Budget supermarket Iceland’s sneaky jab at Big Four management consultants Retail Supermarket chain Iceland has shared a subtle dig at management consultants on its website. There is a tongue and cheek reference to a £16m spend on external consultancy firms which include Big Four giant PwC, during a turbulent era for the business in the early 2000s. The retailer, known for selling frozen food, published a [...]
Deloitte snaps up construction cost boutique to target infrastructure boom Big Four Deloitte has snapped up a niche construction consultancy as the Big Four firm looks to capitalise on the growing demand for tighter financial controls on major infrastructure projects. Deloitte has acquired The Orange Partnership, a Midlands-based consultancy specialising in cost verification and cost assurance in the construction sector, City AM can reveal. The deal comes [...]
PwC thought leadership reports ‘100 per cent AI generated’ Big Four The Big Four giant PwC has been found to have published four ‘thought leadership’ reports that show a pattern of irresponsible AI usage, including hallucinated citations and fabricated claims. A probe by GPTZero, a company that makes AI detection software, focused on four reports published between 2024 and 2026 by PwC Middle East and found [...]
EY and London managing partner fined over £1.3m for audit failure July 28, 2026 Big Four giant EY and its London office managing partner have been hit with a nearly £1.3m fine by the financial watchdog for audit failings related to retailer Made.com in 2021. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the sanction follows an investigation into Julie Carlyle, who manages the City office and a portfolio of many [...]
Big Four’s AIM exodus accelerates as mid-tier firms seize mandates July 27, 2026 Mid-tier audit firms scooped up new clients as the Big Four giants executed an intentional retreat from London’s junior market. Three years ago, PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG audited nearly half of the FTSE Alternative Investment Market (AIM) 100 index with 49 clients combined. But today, the market share has collapsed to 30 clients, according [...]
Revealed: KPMG and Deloitte offer bumper redundancy packages to slash headcount July 17, 2026 KPMG and Deloitte are offering UK staff bumper redundancy packages as they look to slash their headcount and trim costs, City AM can reveal. The two accountancy companies, as well as PwC, have all ramped up their payouts to employees after a slowdown in the sector’s traditional ‘attrition model’, in which around 15-20 per cent [...]
PwC slapped with multi-million fine for audit failures at FTSE 100 firm Babcock July 16, 2026 Big Four giant PwC and a former partner have been fined over £5.5m for the audit failures of London-listed engineering giant Babcock International. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued disciplinary action against the firm and its audit partner, John Waters, following numerous serious audit breaches during the financial years 2019 and 2020 audits of the [...]
Exclusive: PwC set to cut audit jobs amid market slowdown July 9, 2026 PwC is set to slash its headcount in its UK audit division, the latest in a series of redundancies at Big Four accountancy giants. City AM understands that those affected are senior associates and managers in the audit practice. It is understood this is due to low staff attrition in the firm’s audit practice, a [...]
Exclusive: Big Four giant KPMG to cut more jobs July 9, 2026 Big Four giant KPMG is set to lay off around 10 per cent of staff in its UK group corporate services division, City AM understands. The division, which includes HR, corporate affairs, marketing, tech, and procurement, is understood to be cutting around 200 people. A KPMG UK spokesperson told City AM: “As we continue to [...]
PwC joins the Canary Wharf crowd in major property shake-up July 2, 2026 Big Four giant PwC has picked Canary Wharf for its new UK office, and is set to swallow up 350,000 sq ft in the area in the latest boost to the docklands financial hub. The firm has chosen One Eden in Canary Wharf to be its new office address, a building formerly known as 33 Canada [...]