Big 4 How auditing giant KPMG became a global sustainability leader while serving companies accused of forest destruction [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] The firm vouched for an Indonesian company with a supply chain beset by deforestation allegations and a project in Canada that led to an Indigenous forest’s “death by a thousand cuts”. ‘Happy […]

Talent The new math in recruiting at accounting firms [Puget Sound Business Journal] You have to scroll way too far down in this article to see a mention of salary. Shocking. When they’re not striving for the pinnacle of their sports, internationally famous mountaineer Jimmy Chin and teenage tennis phenom Coco Gauff are promoting accounting […]

Talent As tax season approaches, accounting firms are short on staff [Marketplace] Oh hey! Planning ahead: How these employers will grow and retain talent this year [Silicon Republic] When it comes to engaging with talent, PwC recently launched its people value proposition, which aims to give employees flexibility with how they work and help them […]

Hail Eris! Today is 2/3/23 and this is your Friday roundup of all the week’s news that wasn’t fit to print (or make fun of). We appreciate you stopping by! Big 4 EY considers handing retired US partners cut of proceeds from spin-off [Financial Times] EY has told retired US partners it is considering giving […]

Big 4 EY auditors escape potential Wirecard sanctions after leaving profession [Financial Times] Germany’s audit watchdog closed investigations against four current and former EY auditors involved in inspecting collapsed payments firm Wirecard after they handed back their professional licences and left the profession earlier this month. Under German law, Apas can only probe and sanction […]

Practice Management How firms use stay interviews to boost retention [Journal of Accountancy] Job interviews have long been an essential part of the hiring process. But now, some public accounting firms are turning the lens on themselves. They’re conducting “stay” or “retention” interviews with existing employees. The goal is to understand how they can be […]

Wooooo it’s the first Footnotes of 2023! Here’s what’s going on, there’s not a whole lot of it: Long Read FTX Customers Take Enron, WorldCom Path in Legal Fight for Cash [Bloomberg Law] FTX customers going outside bankruptcy court to recover losses from Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto empire are using a legal path that has […]

Welcome to the last Footnotes of 2022! We appreciate you stopping by as always and hope you get a chance to recharge over the holidays. We will be out of office next week but have scheduled some things to run while we’re gone for those individuals who are severely addicted to accounting shitposts and simply […]

Big 4 EY Looks at Backup Plans on Split Amid Higher Costs, Slower Growth [Wall Street Journal] Ernst & Young’s leaders are looking at backup plans for the firm’s split to address rising funding costs and a potential slowdown in growth that could imperil the rich payouts promised to partners, according to people familiar with […]

News Trump Organization found guilty on all counts of criminal tax fraud [CNN] A Manhattan jury has found two Trump Organization companies guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records connected to a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation for top executives. […]

Slow news week this week. We managed to find some things worth mentioning anyway as we are experts in slow news weeks (698 weeks and counting!), enjoy. Talent Why People Leave Public Accounting [CPA Journal] Writes Edward Mendlowitz, CPA/PFS, ABV: There are many reasons why CPAs decide to leave public accounting firms. Based on my […]

Big 4 FRC to fine Deloitte £440k over 2018 audit [Accountancy Today] The Financial Reporting Council’s Audit Quality team has issued a notice of a proposed sanction on Deloitte, proposing a regulatory penalty of £440k after it was determined that the Big Four firm failed to comply with the auditing framework in its audit of […]

Big 4 EY split threatens to weaken both sides of firm, say retired partners [Financial Times] More than 150 retired EY partners have written to the accounting firm’s leadership objecting to the radical plan to split its consulting and audit businesses. In a three-page memo seen by the Financial Times, the retired US partners say […]

Ed. note: if you like accounting news, which you clearly do because you are reading this, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter for even more accounting news. Oh and a hearty thank you for your service to the veterans out there. Hopefully some of you got the day off. Hiring ‘There’s definitely an […]

