9.14 Billion
That is the combined FY 2020 revenues for the Big 4 firms in Australia, an increase of 6.2% over FY 2019. According to reports from the Australian Financial Review, here’s how each firm fared this past fiscal year: 1. PwC ($2.6 billion) PwC’s revenues didn’t budge much at all in FY 2020, as its results […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Hearing EY Mexico Is Cutting People and Pay (UPDATE)
[Updated on Aug. 10 with additional information.] We heard from another EY employee in Mexico who told us over the weekend that the situation at the firm is “worse than you may imagine.” This person said that the leadership at EY Mexico has allegedly given employees an ultimatum: accept a 15% pay cut by this […]
How’s Your Remote Plan Going? What Worked and What Didn’t? It’s Time to Move Forward
Hey there, denizens of Going Concern. If you are a managing partner or lead an HR department, please take the 2020 Anytime, Anywhere Work (ATAWW) Survey hosted by ConvergenceCoaching LLC. This survey will be used to identify trends on how accounting and consulting firms are handling the ongoing shift, as well as the overnight transition, to […]
Layoff Watch ’20: PwC to Sever Ties with 5% of Its Workforce In Australia (UPDATE) PwC Limits Job Cuts to About 3%
[Updated on Aug. 3 with additional information.] PwC Australia CEO Tom Seymour said layoffs last month weren’t as large as anticipated—the firm let go of 250 PwCers instead of the 400 employees who had initially been targeted for involuntary departure by redeploying dozens of staff, according to the Australian Financial Review on Aug. 3: Mr […]
Miserable and Burned Out? It Might Be the Zoom Meetings
In the early days of the Rona pandemic just as most of you were starting to adjust to that work-from-home life (much to the chagrin of some of your employers that feel it’s not really working if you’re not chained to a desk where they can observe you), I shared a pic of my own […]
Moss Adams Is Giving Employees Back the Pay They Lost During the Pandemic
The last time we wrote about the latest happenings at Moss Adams, which was June 26, the firm was laying off 103 of the 370 employees who had been furloughed for 90 days starting in April. But we have some good news to share today from MA. In a message to employees on Thursday, CEO […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Grant Thornton Is the Latest Firm to Trim Some Staff
Happy Friday, everyone! Hopefully you all made it through this week unscathed and still have your job. Unfortunately for some employees of Grant Thornton, they can’t say the same. We received this tip a little bit ago: Looks like GT will be cutting some advisory people and furloughing new hires and cutting some executive assistants. […]
Apparently Becoming a CPA In Canada Can Literally Kill You
It’s nothing rare for accounting students and aspiring CPAs alike to say “these exams are killing me,” but I’ve got to say this is the first time I’ve seen a legal document stating in no uncertain terms that the exam can in fact kill you. What a wild timeline we live in. Let’s check in […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Dixon Hughes Goodman Is Letting Go of 125 Mostly Furloughed Employees (UPDATE)
[Updated on July 23 with additional information.] Another day, another round of layoffs at a top accounting firm in the U.S. This time it’s No. 17 in your scorecard, Dixon Hughes Goodman, which announced on Wednesday that it’s letting go of 125 employees, nearly all of whom were furloughed by the firm on May 1, […]
Pay Cut Watch ’20: KPMG New Zealand Ends Employees’ ‘Salary Sacrifice’ Early
Kiwi Klynveldians recently got some good news: Accounting firm KPMG has ended its Covid-19 salary sacrifice two months early, citing a better workflow than expected. In April, BusinessDesk revealed KPMG had asked staff to take a 15 per cent pay cut, calling it a “salary sacrifice”, because it didn’t qualify for the government wage subsidy. […]
Layoff Watch ’20: KPMG U.K. Is Cutting About 100 People Loose In Consulting
Sky News reported some unfortunate news today, as the Queen’s KPMG has reportedly told about 200 employees, including nearly a hundred in consulting, that their services are no longer needed: Sky News has learnt that the big four accountancy firm has decided to axe just under 200 jobs across its UK workforce, the latest sign […]
FYI: Effective August 1, Prometric Will Start Charging to Reschedule Your CPA Exam Date (Again)
Prometric announced recently it is bringing back the rescheduling fee, which was waived earlier in the year due to that little coronavirus thing. The change is effective as of August 1, 2020. They explained the reasoning for the change in an email to candidates: In response to the large-scale closure of the Prometric test center […]
