Budget Britain: Inflation forces families to trade down and opt for staycations June 28, 2023 Britons are trading down to cheaper products and are opting to holiday at home in response to rampant inflation and higher interest rates squeezing their budgets, new research out today shows. Some 40 per cent of families have been buying more value or own brand products in 2023, according to analysis from consultancy KPMG. The [...]
KPMG: Generative AI could spur £31bn increase in UK productivity June 27, 2023 The UK’s battered economy could get a much-needed £31bn boost from the widespread adoption of generative AI, a new KPMG report has found. According to the ‘Big Four’ firm, generative AI has the potential to increase UK productivity by 1.2 per cent, the equivalent of an extra output of £31bn a year in the UK [...]
KPMG to cut five per cent of US jobs as demand slows June 26, 2023 Big four accountancy KPMG tonight announced a fresh round of layoffs, with plans to cut five per cent of its US workforce. In an internal message seen by City A.M., US chair and CEO Paul Knopp KPMG said: “We do not make the decision lightly. However, we believe it is in the best long-term interest [...]
Sadiq Khan to address ‘cost of doing business’ crisis at summit with Uber and Natwest June 20, 2023 Sadiq Khan is set to address the “cost of doing business crisis” at a crunch summit with firms including Uber, Natwest and KPMG. The mayor of London will welcome more than 200 CEOs to his annual City Hall business reception at the Crystal in east London today. He is expected to tell firms the “cost-of-doing-business [...]
Sadiq Khan hosts crunch business talks with City figures May 23, 2023 Sadiq Khan has warned London’s businesses are facing “the most difficult period in living memory” as a result of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis. The Mayor of London has called for the government to devolve some immigration powers to City Hall as a means of tackling regional labour shortages sparked by the [...]
Meet the KPMG dealmaker putting the Big 4 firm in the green energy mix April 5, 2023 Hardly a week goes by without a new survey showing the slump in M&A activity in 2022. By some estimates M&A dropped 18 per cent after the flurry in 2021. However, looking a little closer reveals a more nuanced picture. Mid-level M&A remained fairly consistent while certain sectors saw continued growth. One of the most [...]
Recession fears see Brits stock up on own-brand kitchen staples April 3, 2023 THE COST of living crisis is beginning to be felt in the pockets of ordinary punters – with more than one in three turning towards own brand products to keep the kitchen cupboard stocked. New research from KPMG suggests more than half of UK consumers have reduced ‘non-essential’ spending amid recession fears, with eating out top of [...]
KPMG stands behind audit of Silicon Valley Bank, accounting firm’s US chief says March 15, 2023 The chief executive of KPMG’s US business has said the Big Four accounting firm stands behind its audit of Silicon Valley Bank, after it gave the California financier a clean bill of health just two weeks before its collapse. KPMG chief Paul Knopp told an event at New York University that “we stand behind the [...]
Five best read on City A.M.: EY ‘business as normal’, 1,300 Lloyds Pharmacies up for closure, Cameron Smith, F1 ‘marriage’ on the rocks and crypto ban March 10, 2023 EY’s decision to push ahead with mid-year promotions after KPMG called off its April round was this week’s best read story on City A.M. It had some stiff competition with sporting heroes Cameron Smith and Lewis Hamilton vying for readers’ interest, not to mention news of a crypto ban and high street closures. We look [...]
EY to push ahead with mid-year promotions after KPMG calls off April round March 5, 2023 EY has said it is pushing ahead with this year’s round of mid-year promotions “as normal,” following reports that Big Four rival KPMG has called off its own round of April promotions. An EY spokesperson told City A.M. the “small number of mid-year promotions” it makes “every year” are “continuing as normal.” KPMG, by contrast, [...]