Footnotes is a weekly wrap-up of all the news in and around the accounting profession, published every Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern. To get more headlines delivered on the regular, subscribe to our newsletter. Big 4 PwC Retirees Get Early Approval for $267 Million Pension Deal [Bloomberg Tax] PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s $267 million settlement with retirees […]

Big 4 KPMG flunks US overseas audit inspections twice as often as rivals [Financial Times] US regulators were twice as likely to find flaws in audits conducted by the overseas affiliates of KPMG than those of any other Big Four accounting firm, an analysis of inspection data shows. The findings raise further questions over KPMG’s […]

Big 4 The drunken Big Four partners who are paid $1m+[eFinancialCareers] Combined with other recent incidents, including the tragic case of Michael Brockie, a 28-year-old PWC audit manager who lost a large portion of his brain following a fall after a drunken work outing, and the death of Aishwarya Venkatachalam, a junior at EY in […]

Must Read Accounting’s Big Lie — and How to Fix It [Project on Government Oversight] A colossal conflict of interest compromises the auditing of public companies and the financial security of everyone who depends on them. The Project On Government Oversight is planning a conference on what to do about it. The following is meant […]

Psst. While you’re here, have you thought about getting on our newsletter? No? Alright. Big 4 Average income of Deloitte’s partners in UK and Switzerland tops £1m [The Guardian] Partners at Deloitte in the UK and Switzerland will receive an average income of more than £1m each for the second year in a row, after […]

Psst! While we have you…get on our newsletter list if you want more headlines like these. And have a good weekend! That’s an order. Salaries Salaries in Finance & Accounting on the Rise as Executives Adapt to Fluctuating Market Pressures, Says New Report [Randstad] According to a new report from Randstad USA, finance and accounting […]

Big 4 Deloitte plays both sides of the field in Mercedes-Benz case [Australian Financial Review] Mercedes-Benz dealers have discovered long-time auditor Deloitte was banking huge fees from them while secretly working with the German parent company to write reports that would “disguise” the damage a switch in the business model would do to dealers’ profit […]

Supply and Demand New York First in Projected Growth of Auditor and Accountant Jobs: Weekly Stat [CFO] Projections on four position categories — accountants and auditors; credit analysts; financial managers; and financial and investment analysts, financial risk specialists, financial specialists, and all others — reveal that despite a global shift in workflow and flexibility, the […]

Ed. note: Although Going Concern observes Labor Day because our handlers are not monsters, we’ll be back Monday as usual. See you then and have a wonderful weekend (hopefully it’s a three-day one for at least some of you). Firm Watch EY’s talks on potential split to continue into Autumn [City A.M.] EY’s talks on […]

Ed. note: apologies to the individual who criticized last week’s Footnotes headline for being too clickbaity and scary, our bad. This week’s consciously informative headline is just for you, buddy. While you’re here, allow us to pester you to sign up for our newsletter to get accounting headlines twice a week. Happy weekend! Big 4 […]

Ed. note: trying out a little something new for this week’s Footnotes. We’re adding accounting firm mergers & acquisitions to the weekly news as they’re happening with such frequency and regular Footnotes readers will notice the news is now sorted by topic. Neat! Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter for more headlines, or […]

Ed. note: fans of accounting headlines are encouraged to sign up for our newsletter to get headlines delivered to your inbox twice a week. Looking for a remote accounting job? We encourage you to sign up to get job alerts for remote accounting positions from our friends at Accountingfly. Now, the news. How to follow up […]

Ed. note: are you obsessed with accounting news? Yeah, us too. Sign up for our newsletter to get headlines in your inbox twice a week. Looking for a remote accounting job? We encourage you to sign up to get job alerts for remote accounting positions from our friends at Accountingfly. If the world had no accountants […]

Ed. note: Footnotes is published every Friday at 5 p.m. Sign up for our newsletter to get accounting headlines delivered to your inbox twice a week. Oh, and if you are looking for a remote accounting job, we encourage you to sign up to get job alerts for remote accounting positions from our friends at Accountingfly. […]

