StephenFoleyFT

Bain & Co shuts South Africa consulting business after corruption scandal Advisory group’s Johannesburg office to become ‘a services hub supporting global operations’

Bain & Co shuts South Africa consulting business after corruption scandal www.ft.com/content/cdbd...

McKinsey bars China practice from generative AI work amid geopolitical tensions Consulting firm’s move follows scrutiny from Washington over US companies’ involvement in sensitive Chinese sectors

McKinsey bars China practice from generative AI work amid geopolitical tensions.
www.ft.com/content/9907...

Chief US audit regulator pushed out by Trump’s new SEC chair Erica Williams told staff at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that Atkins asked her to resign

BREAKING: Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) chair Erica Williams is OUT. Paul Atkins, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, asked her to resign and her last day will be July 22.

www.ft.com/content/8167...

Inspired by FT commenter Cassandrama
www.ft.com/content/aa27...

Big Four firms fined in new exam cheating scandal Dutch arms of Deloitte, PwC and EY pay total of $8.5mn after ‘hundreds’ of staff shared answers on internal tests

The Netherlands this time.

Big Four firms fined in new exam cheating scandal www.ft.com/content/aa27...

Have questions on the market, inflation or the 'Taco trade'? Unhedged's Robert Armstrong wants to hear from you.

Join him on Reddit today for an 'Ask Me Anything': on.ft.com/44snQMc

PCAOB and CFPB also reprieved. Story above is w/ @kateduguid.bsky.social & Stefania Palma

US Republicans’ plan to eliminate audit watchdog violates Senate rules Ruling deals blow to the party’s deregulatory agenda as it works to pass its tax and spending bill

Did the Senate parliamentarian just save the credit markets?

She's nixed a 'big beautiful bill' measure that would have defunded the Office of Financial Research. Its data underpins SOFR, the interest rate used for $$trillions of debt.

So, phew, I guess.
www.ft.com/content/f577...

BCG pitched to UN before helping rival Gaza aid plan Consulting group offered pro bono work to UNRWA shortly after Israel’s military campaign began in late 2023

BCG pitched to UNRWA before helping rival Gaza aid plan www.ft.com/content/d5fe...

Era of Bund scarcity is over, says German debt chief Finance agency board member points to major change in Eurozone’s core sovereign bond market

ABundance Agenda?

Era of Bund scarcity is over, says German debt chief
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Accountants and lawyers team up to fight Trump tax provision Professional services groups say they are unfairly targeted in Republicans’ ‘big, beautiful bill’

Accountants and lawyers team up to fight Trump tax provision www.ft.com/content/9395...

Former McKinsey partner jailed for deleting emails on US opioid work Martin Elling to serve six months in prison after admitting to destroying documents related to efforts to boost sales

Former McKinsey partner jailed for deleting emails on US opioid work www.ft.com/content/5e76...

Deloitte to cut UK bonuses, pay rises and promotions Profits for Big Four firm come in ‘below our original plan’, says internal memo

Deloitte UK scoop incoming from my colleague, Ellesheva Kissin:

The firm has told its UK consulting employees that it will promote fewer of them, limit their annual pay rise and cut bonuses after the business "fell materially short of its performance goals".

www.ft.com/content/d323...

GOP’s Tax Package Grapples With Impact of Loper Bright Ruling Congressional tax writers are taking steps to head off any future legal challenges to their new tax bill, but it’s a delicate balancing act.

Really helpful explainer here by Michael Rapoport on the delicate interplay between the Loper Bright ruling and the new tax bill news.bloombergtax.com/payroll/gops...

EY delays start dates for consulting recruits for third year in a row Decision comes as Big Four group grapples with ‘uncertain’ market conditions

EY delays start dates for some of this year's graduate intake in the US. It's the third year in a row the firm has done this, making it an outlier among the Big Four. www.ft.com/content/815e...

