By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Professional Services Editor Maria Ward-Brennan is the Professional Services Editor at City AM, focused on law, Big Four, and other management and accounting consulting firms. She edits the Beyond The Billable newsletter and column. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or on X @MariaW_B.

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EY global revenue hits $57bn as AI demand fuels Big Four giant’s growth

October 8, 2026

Big Four giant EY’s global revenue has hit $57bn (£43bn), up nearly 5 per cent on the previous financial year. EY-Parthenon’s strategy arm led the firm’s overall growth across all services lines, with a 7 per cent increase. Tax grew by 6 per cent, consulting by over 4 per cent, and assurance by 3 per [...]
Deloitte hit with £11m fine after missing £30m taxpayer fraud at UK transport giant

October 8, 2026

Big Four giant Deloitte has been fined £11m for failing to raise concerns about fraud in its statutory audits of the transport business, the Go-Ahead Group (GAG), which operates multiple train services across the UK. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said on Thursday the fine, which was discounted to £6.05m for early admission and co-operation, [...]
‘Sick at the desk’ workforce crisis costs UK economy billions every year

October 8, 2026

Britain’s workforce health crisis isn’t happening on sick leave; it’s happening at the desk, as employees are working through illness and stress. Poor workforce health is estimated to cost the UK economy £241bn in lost productivity annually, according to claims in a new report by healthcare insurer Vitality, with mental ill-health being the single largest [...]
Labour’s band-aid won’t save the justice system from collapse

October 7, 2026

When the buildings designed to deliver justice are infested with rats, it is no surprise that the system itself is rotting from the inside out, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The terrible state of the justice system is by now well understood, but with the government’s most controversial plan to relive the pressure now partially scrapped, the [...]
Dutch consulting disruptor takes aim at City’s ‘five-to-one’ markup

October 7, 2026

Sweav, a Dutch-founded freelance consulting platform, is launching in the UK to challenge the traditional professional services sector on pricing. Speaking to City AM, Joeri Schouten, co-founder of Sweav, said: “The UK is the biggest professional services market in Europe [but] the culture is still much more traditional, very hierarchical, and has an even more [...]
City watchdog launches probe after whistleblower’s death raises questions

October 6, 2026

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a probe into how the regulatory body interacted with a whistleblower who recently took his own life. Simon Andriesz, a former managing director at BGC Partners, had blown the whistle on alleged links between the US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He [...]
The sugar rush is over: The Big Four must wake up from their pandemic dream

September 30, 2026

The pandemic was the worst thing that could have happened to the Big Four giants and the overall consultancy market. At the time, these firms were flying high, flooded with inquiries from businesses needing help to navigate the ‘once-in-a-lifetime ‘ event, but this ‘sugar rush’ didn’t last forever, and it gave the industry a false [...]
Deloitte UK advisory arm rebounds to growth as new boss insists AI ‘can’t replace lived experience’

September 30, 2026

Big Four giant Deloitte’s new UK boss, Darren Graves, insisted AI “can’t replace lived experience” as the firm’s advisory arms return to growth. Revenue for the year ended 31 May 2026 for the UK arm was up 2 per cent to £5.81bn, with growth across all businesses. The firm’s technology and transformation arm led with 4 [...]
Grant Thornton takes on Big Four giants with new £40K salary for London grads

September 29, 2026

Grant Thornton has raised its London graduate starting salary to £40,000 and introduced “milestone bonuses” into the pay structure as part of the firm’s ambition for significant growth. The private equity-backed firm has overhauled its early careers programme, first reported by City AM in April, and will offer ‘market-leading’ starting salaries to London juniors of £40,000 from [...]
British bosses face compliance headache over delayed EU pay transparency rules

September 28, 2026

British businesses are still troubled by complex European Union pay transparency laws after a delayed, fragmented rollout across the bloc. The EU pay transparency directive requires member states to mandate that companies disclose starting salaries and pay ranges in job listings, and some businesses must report gender pay gaps. The rules aim to ensure equal [...]

UK company profit warnings surge as Iran war drives up costs

What drinking alcohol at football could tell us about sporting fandom

Is this Europe’s weirdest holiday? Bog swimming in Estonia

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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