PwC partner accused of rating female staff leaves firm [Australian Financial Review] A PwC partner who allegedly held male-only events with colleagues where they rated the attractiveness of women in their office and visited strip clubs has left the firm. Audit watchdog to overhaul UK corporate governance code [Financial Times] The UK’s corporate governance code […]

Wirecard’s former top accountant admits forging documents for KPMG special audit [Financial Times] Wirecard’s ex-head of accounting has admitted to forging documents requested by KPMG during a special audit, ahead of a trial that is set for later this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Stephan von Erffa is one of three defendants […]

Accountants are voted the best kissers in Britain ahead of doctors and nurses while civil servants, bankers and lawyers are rated as the worst [Daily Mail] Often ridiculed as boring beancounters, accountants have surprisingly been voted the best kissers – ahead of doctors, nurses and engineers. And the worst are civil servants, bankers and lawyers, […]

Accounting Firm EY Grapples With Partner Pay, Bear Market in Breakup [Wall Street Journal] Ernst & Young’s leaders, trying to persuade partners to split up the firm, said windfalls would be spread evenly, but a bear market threatens to cut the value of a potential initial public offering of its consulting business, according to an […]

The 2022 Client Advisory Services (CAS) Benchmark Survey is now open for participation [CPA.com] Participation in the CAS Benchmark Survey provides an opportunity for you to work on your business – first, by reviewing the data about your practice in preparation to take the survey, and later, when you can review your practice’s data compared […]

SEC Acting Chief Accountant Cautions Against “Checklist Compliance” Approach to Auditor Independence [JD Supra] SEC Acting Chief Accountant Paul Munter re-emphasized the SEC’s focus on auditor independence in his June 8 statement on “The Critical Importance of the General Standard of Auditor Independence and an Ethical Culture for the Accounting Profession.” This latest statement follows […]

Accountant Finds Out Client Has “Skeletons In The Closet”, Gets The IRS Involved And Makes Him Lose Everything [Bored Panda] It was posted on Reddit so obviously it must be true. How a New Accounting Rule Is Making Bank Earnings Go Wild [Wall Street Journal] The new accounting standard, known as current expected credit loss, […]

Accounting Giant EY Created A Chief Wellbeing Officer To Uplift And Empower Their People [Forbes] EY investing in that empathetic leadership everyone loves so much. Bankrupt former KPMG partner sues law firm over job loss [Financial Times] A former KPMG partner who went bankrupt after investing in French ski chalets is suing law firm Herbert […]

Boring No More: Accountants, Auditors See Themselves as Creative, Curious and Adventurous, Study Shows [PR Newswire] Creative, curious and adventurous may not be traits normally associated with accountants and auditors, but a recent study shows that’s just how a growing number of industry professionals see themselves. The research – conducted by leading software provider Caseware […]

Junior KPMG auditor ‘should not lose his home’ for misleading regulator, says tribunal [Financial Times] A former junior KPMG auditor should not receive a fine so large it could force him to sell his matrimonial home, a tribunal has said. The UK accounting regulator asked the industry tribunal to fine Pratik Paw £50,000 and ban […]

Mesa grandma, 25-year-old accountant share love of Phoenix Suns [Arizona’s Family] JoAnne Ralph and Ben Barchilon have a special bond, and it all started with their love of the Phoenix Suns. “It’s just wonderful to have another grandson,” said Ralph. “It upsets my granddaughter because she says ‘I’m not sharing you!’ And I said, yes […]

Ed. note: Happy belated 420 Earth Day, everyone! In honor of the one day a year we recognize the detrimental impact humans have on our home rock, we’re including a couple relevant links on performative environmentalism as it relates to the accounting industry and financial reporting below. Firms and audit committees focus on ESG for […]

Ed. note: Happy almost Easter to those who celebrate, happy 11th birthday today to my cat Cash Money (no, I did not purposely track down a cat born on tax day when I adopted him from Humane Rescue Alliance in DC 11 years ago), and a very happy April 18th to those of you who […]

