Latest
Flexibility, part-time work needed for better bench, says judge
Court of Appeal judge Janine Pritchard has called for greater flexibility in the judiciary to stop top women candidates self-selecting out of a judicial career.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
At PwC, it’s the revenge of the auditors
Long the humbler, more straight-forward and less risky arm of the firm, audit is now expected to be the growth engine and the governance model for the future.
- Edmund Tadros
One in two want government to cut use of big four firms: survey
Surveys in November and December show that almost one in three people have a negative view of the big four consulting firms.
- Edmund Tadros
Samuel’s big four fix: ban firms consulting to audit clients
Former competition watchdog Graeme Samuel also said ASIC should resume naming and shaming firms with poor audit quality.
- Edmund Tadros
‘Incredibly disappointing’: Pay gap for female barristers at four-year high
Women practitioners got just 20 per cent of the $1.65 billion the Bar charged in fees, prompting calls for quotas, mandatory reporting and tougher targets.
- Hannah Wootton
Data Trackers
Financial Review consulting salary guide 2022-23
The full guide to how much you can earn at Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC.
- Edmund Tadros
PwC seeks absolution but can it really change?
The publication of two documents and a video apology for the tax leaks scandal this week was meant to be a circuit breaker. But it won’t be that easy.
- Edmund Tadros
Professional Moves
The security situation is intense: Life as a lawyer in South Africa
Olivia Clark normally works as a lawyer for DLA Piper in London, but is on a secondment in South Africa.
- Updated
- Ciara Seccombe and Maxim Shanahan
Aggressive regulators creating legal demand, says new law firm leader
Jones Day’s new Australian partner-in-charge says increased regulatory activity is presenting opportunities in an uncertain market.
- Maxim Shanahan
Top Westpac lawyer to be PwC’s new general counsel
PwC Australia has hired a senior Westpac lawyer Kylie Gray as its permanent general counsel as it rebuilds its leadership and governance after the tax leaks scandal.
- Edmund Tadros
This Month
EY cuts poor performing, misbehaving partners
More than 40 partners have left big four consulting firm EY in the second half of 2023, more than half because of poor performance, or behaviour issues.
- Edmund Tadros
Graeme Samuel’s guide to (avoiding) regulatory capture
Rubbing shoulders with the great and the good holds a dangerous attraction for any regulator.
- Myriam Robin
Aggressive regulators creating legal demand, says new law firm leader
Jones Day’s new Australian partner-in-charge says increased regulatory activity is presenting opportunities in an uncertain market.
- Maxim Shanahan
EY paid by government to push agendas of its clients
EY’s self-styled role as Australia’s de facto climate change policy and regulation expert goes beyond the federal government.
- Hannah Wootton
Two exit Baker McKenzie’s capital markets team
Street Talk understands Transactional Practice Group partner Cécile Baume and special counsel Stephanie Glass have left the firm.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Is the party over for the world’s most profitable law firm?
A boom in private equity meant bumper pay and rapid promotion for Kirkland & Ellis partners, but competition is growing as dealmaking slows.
- Will Louch
Young lawyers want to holiday, not work, in New York
Flat demand and apprehensiveness about an intense overseas working culture are spelling an end to the post-pandemic exodus of Australian lawyers.
- Maxim Shanahan
McKinsey, BCG don’t want public to know junior partners earn $700,000+
McKinsey told a Senate inquiry it was “not able to share the remuneration of our individual partners”, while BCG said partner pay was “tied to a global structure in a highly competitive global market”.
- Edmund Tadros
- Opinion
- Audit quality
Failing corporate reporting system needs complete overhaul
Not only is Australia lagging the world, its corporate reporting system is failing in its core purpose of providing useful information to investors and others.
- Peter Wells
Big four partners face ‘career-ending’ fines in PwC fallout
The move is part of a broader multi-year suite of reforms being pursued by the government following the tax scandal which are designed to ward off similar conduct.
- Ronald Mizen
KPMG tries to Jedi mind trick away a ‘power map’
KMPG CEO Andrew Yates tries waving his hand across the faces of the Senate, Obi-Wan Kenobi style, denying the existence of secret power maps.
- Mark Di Stefano
KPMG may merge its UK and Swiss accounting arms to boost growth
A vote on the proposed combination could be held as early as next year, amid a fall in demand for services caused by the tougher economic climate.
- Irina Anghel
Two law firms hit gender parity – and credit WFH
Lander & Rogers and Hicksons are leading the trend of more female partners, but firms including Arnold Bloch Leibler and Thomson Geer are behind the curve.
- Maxim Shanahan
Leaked pay reveals law firm’s $7m ‘super partners’
The pay that the four Corrs Chambers Westgarth partners are in line for blows out much of the legal industry.
- Mark Di Stefano
Boutique consulting firm cuts dozens of staff to face a ‘slow’ 2024
Nous boss Tim Orton says “challenging market conditions” are unlikely to improve.
- Edmund Tadros
Rest of the big four decline to join PwC on political donations ban
EY and Deloitte will continue to donate despite PwC stopping all contributions after its tax leaks scandal, while KPMG is reviewing its stance.
- Edmund Tadros
This M&A lawyer does deals by day – and Christmas lights by night
To calm nerves during negotiations, Tony Damian talks about his surprising hobby – Christmas lights. In December, you can see his house from a plane.
- Lisa Murray
PwC fined $10.5m over exam cheating by China and Hong Kong staff
US regulator says more than 1000 of firm’s workers cheated on tests designed to familiarise them with US standards.
- Stephen Foley
CA ANZ unhappy about accounting merger
The number-crunching body is upset the government has decided to merge the existing standards bodies into a single entity.
- Edmund Tadros
Battle of the org chart at Citadel/Domestique as merger deal signed
Few things are as fraught in M&A work than the fiendish discussion of who’ll be the top dog once the scrip settles.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin and Mark Di Stefano
