Latest
Minters picks up seven partners in PwC raid
MinterEllison is set to hire seven consulting partners from PwC in the largest single raid on the big four consulting firm since the tax leaks scandal.
- Maxim Shanahan
Bullying allegation at Corrs prompts regulator to get involved
SafeWork is “making inquiries” into a complaint at the law firm and has requested access to documents, but Corrs says the regulator has no plans to investigate further.
- Maxim Shanahan
Following EY tax advice cost Billabong founder $50m
A Federal Court judge found there were no logical reasons for transactions undertaken by Gordon Merchant, other than to minimise his tax.
- Max Mason
Cost-cutting advisers the bright spot in professional services
Advisers are being increasingly asked to conduct cost-cutting programs, from upskilling and reducing staff numbers to digitisation and automation.
- Edmund Tadros
Auditors failed to raise alarm before 75pc of UK corporate collapses
Audit firms failed to raise the alarm before three-quarters of big UK corporate collapses since 2010, raising concerns they are failing to perform one of their core functions.
- Simon Foy
Data Trackers
Financial Review consulting salary guide 2022-23
The full guide to how much you can earn at Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC.
- Edmund Tadros
PwC seeks absolution but can it really change?
The publication of two documents and a video apology for the tax leaks scandal this week was meant to be a circuit breaker. But it won’t be that easy.
- Edmund Tadros
Professional Moves
Minters picks up seven partners in PwC raid
MinterEllison is set to hire seven consulting partners from PwC in the largest single raid on the big four consulting firm since the tax leaks scandal.
- Maxim Shanahan
Cost-cutting advisers the bright spot in professional services
Advisers are being increasingly asked to conduct cost-cutting programs, from upskilling and reducing staff numbers to digitisation and automation.
- Edmund Tadros
Scyne finalises appointments, KPMG partner heads to Star
PwC spin-off Scyne Advisory has appointed a permanent managing partner and will finalise its CEO in the second half of this year.
- Maxim Shanahan
This Month
- Exclusive
- Consulting
Accenture set to buy Partners in Performance
Consulting firm Accenture is set to acquire Partners in Performance, in the most significant consulting market deal in nearly five years.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Exclusive
- Income tax
ATO freezes former Young Rich Lister’s muscle cars, mansion
The flamboyant accountant Steve Di Petta, who has a penchant for Ford Mustangs, is facing allegations he and his wife owe the Tax Office over $3 million.
- Max Mason
Allens to be king of the hill in Sydney’s new legal district
Allens and four other law firms are set to move into the revamped AMP building at Circular Quay as a new legal district in Sydney develops towards the harbour.
- Maxim Shanahan and Campbell Kwan
Law graduates are about to crack a salary record
Top-tier graduates will earn more than $100,000 this year – in Sydney only – but law firms remain tight-lipped on pay rates despite moves towards transparency elsewhere.
- Maxim Shanahan
HWL Ebsworth anoints ‘co-pilots’ to replace the late Juan Martinez
Australia’s largest legal partnership, HWL Ebsworth, has new leaders who are hoping for “not such a combative relationship with the media”.
- Michael Pelly
If AI can do the work of a grad lawyer, what does a grad lawyer do?
As tech increasingly takes on the legal grunt work, MinterEllison is trying to rethink the work and skills of its young lawyers.
- Hans van Leeuwen
EY manager claims he was sacked for complaining about 80-hour week
EY Australia has rejected claims by a manager he was sacked because he complained about being told to put in unreasonable hours.
- Max Mason
Judge chides critics who want to ‘regulate class actions out of existence’
The newest member of the High Court, Justice Robert Beech-Jones, also gave qualified support to competition between courts.
- Michael Pelly
PwC elevates tax and legal into its service line
The new model will also bring together the firm’s deals and private advisory professionals and its consultants into a renamed “advisory” service.
- Edmund Tadros
Global push to get tax advisers to think ethically
New rules have been agreed to help restore trust in a profession battered by wrongdoing, including the PwC tax leaks scandal.
- Edmund Tadros
Thomson Geer takes 4.9pc stake in ASX takeover target
Law firm Thomson Geer has built a 4.9pc stake in ASX-listed Qantm Intellectual Property, currently the subject of a takeover tussle.
- Maxim Shanahan
Allen & Overy merger creates $5.3b firm in push for US clients
Local managing partner Jason Denisenko says the new-look firm will occupy the same space in the market, but will increasingly take on US firms with Australian arms.
- Maxim Shanahan
PwC’s failed complaint over professor’s spicy LinkedIn posts
Andy Schmulow’s more polite jibes included calling PwC “a cancer” on society, “thugs in suits”, and a “parasite”. PwC reckons it’s all beyond the pale.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
PwC partners in Middle East accused of blocking first woman boss
PwC is facing a backlash from its own staff after two women were passed over for the UK firm’s top job, as Middle Eastern partners grow in strength.
- Updated
- Adam Mawardi
Big four exam cheating under spotlight amid AI fears
Academic integrity is in focus for professional regulators after a series of cheating scandals and the rise of artificial intelligence.
- Adam Mawardi
Law Council ‘extremely concerned’ by ATO’s privilege allegations
In response to comments by Jeremy Hirschhorn to the Senate, the Law Council warned against casting doubt over the purpose of law firms’ consulting arms.
- Maxim Shanahan
Let ASIC police big four conflicts: Samuel
Former ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says the big four’s governance changes looked good on paper, but would not fundamentally change the culture of the firms.
- Maxim Shanahan and Ronald Mizen
Big four’s reformation moment
Engaging with the Treasury process is an opportunity for the consulting giants to help modernise the partnership-based model founded in the 19th century and unfit for today.
- The AFR View
The 24 questions Treasury has about the big four consulting firms
The 16 “potential issues” raised by Treasury and the 24 questions it would like responses to about the structure of the firms and the wider sector.
- Edmund Tadros
- Opinion
- Audit quality
Treasury questions the very nature of the big four consulting firms
Get ready for war as they fight back against suggestions they are too big, incapable of governing themselves and have compromised auditing roles.
- Edmund Tadros