CPA firms show progress in diversity amid pipeline challenges [Journal of Accountancy] The AICPA finally got around to releasing their 2021 Trends report, which we’ll dissect shortly. In the meantime, here’s a tidbit: The profession’s efforts to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion delivered progress with a rise of almost 5 percentage points (a change from […]

Ed. note: forgive us, we lack the bandwidth to come up with an April Fool’s prank today. For your reading pleasure, you can reminisce on the time we hid the entire site behind a (fake) Bitcoin paywall for a few hours on April Fool’s Day 2014 and proceeded to get cussed out by readers and […]

These are the 5 most ‘boring’ — and exciting — jobs in the world, according to a recent study [CNBC] You’ll be happy to hear accounting made #2 on the most boring list. Don’t feel bad, MY job ranked #3 most exciting and I assure you it absolutely is not, I write about accounting after […]

Accounting Faces Reckoning After Years of Sluggish Pay Growth [Bloomberg Law] Gasp! Asking for time off? WELL I NEVER! The shift in power toward workers and away from employers has forced businesses to meet demands for more time off, remote work, and flexible schedules—not just wages—said Paul McDonald, senior executive director for staffing firm Robert […]

‘Big Four’ Targeted Again in U.K.—PwC Becomes Latest Subject of Investigations [Bloomberg Tax] Paul Brehony of Signature Litigation LLP looks at the growing number of investigations by the U.K. tax authority into historic audit failures by the “Big Four” firms, and discusses the prospects for success of proposed major reforms to the audit regime. The […]

Deloitte considers Russia pull out as pressure grows on western firms to exit [Financial News] Deloitte is considering pulling out of Russia, becoming the first Big Four audit firm to do so as pressure grows on Western companies to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The firm is reviewing its “business […]

Why KPMG’s Culture Crisis is Symptomatic of a Broken Audit Industry [International Policy Digest] A disciplinary tribunal filed against auditing giant KPMG has unearthed an internal survey conducted between 2016-17, revealing a veritable crisis of culture among the firm’s ranks. Although KPMG may purport to prioritize the ideals of integrity and quality in all their […]

This is why so many accountants are burned out and quitting right now [Fast Company] “If you go into investment banking or medicine, the financial ROI is worth the long hours. It’s not worth it in accounting. A junior accountant could be making $80,000 a year. A bank teller could be at $55,000 a year, […]

Deloitte’s $5M Data Security Deal OK Is Sought by Plaintiffs [Bloomberg Law] A $4.95 million settlement with Deloitte Consulting LLP to resolve claims it created websites with poor security should receive final approval, the plaintiffs are arguing in New York federal court. German financial regulator probes Adler over its accounting [Financial Times] Shares in Adler […]

Talent shortage turns audits into tactical issue [CFO Dive] As in other parts of the economy, the auditing field is dealing with a war for talent, driven in part by the rise of remote work, which has opened doors to sought-after accountants looking for opportunities elsewhere. And technology changes have led to accountants getting offers […]

6 red flags your body is breaking down from overwork [Fast Company] “There are two major ways that overwork can reduce health and longevity,” writes BBC contributor, Christina Ro. “One is the biological toll of chronic stress, with an uptick in stress hormones leading to elevated blood pressure and cholesterol.” She continues: “Then there are […]

Fired manager accuses Deloitte of defrauding VW and a #MeToo cover-up [Financial Times] A manager fired by Deloitte’s German business after raising concerns about alleged misconduct has accused it of defrauding Volkswagen and ignoring sexual harassment allegations against senior staff. The whistleblower made the allegations last week at a labour court in Stuttgart where he […]

Carillion tribunal: Former KPMG staff turn on each other [The Guardian] The former KPMG partner in charge of auditing Carillion’s accounts before its collapse has blamed his more junior colleagues for misleading regulators, as former team members turned on each other during a tribunal hearing allegations against the firm and six individual auditors. Looking abroad: […]

