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Here We Go
IRS Commissioner to Quit as Trump Takes Office [Wall Street Journal]
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said he would resign with nearly three years left in his term, leaving the government Monday rather than waiting for President-elect Donald Trump to remove him. Werfel’s decision to quit on Inauguration Day sidesteps a looming confrontation between the tax agency chief and the incoming administration. Trump last month announced his plan to replace Werfel with Billy Long, a former Republican congressman. But until now, Werfel hadn’t said whether he would leave or try to stay until Long’s confirmation, at which point Werfel would be forced out.
Trump Hires PwC’s Drew Lyon as Special Assistant for Tax Policy [Bloomberg Tax] PwC’s Drew Lyon will serve in the next White House National Economic Council as a special assistant to the president for economic policy with a focus on tax, President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday. Lyon, who runs the auditing firm’s national economics and statistics tax policy services economics group, previously served as deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis during the George W. Bush administration and as a senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush.
PE
Some comments on a Reddit post “Don’t work for Grant Thornton. PE is destroying it“
Current state of public accounting: pic.twitter.com/ioxvWwadeC
— Going Concern (@going_concern) January 17, 2025
News
Lindsay High grad retiring as SEC Chief Accountant, made his mark [The Porterville Recorder]
It was announced on Wednesday Paul Munter, a 1970 Lindsay High graduate, is retiring as the SEC’s Chief Accountant. His retirement will be effective January 24. “I thank Paul for his leadership of the Office of the Chief Accountant, his counsel, and his clear accounting advice,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who’s also leaving the agency that’s in charge of regulating the Stock Market. “As Chief Accountant, he led the office in the critical work of ensuring that investors have access to the highest-quality financial disclosures from public companies. I wish him the best in his retirement from federal service.”
IESBA Launches Standard-Setting Project on Accounting Firm Culture and Governance [The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants]
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) launched a standard-setting project on accounting firm culture and governance, actioning the recommendations of the Working Group on Firm Culture and Governance in its fact-finding report, which was released today. Key findings of the report include: The role of ethical leadership and robust governance within accounting firms as key drivers in creating a culture that promotes ethical behavior; The importance of transparent and ethical leadership, firm-wide accountability mechanisms and the provision of independent input; The need for alignment of performance incentives with ethical behavior, continuous ethics education, and a culture of open discussion and challenge. Taking into consideration the Working Group’s conclusions and recommendations, the standard-setting project aims to develop a principles-based culture and governance framework for accounting firms that promotes, supports and reinforces a high standard of ethical behavior across all their professional services.
Cost of investigating mystery $1.8B already overbudget [The Nerve (South Carolina)]
In a 65-page report released late this afternoon, AlixPartners, a New York-based global consulting firm, determined that about $1.6 billion of the mystery $1.8 billion [missing from South Carolina state funds] “did not represent real cash.” Instead, the approximately $1.6 billion was “incorrectly recorded” to a bank fund as part of a transition years ago to a different state accounting system, according to the report. The remaining approximately $200 million is included in the “cash balance reported by the STO (State Treasurer’s Office) and belongs to the General Fund,” the report said. The Nerve is planning a separate story on the report, which was released by the S.C. Department of Administration.
Audit
Dropped PCAOB probe, lawsuit spotlight audit watchdog’s challenges [CFO Dive]
The story behind a lawsuit against the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board that was dismissed last week — after a related PCAOB investigation into an unnamed Texas accounting firm was dropped — spotlights recent challenges mounted against the audit watchdog. The complaint, John Doe Corporation v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board filed March 27 by the accounting firm using a pseudonym, sought injunctive and declaratory relief from the board’s investigation into the firm’s practices, asserting that the process was “not just abusive, retaliatory, and excessively burdensome,” but that it was “structurally unconstitutional.”
People
This CPA knows how to stay frosty [CPA Canada]
A food lover at heart, CPA Pierre-Luc McLean found most of the ice cream sandwiches on the market to be a little… vanilla. So, using his experience as a CPA, he launched Frisquet, his own brand of premium quality frozen desserts.
Big 4
‘Big Four Fear’ Cycle Ramps Up for Law Firms as KPMG Moves to US [Bloomberg Law] If you’ve been following the law firm innovation space for more than a few years, you are familiar with the foreboding. The Big Four are at the door. Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY are huge—in terms of people and resources. They are really good at technology and “client service.” And whether they say it or not, they are coming for Big Law. Those sentiments have been expressed—with varying degrees of fervor—for decades. “Big Four Fear” dates to the late 1990s, when the major accountancies plowed into legal services—an effort first frustrated by regulatory changes after early 2000s accounting scandals. Talk of the Big Four taking on large law firms resurfaced in the mid-2010s, as KPMG, Deloitte, and others built up huge numbers of lawyers internationally.
Relevant:
CFOs expect their firms’ wages to rise 7.3% in the coming year—Deloitte survey [Fortune]
Deloitte has released its fourth quarter 2024 North American CFO Signals survey which finds 72% of CFOs believe the North American economy will improve over the next year, and half of them rate the the current economy as good. A metric used by Deloitte, the CFO Confidence Score, came in at 5.8 for Q4, up from 5.0 in Q3—the highest reading in 10 quarters. And 67% of CFOs said it’s a good time to take risks, up from a 10-year average of 50%.
Talent wars: PwC rocks Middle East investigations sector with super-charged hiring spree [Intelligence Online]
PricewaterhouseCoopers is said to have targeted as many as 90 forensics consultants in Saudi Arabia and the UAE as part of a drive to rapidly expand its advisory offering in the region. Among those who have already agreed to move are senior investigators from Ankura and Deloitte.
Rickie Fowler inks deal with Ernst & Young to wear patch on shirt [Sports Business Journal]
PGA Tour golfer Rickie Fowler has signed a deal with business consulting firm Ernst & Young to “wear its logo on the front right of his chest,” according to Adam Schupak of GOLFWEEK. Fowler “wore the EY patch during the debut of TGL” on ESPN last Tuesday and will be “sporting it this week” at his PGA Tour season debut at The American Express.
A patch? Lame. Let’s go back to sponsoring entire faces.
Talent
How will your decisions today shape the future for generations to come? [EY]
The decisions leaders take today will impact the world for years and decades to come. This is nothing new, but the consequences, and legacy, of these choices are particularly stark, especially around artificial intelligence, sustainability and social equity. As leaders build the tomorrow for future generations, they have an opportunity to listen to the concerns and hopes of Gen Z, already entering the workplace, and Gen Alpha after them. But the current fascination with generational dynamics isn’t all about legacy. It is also caused by five generations working together for the first time. That adjacency is highlighting the differences in experiences, skills and outlook, just as technology is accelerating the pace of change and bringing all generations closer together. Moreover, this multiplicity of generations co-habiting the workplace is no blip: In advanced economies, aging populations and falling birth rates are creating a squeeze on skilled talent that will continue through 2050. The opportunity to harness diverse skills and viewpoints across generations has never been greater, just as the challenges rising to meet us are more complex, more interdependent and more intractable than in the past.