Ditched by clients and Australian government: What is happening down under at KPMG? June 15, 2026 KPMG’s Australian arm has been ditched by the country’s government for audit work until September, following the fallout of allegations that the firm mishandled client information, in the latest nightmare for the Big Four firm down under. The Big Four giant will be unable to bid for any Australian government contracts until September 2026, as [...]
KPMG report on AI found riddled with AI hallucinations June 12, 2026 A new probe into Big Four KPMG’s report on agentic AI found that the majority of its references were flawed, amid the latest news of AI-hallucinated reports published by professional services firms. The investigation, conducted by GPTZero, focused on KPMG’s October 2025 report, ‘Total Experience: Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI’, which summarises [...]
KPMG’s Summer Friday half-day rollback signals deeper woes for Big Four giants June 11, 2026 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 [...]
P&O Ferries to be probed over possible audit failings June 10, 2026 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has opened a probe into the conduct of an accountant at P&O Ferries over the accuracy of information they provided to auditors. The FRC said it has opened the investigation to assess the financial information provided to the auditor of P&O Ferries Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries between December 2020 [...]
Regulator opens probe into PwC over WH Smith audit debacle June 9, 2026 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 [...]
KPMG scraps summer early Friday finish for staff June 5, 2026 Big Four giant KPMG is revoking its Covid-19 employee benefit of letting staff clock off early on Fridays over the summer in the latest cut at the firm. The firm introduced the policy in 2021, focused on the summer, which is a quieter time in the City, to allow staff to take two and a [...]
Staff burnout soars in professional services due to inefficiencies and outdated IT June 3, 2026 More than a quarter of client-facing staff at professional services firms are wasting a large portion of their working week on manual administrative tasks rather than core client work, according to new research by Unit4. The report, commissioned by Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC), on global mid-to-large professional services firms, including those in the UK, revealed [...]
Deloitte UK appoints first chief AI officer in drive for ‘AI-enabled’ services June 1, 2026 Deloitte has appointed its first chief AI officer in the UK in a push to become the country’s leading professional services firm, integrating AI into both client services and internal operations. The Big Four giant said it has selected Hayley McKelvey for the newly-created role where she will be responsible for “accelerating the firm’s progress [...]
Deloitte and KPMG challenge PwC’s iron grip on FTSE 100 clients June 1, 2026 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 [...]
KPMG Australia boss resigns amid whistleblower scandal May 29, 2026 The boss of KPMG Australia has resigned after the firm admitted to severely mishandling a whistleblower report on client confidentiality breaches. The scandal was prompted by a whistleblower who alleged that client documents were inappropriately shared with the senior leadership team, including the chief executive, which prompted an internal investigation. But the investigation did not [...]