Elizabeth Holmes and her Big 4 audit firm buddies at Theranos [The Dig] When audit firms don’t live up to their public duty, everyone gets hurt. The harm at Theranos was more than financial. PwC ‘Failed Dismally’ as Auditor of South African Airways [Bloomberg Tax] A South African judicial report has sharply criticized PwC for […]

Ed. note: Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you for spending 2021 with us, believe it or not we’re grateful to each and every one of you for stopping by. See you next year! Deloitte sued by female former employee over harassment claims [Financial Times] Deloitte has been sued by a former female employee who alleged […]

Ed. note: Have a safe and happy holiday out there, everyone. We hope a good chunk of you are rocking the out of office message this weekend and can get some much-deserved rest and relaxation, and that the rest of you can at least fit in a nap and a text message to your grandma. […]

Deloitte U.S. CEO on the past year’s business challenges and what’s ahead in 2022 [Fortune] “Many came into the year thinking that 2020 was the unprecedented year and things would calm down,” Ucuzoglu said. “Yet you could argue there have actually been more twists and turns [in 2021]. The pandemic is by no means behind […]

KPMG executive Greg Eldridge is seeking $130,000 in damages against the accounting giant [The Courier Mail] A senior KPMG executive now on stress leave has sued the accounting giant, alleging he was subjected to months of unlawful harassment from a colleague and then told he would have to simply adapt to the abuse. Audit tips […]

Partners at mid-tier accountant BDO paid more than at EY [Financial Times] BDO, the UK’s fifth-largest accounting firm by revenue, paid partners a record average of £760,000 before tax in the year to the end of June, surpassing the £749,000 paid out by EY. PwC Germany Offices Raided by Police in Tax Fraud Investigation [Bloomberg […]

Carillion Liquidator Seeks $336 Million From KPMG [Bloomberg] The U.K. government agency charged with liquidating Carillion Plc has lodged a claim at the high court against auditor KPMG, the Sunday Times reported. The official receiver has accused KPMG of negligence in its audit of the U.K. contractor and quantified claims of about 250 million pounds […]

EY faces staff backlash over handling of sexual harassment case [Financial Times] EY is facing a backlash by staff over the accounting giant’s handling of an incident in which a partner sexually harassed a female trainee on a work trip. On an all-staff webcast on Tuesday, EY promised staff it would do more to combat […]

KPMG Sued for $600 Million Over Alleged Sloppy Auditing in Dubai’s Abraaj Scandal [Bloomberg] KPMG LLP was sued for at least $600 million over its role in the insolvency of Dubai private-equity firm Abraaj Group, the latest in a string of complaints of sloppy auditing made against the Big Four firm. The claimants, two units […]

.CPA Web Domain Launches in Canada [Business Wire] The restricted web domain, administered by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and its business and technology arm, CPA.com, officially launches in Canada this morning at 11 Eastern time. To be eligible, Canadian CPAs and CPA firms must be licensed. Preferred names will be awarded on a […]

Wealthy retired accountant is found guilty of murder [Daily Mail] The pregnant daughter of a wealthy retired accountant who was today jailed for life after stabbing her husband to death has told the court of her heartbreak, saying: ‘I lost my dad but I’ve also lost my mum.’ Isabelle Potterton said on Friday that her […]

How CPAs can rise above a polarized political climate [Journal of Accountancy] Aside from being prepared for these possible changes, [Publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report Amy] Walter recommends that CPAs break away from the polarization that has made each side feel like an election is an existential fight for the real America. […]

‘What do you actually do?’: Redditors scratch heads at consulting firms [Yahoo News] We’ve often wondered about this too. Deloitte Workers Sue Over ‘Astronomical’ 401(k) Fees [Law360] Deloitte workers slapped the accounting giant with a proposed class action in New York federal court, claiming the company allowed two multibillion-dollar retirement plans to get saddled with […]