Comp Watch ’20: EYers Who Are Not Getting a Promotion Probably Are Not Happy Right Now
This delicious-looking sundae is the promotion bonus at EY in 2020. An EY all-hands webcast was held earlier this afternoon, and a lot of topics were apparently discussed, including raises … or a lack thereof, according to a source: No raises this year. Only those getting promoted will get the promotion portion of the raises. […]
Layoff Watch ’20: PwCer Claims Performance Ratings Are Purposely Being Bumped Down to Make Separation Decisions Easier During the Pandemic (UPDATE)
[Updated on July 17 with additional comments.] Two people who currently work at PwC in management roles have chimed in on this topic: one who is siding with the firm and the other who is siding with those folks who have recently lost their jobs. The first is a partner who emphatically says what these […]
Layoff Watch ’20: PwC Canada Confirms It Is Handing Out Pink Slips (UPDATE)
[Updated on July 16 with additional information.] Ugh, here we go again. Another big Canadian firm is cutting employees during the pandemic, and the latest victims are from PwC. We got this tip around lunchtime on July 15: Lay offs have started in a few offices in PwC Canada, including me. I’m only aware of […]
Layoff Watch ’20: BDO USA Waved Goodbye to Some Folks In Advisory
This came in through the tipline about an hour or so ago: BDO Advisory US had a RIF yesterday… about 3% of workforce… low performers but also told it was due to economic conditions… guess the comp reduction didn’t “keep our family together.” So the email I got yesterday from a person saying (s)he was […]
Newly Promoted RSM US Employee Ponders Life and COVID-19’s Impact on Future Earnings
RSM US isn’t making it rain much these days for those receiving a promotion. Compensation discussions are underway at RSM US, and if you remember, only those getting a promotion at the House of Adams are receiving raises—which were capped at 5% this year as the firm muddles its way through the COVID-19 crisis. Looking […]
KPMG Employees Won’t Be Returning to the Office Anytime Soon
By the time KPMGers in the U.S. are finally allowed to leave their home offices to get reacquainted with their cubicles, fashion rules stipulate they won’t be able to wear white to work. The new KPMG leadership team sent a message to employees on July 13 that maybe they’ll be able to return to their […]
California Board of Accountancy Has Caught Everyone Up on the Whole Application Delay Situation
Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve heard and read complaints from CPA exam candidates that the benevolent overlords of CPA licensure have failed to properly communicate ever-changing procedures, plans, and timelines. Now, although candidates’ position on the matter is understandable, what with the CPA exam being one of the hardest things they’ll […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Rumor Has It That PwC Brazil Let Go of 600 Employees
[Updated on July 11 with additional information/comments.] A tipster brought to our attention this morning that several people on his LinkedIn feed who worked at PwC in Brazil no longer work at PwC in Brazil as of July 9. Here are a few of the posts, translated from Portuguese to English: And today my journey […]
Here Are the Accounting Firms That Received PPP Loans Because We Know You Want to Know
As you may have seen by now, the U.S. government has recently released data on which companies received PPP funds, and anyone with more than $150,000 from Uncle Sam in their pocket had some ’splainin to do had they also laid off staff en masse. We figured a few accounting firms would be on the […]
Layoff Watch ’20: At Least One BDO Canada Office Is Downsizing Its Headcount
[Updated on July 10 with additional information.] Unfortunately we are hearing more news of Canadian accounting professionals losing their jobs. Although we haven’t been able to confirm yet if there have been firm-wide job cuts at BDO Canada, we were told by a source at BDO in Vancouver on July 9 that several people at […]
Layoff Watch ’20: RSM Is Apparently Lightening Its Load In Canada
Hearing word today that RSM Canada has started handing out pink slips, and the culprit seems to be lower-than-expected revenues due to a downturn in business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a source, a practice leader sent out this email to staff on Tuesday: Although as a firm we remain in a strong […]
Attention Accounting Students, the AICPA Is Giving Away Money Because COVID-19 Was Such a PITA
At this point, all of us have been affected by the Rona in one way or another (or many as the case may be), and I don’t need to waste precious word count rambling on about it. For some, the hit has been mostly a financial one, as we’ve seen week after week in the form of […]
