Morning. There was no news brief yesterday due to MLK Day because unlike PwC we don’t work on that day to honor his legacy.
So, what’s going on out there? Anything? Sarcasm.
While I was putting this post together a little something came in:
Breaking: A class action suit related to BDO's ESOP has been filed in US District Court.
— Going Concern (@going_concern) January 21, 2025
Details soon.
As soon as I’m done with this I’ll get on that. Ever since the ESOP happened I’ve spoken to so many former and current partners at BDO who have been waiting for this day. The current partners are too afraid to file a class action themselves, I can’t imagine why (Hint: It starts with li and ends with tigious).
Reminder to take our 2025 Predictions for the Accounting Profession survey. It’s quick, I promise. Your input is appreciated (for once).
We won’t be getting too into politics here but let’s talk about one of the many executive orders issued by President Trump on his first day back in office, a federal hiring freeze:
As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law. Except as provided below, this freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding.
This order does not apply to military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety. Moreover, nothing in this memorandum shall adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.
Took a quick look around the Big 4 subs and the consultants who haven’t read the EO are already thinking this means big $$$ for them.
The IRS is the only agency specifically called out in this way:
Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Director of OPM and the Administrator of the United States DOGE Service (USDS), shall submit a plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition. Upon issuance of the OMB plan, this memorandum shall expire for all executive departments and agencies, with the exception of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This memorandum shall remain in effect for the IRS until the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of OMB and the Administrator of USDS, determines that it is in the national interest to lift the freeze.
Hmm.
This old post was more prescient than I could have imagined.
Across the pond, two Big 4 firms are coming up short on women in the partner ranks, reports FT:
EY and PwC are on track to miss 2025 targets for female partner representation in the UK as the Big Four accounting firms struggle to sufficiently boost the proportion of women in their upper ranks.
EY’s UK arm is set to fall short of its aim most dramatically, having set the most ambitious goal. The firm is targeting a 40 per cent female equity partnership by this year, with data from last year showing that only 28 per cent of partners in the country were women.
Deloitte and KPMG already hit their self-imposed targets.
Maybe we’ll look at some historical data and see what kind of progress they’ve made in the past decade. For funsies.
KPMG UK is under investigation:
The accounting firm KPMG is under investigation by the sector’s UK regulator over its audit of the 2022 accounts of the gambling company Entain.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said its enforcement division would be examining the conduct of the “big four” accounting firm, without saying what the investigation related to.
“We will cooperate fully with the FRC to conclude this matter as quickly as possible,” a KPMG UK spokesperson said.
Entain, which owns brands including Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet, declined to comment on the investigation.
It also did not comment on whether the investigation into KPMG relates to a settlement it reached with HM Revenue and Customs in 2023 over alleged bribery in a Turkish business it previously owned.
Bribery! That’s juicy.
Forbes wrote about people who set boundaries to mitigate burnout. We’re in accounting so have no idea what that is.
Who Are The Boundary-Setters In The Workplace?
Boundary-setters aren’t disengaged or unmotivated. In fact, many are highly productive and committed to their roles. The key difference? They refuse to let work consume their identity. Whether it’s turning off email notifications after hours, declining unnecessary meetings, or prioritizing mental health days, boundary-setters are making intentional choices to protect their well-being.
According to Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 44% of employees reported feeling burned out at least sometimes. The boundary-setters are responding to this epidemic not with resignation but with resolution. They’re showing that you can deliver exceptional results without sacrificing your health or relationships.
Related: Research: A Majority of CFOs Face Significant Talent Shortage and Burnout of Existing Staff. NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
A Brigham Young grad went from CPA to mom to volleyball pro:
When Mary Lake steps onto the volleyball court Wednesday for LOVB Salt Lake’s home opener, she’ll hear cheers different than the ones she was used to hearing in college at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse.
This time, Lake will hear the cheer, “Go, mama” from her almost 20 month-old son, Tommy.
