KPMG’s Summer Friday half-day rollback signals deeper woes for Big Four giants Big Four Big Four giant KPMG’s removal of its Friday early finish for employees is affecting branding and souring the mood among staff, who may see this as a signal to reconsider a career at the firm. Time spent working at a Big Four giant was once a prized bauble to list on a CV. But with [...]
Regulator opens probe into PwC over WH Smith audit debacle Big Four The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into PwC over its audit of WH Smith that resulted in delayed annual results last year. Last August, WH Smith shares plummeted by up to 40 per cent after it admitted to an accounting error that overstated expected headline trading profit in its North American business [...]
Deloitte and KPMG challenge PwC’s iron grip on FTSE 100 clients Prof Services For the first time in nearly eight years, three of the Big Four giants, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, are locked in a dead heat for FTSE 100 client dominance. A boardroom reshuffle has loosened PwC’s iron grip on clients from London’s blue-chip index, forcing a historic three-way tie at the top of the FTSE 100 [...]
Uefa probes Brighton and Hearts connection under Tony Bloom ownership May 20, 2026 Uefa is scrutinising the relationship between Hearts and Brighton and Hove Albion, with both clubs connected to Tony Bloom on course to qualify for Europe. Brighton owner Bloom holds a 29 per cent stake in Hearts – deliberately below the 30 per cent threshold Uefa prohibits owners from holding in more than one club in [...]
Sports industry braced for media rights dip, PwC report warns May 8, 2026 Sport bosses have warned that media rights are set to fall in value and can no longer be relied upon to drive growth across the industry. PwC’s Global Sports Survey of more than 500 senior executives found that growth was expected in all streams in the next three to five years, except media rights. Even [...]
Alvarez & Marsal poached FTI heads as firm seeks to challenge Big Four giants May 5, 2026 Management consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal has poached its second FTI name to join its recently launched reputation advisory practice as it seeks to challenge the Big Four. The newest recruit, senior director Tom Hufton, joins managing director Rob Mindell to lead the practice, CityAM can reveal. The firm’s new practice, launched at the [...]
Golden partnership perks? Not anymore, say the Big Four April 27, 2026 As the Big Four giants grapple with profitability challenges, the traditional partnership model is undergoing significant change to prevent the profit pool from being diluted. The traditional dream at professional services firms – joining, working hard and climbing the ladder to partnership within an LLP structure – now looks very different at the Big Four [...]
Big Four giant KPMG downgrades equity partners April 24, 2026 Big Four giant KPMG has begun demoting UK senior equity partners – members who hold a stake in the firm and share its profits – and instead offering them lower status salaried partner roles. KPMG, which last year paid its equity partners on average £800,000 each a year, has reportedly been inviting the partners for [...]
The King’s Speech is a test of whether the UK is serious about growth April 24, 2026 For the government to prove it means what it says about growth, it should include a Financial Services Bill in the King’s Speech, says Miles Celic When the King’s Speech is delivered in the coming weeks, it will be read as a signal not just of legislative intent, but of economic credibility. For a government [...]
Regulator fines PwC £95m over Chinese Evergrande audit April 23, 2026 The Hong Kong regulator fined PwC Hong Kong a landmark HK$1bn (£95m) for its role as auditor for the now-liquidated property giant, China Evergrande Group. Back in Janaury 2023, PwC resigned as Evergrande’s auditor following a series of disagreements with the heavily-indebted property developer over its audit of the firm’s 2021 accounts. This came after [...]