Deloitte Australia Has This Corporate Bullying Thing Down Pat
“It’s using COVID as a lever to change their working conditions. They have no choice — if they say no to the pay cut, they may lose their job, if they say yes, they might lose their job anyway. “Most would have accepted a pay cut because they thought it would save jobs. “In their […]
Comp Watch ’20: BDO USA Is Restoring Everyone’s Pay—But Promotions and Raises Will Have to Wait
Hope everyone had a good weekend celebrating the ol’ red, white, and blue. Speaking of red, white, and blue, the firm that sports these colors, BDO USA, is ending pay cuts effective Aug. 1, according to sources. You gotta hand it to BDO thus far. The firm cut employee pay 5% to 10% in early […]
EY’s Care Kit for Employees Does Not Include Pancake or Waffle Mix
But the care kit EYers received for their eventual return to the office does include reusable cloth masks, hand sanitizer, and a forehead thermometer (not pictured below). The source who sent us the photo, whose spouse works for EY, called the care kit “a legit, nice, late gesture from Uncle Ernie” and added that the […]
Layoff Watch ’20: EY Is Cutting Ties with Nearly 100 Employees In Israel
Today is New Year’s Eve Eve in the Ernstiverse, and with the 2021 fiscal year starting on Wednesday—and with COVID-19 not going away anytime soon—we’ve been told that quite a few EYers in the U.S. will be shown the door soon. Rumors have been swirling for a while now—from 300 of the 3,600 (8.3%) U.S. […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Many Furloughed Moss Adams Employees Are Not Getting Their Jobs Back
[Updated on June 26 with additional information.] A source at Moss Adams told me that, according to a video message from CEO Chris Schmidt today, 103 of the 370 furloughed employees were let go on Thursday. [Updated on June 25 with additional comments.] Another sucky day in public accounting during this pandemic. We’ve been told […]
Carr, Riggs & Ingram Is Giving Employees Their Full Pay Back … Soon
Here’s the latest coming out of top 20ish accounting firm Carr, Riggs & Ingram, according to a couple of tips we got on Thursday night. Carr, Riggs & Ingram restoring income partner and staff pay a month early – Aug 31. And … Managing Partner sent out a firm wide email today. They plan to […]
What COVID-19 Tells Us About … SALT
COVID-19 may be the newest exacerbator of high blood pressure in humans, and it is having an effect on another well-known catalyst for stress, SALT. But this is not your old-fashioned table variety we are referring to. In the accounting department at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business where I teach, […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Deloitte’s Purging Continues, This Time In Australia
Deloitte, which couldn’t help patting itself on the back last week for forecasting a record-breaking $48 billion in global revenue for FY 2020, has just sent hundreds of more employees to the chopping block. First, the firm sent between 300 and 400 Canadian employees packing in May, then more than 5,000 U.S. employees have received […]
Moss Adams Decides Its Employees Have Suffered Enough, Ends Pay Cuts Two Months Early
Some good news out of Seattle, as Moss Adams is ending employee salary cuts earlier than expected—the second top 12 U.S. accounting firm to do so this month. Back on Good Friday, Moss Adams announced some pretty drastic cost-cutting measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including: Employee pay cuts ranging from 5% to 20%. 20% […]
Layoff Watch ’20: Grant Thornton U.K. Is Forcing 70 Employees to Take Early Exits
Over the past three months, we’ve chronicled as best we could all the job cuts—which unfortunately have affected several thousands of professionals so far—that have occurred at U.S. public accounting firms during the coronavirus pandemic. Incredibly we haven’t been made aware of or read about any layoffs that have gone down at the biggest accounting […]
Comp Watch ’20: Raises and Bonuses Are Looking a Bit Paltry at RSM US
If we look back at the firms in ’Murica that have sent the most people packing during the COVID-19 pandemic, three immediately come to mind: Deloitte (obviously), Crowe, and RSM US, which had not one but two rounds of job cuts. Those left standing at RSM must be feeling pretty resilient, having somehow dodged two […]
Bonus Watch ’20: PwC Is Kinda, Sorta Going Forth with Bonuses, Raises (UPDATE)
[Updated on June 12 with additional information.] So we were told today by a couple of people that PwC had a webcast for new hires on Thursday, led by Chairman Tim Ryan, U.S. Recruitment Leader Rod Adams, and a couple of other people. Once the spiel about what PwC is doing to address the COVID-19 […]