It’s an opportunity that for the longest time didn’t seem possible for Lake. After graduating from BYU five years ago, she worked as a CPA then gave birth to Tommy.
The IASB wants input from Australian CPAs on IFRS:
CPA Australia is calling on its members to participate in a survey that is expected to help inform the future direction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The accounting body, in alliance with the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB), seeks to gather insights on current accounting and financial reporting hurdles faced by professionals.
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which develops IFRS accounting standards, will request feedback later in 2025, on the projects it should prioritise to improve IFRS.
CPA Australia financial reporting lead Ram Subramanian said: “We’re working with the AASB and MASB to ensure the views of our members and the profession more broadly are represented at the international level, and we need to hear from individuals about the real-world practical challenges currently impacting their working lives.”
Isn’t it refreshing to see a national body considering its members?
CPA Journal gives us a (long) update on the 150-hour rule, substantial equivalency, and mobility.
The supply of new accounting students and CPAs—the pipeline to the profession—has been a topic of growing concern over the past several years, driven by research indicating that barriers to entry were shrinking the pipeline. Recent efforts to address the issue have been attempted by state legislatures, CPA societies, firm-university partnerships, and online educational programs. This article reviews these recent initiatives and finds reason to believe that progress is being made, even if much remains to be done.
In 2016, the Illinois CPA Society alerted the profession about developing CPA pipeline issues (Illinois CPA Society, “Pipeline Disruption: The Search for Solutions to the Weakening Supply of CPAs,” Insight Special Issue, August 1, 2016, https://tinyurl.com/4dubj7fk). The report amplified the discussion about the pipeline, but it resulted in little action. Five years later, the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University published a comprehensive study that pinpointed a number of barriers to entry that were causing the CPA accounting pipeline to shrink, the most notable being the 150-hour rule (B. Meehan and E. F. Stephenson, “Reducing a Barrier to Entry: The 120/150 CPA Licensing Rule,” January 7, 2021, http://tinyurl.com/2z5eftew).
Relevant recent article (I just really like this headline ok):
A Tennessee accountant behaved badly:
A Franklin Certified Public Accountant, has been charged with wire fraud, money laundering and tax fraud in a federal court.
A federal indictment was unsealed on Tuesday against 36-year-old Jason Alexander Jerkins, the owner of Jerkins Business Solutions, also known as JBS, in what prosecutors called a “scheme” to fraudulently “take his clients’ money.”
Jerkins was arrested on Jan. 14 and granted pre-trial release on Jan. 15.
Prosecutors allege that between March 2020 and October 2024, Jerkins stole money from the bank accounts of numerous JBS clients and attempted to hide his actions by making fraudulent transactions “appear as though they were for legitimate business purposes” through the use of the Intuit QuickBooks software.
Look at this website lol.
The Jerkins store called, they ran out of you! Allegedly.
Forbes put up an article about CPA integrity the other day and quickly pulled it down. I grabbed a screenshot but unfortunately by the time I tried to archive it it was already gone.
It has been retitled, rewritten, and redirected:
Hmm.
A no tax on tips bill is back. From Ted Cruz’s newsroom:
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), joined by Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D), introduced the No Tax on Tips Act to exempt tips from being subject to taxation under the federal income tax. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.-16) was joined by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.-19) in introducing the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “American workers in many industries rely on tipped wages to make ends meet. Today, I’m introducing my bipartisan No Tax on Tips Act—legislation I authored to fulfill President Trump’s promise to end the wrongful practice of taxing voluntary tips. I’ve long believed the GOP should be the party of bartenders, of waiters and waitresses, and this bill is an important step to ensure we are addressing the economic needs of working Americans. This pro-worker bill will deliver relief to families facing rising costs caused by the Biden administration’s inflationary policies.”
That’s plenty of news for the day after a federal holiday. There’s a ton going on so it’s looking like a busy week but please let me know via email or text if you see something interesting, have a story idea, or have a tip to share with us. Have a great week, you.
