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 [...]
Jobs slump as economy ‘held up by uncertainty’ June 8, 2026 The UK jobs market has been handed another blow as businesses ditch permanent hires as the economy battles against domestic and international uncertainty. The latest jobs report from KPMG and REC, the professional body for recruiters, showed hiring for permanent places dropped to a reading of 44.1 in May, which sits below the neutral 50 [...]
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 [...]
£4.5bn black market cigarette tax loss should be ‘a major wake-up call’ for Labour June 4, 2026 Over half of cigarettes smoked in the UK are black market and are contributing £4.5bn to the country’s tax losses – a record high – according to new analysis from KPMG and tobacco giant Philip Morris. The findings show that 1.5bn more black-market, tax-free cigarettes were consumed by UK smokers last year compared to 2024, [...]
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 [...]
Ex-KPMG led accounting giant stalls £1bn sale May 25, 2026 One of the UK’s largest accounting firms founded by a former KPMG head has put a £1bn auction on hold despite receiving a wealth of interest from investors. Sumer, a ‘consolidator’ firm that buys majority stakes in smaller independent accounting companies, had hired advisors at boutique advisory Continuum last September to oversee a review on [...]
Job cuts at Big Four firms fuel worker burnout May 20, 2026 Job cuts at professional services firms are resulting in overworked staff, but the pressures – combined with increased reliance on AI – risk damaging firms’ reputations through mistakes, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The professional services industry, especially the Big Four giants, has faced its fair share of job cuts, with thousands of roles laid off in [...]