Downfall in Davos: Klaus Schwab fights for legacy after WEF whistleblower claims Ousted head of World Economic Forum battles impropriety allegations and second probe into his conduct in a year

He “couldn’t let go — if these scandals hadn’t happened he would still be here”: the battle by World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab to save his legacy. With @stephenfoleyft.bsky.social

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The tax IOU problem lurking in company accounts Shareholders need to examine how companies account for controversial tax positions

Are IOUs from the taxman worth the paper they are not written on? www.ft.com/content/9820...

Uber wins multimillion-pound reprieve on disputed UK tax payments HMRC has stopped demanding ridesharing company pay VAT on the full cost of rides after legal setback in related matter

Big news in the footnotes to Uber’s latest quarterly accounts. The ride-sharing app has won a multimillion-pound reprieve on disputed UK tax payments, after the odds shifted in its favor in a £1.4bn VAT battle. www.ft.com/content/d12f...

KPMG resigns as auditor to scandal-hit P&O Ferries Big Four accountant says factors behind delayed 2022 accounts remain

KPMG resigns as auditor to scandal-hit P&O Ferries www.ft.com/content/c8b5...

Accounting regulator says ending oversight would damage global audit quality Republican plan to abolish board would hamper inspections in countries from China to the EU, argues PCAOB chair

PCAOB chair Erica Williams tells me that Republicans' plan to axe her regulator could damage audit quality not just in the US but all around the world. Interview here:

www.ft.com/content/6c5d...

Trump Media auditor says it was wrongly booted from US accountancy group Semple, Marchal & Cooper’s decision to take Donald Trump’s company as a client led to showdown, lawsuit claims

Trump Media’s auditor was booted from a US accountancy group after taking the president’s business as a client last year, a lawsuit claims $DJT www.ft.com/content/9b26...

Exclusive | Deloitte Commits to Massive Swath of Prime Manhattan Office Space The accounting firm’s deal to lease nearly three-quarters of Related’s new tower shows the renewed strength of the ultra high-end office market

Deloitte and EY are going o be neighbors www.wsj.com/real-estate/...

Republicans plan to scrap US audit regulator Proposal to fold the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board into the SEC will boost Donald Trump’s deregulatory agenda

Republicans plan to scrap the US audit regulator, the PCAOB, that was set up after the Enron scandal www.ft.com/content/d8a0...

PwC partners ordered to cut ties with brokerage after internal investigation Ruling alarms senior executives of the accountancy, who touted their access to lucrative and hard-to-find investments

PwC has ordered nearly 300 US partners to cut ties with a tiny brokerage offering speculative small-cap investments. It's a ruling that has caused consternation at the highest levels of the firm.
www.ft.com/content/7525...

Playing ‘whack-a-mole’ with Meta over my fraudulent avatars How is it possible that a company with such huge resources, including artificial intelligence tools, cannot deal with this?

Scammers are using a deepfake video of our columnist Martin Wolf. Why, he asks, is Meta not doing more?
www.ft.com/content/80d9...

Welcome to the US legal correspondent beat, @kayewiggins.ft.com

Companies get creative in finding ways to limit impact of Trump’s tariffs Consultants are helping clients lower the customs value of imports to cut the cost of new levies

These are the legal ways, ICYMI

www.ft.com/content/95f2...

China's formidable logistics sector challenges Trump tariff enforcers One-stop services help merchants sidestep duties, including by undervaluing goods

Earlier this week I wrote about how businesses can legally cut the cost of tariffs. Of course, you could just do it illegally…

asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Po...

The rule change that could blow open US law

www.ft.com/content/8efd...

Baker Tilly in talks to buy US rival as accounting dealmaking heats up Acquisition of Moss Adams would make private-equity backed firm the country’s sixth-largest accountancy

Baker Tilly is in talks to acquire Moss Adams in deal that would create the sixth-largest accounting firm in the US.

www.ft.com/content/491d...