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Private Equity
Private equity to lobby Trump for access to savers’ retirement funds [Financial Times]
Marc Rowan, chief executive of Apollo, has called the trillions in assets held by US 401k plans an opportunity for his industry. He has raised concerns about concentration in index funds owned by retirement savers and questioned whether such investors must be confined to funds offering daily liquidity. “I jokingly say sometimes, we levered the entire retirement of America to Nvidia’s performance. It just doesn’t seem smart. We’re going to fix this and we are in the process of fixing it,” Rowan said at an Apollo event this autumn. “In the US, we have between $12tn and $13tn in 401k plans. What are they invested in? They are invested in daily liquid index funds, mostly the S&P 500, for 50 years. Why? We don’t know.”
We admire your unshakeable faith in the integrity of audit firms, Fred.
— Going Concern (@going_concern) January 10, 2025
See ya in a year or two when the PE-related independence violations start hitting.
Comments left on: https://t.co/VASp6dnhhM pic.twitter.com/73IzrRpEpN
Survey Says
2025’s business game-changers: AI surge, costs and housing [KPMG]
Business leaders aren’t worried about talent anymore because they have an unlimited supply in India and The Philippines.
Digital transformation, and use of emerging technologies like AI are the key issues Australian business leaders will focus on during 2025 and beyond, KPMG’s annual Keeping Us Up At Night survey finds. Concerns over the slowing economy, and cost of living are also prominent, the survey of 320 businesses found, but talent – recruiting and retaining staff – has dropped down the list of top priorities.
KPMG AI Quarterly Pulse Survey [KPMG]
The majority of respondents feel that AI will fundamentally change the nature of their business over the one-to-two-year horizon (56% in the next year and 67% in the next two years). 68% of leaders will invest between $50-$250 million in GenAI over the next 12 months, up from 45% in Q1 of 2024. 88% of leaders cite macroeconomic factors as the top factor of concern influencing AI strategies – six months ago, today and six months from now.
News
Andersen Consulting brand set for resurrection [Financial Times]
Andersen Consulting, one of the most powerful professional services brands of the 1990s, is set to be resurrected with the aid of the man who led the consulting firm for a decade. Andersen Global has been quietly building a consulting arm after hiring George Shaheen, who was Andersen Consulting’s chief executive from 1989 to 1999, as a senior adviser. It plans to relaunch the historic brand next month, said people familiar with the effort.
Trump Taps Long-Time Tax Lobbyist for Key Treasury Role [NAPA]
President-elect Trump has turned to an influential and long-time tax lobbyist in Washington, D.C. to serve as the head of tax policy in the U.S. Treasury Department. In a Jan. 2 post on Truth Social, Trump announced that he will nominate Ken Kies to be Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. Kies currently is Managing Director of the Federal Policy Group, LLC, which is a private-sector firm that provides advocacy services, strategic consulting and technical advice on tax policy matters before the Congress and the Treasury Department. Kies also served as Co-Managing Partner of the Washington National Tax Services office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Law & Order
NCLA Defeats Illegal Investigation by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board [GlobeNewswire]
The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed a stipulated dismissal without prejudice of its pseudonymous client John Doe Corporation’s federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas challenging the unconstitutional investigative processes of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The dismissal follows PCAOB’s decision in late December to terminate and close its years-long investigation into NCLA’s client without any charges or other enforcement action against the small accounting firm, effectively mooting the John Doe Corporation v. PCAOB lawsuit. NCLA celebrates this important victory in the ongoing fight against unlawful administrative power. NCLA filed this lawsuit in March 2024 to stop PCAOB from enforcing its excessively intrusive and burdensome investigative “Accounting Board Demand” on John Doe Corporation that was ostensibly authorized by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The unconstitutionally structured PCAOB is a bespoke quasi-governmental regulator created by the Act to regulate the public auditing profession. Among other constitutional defects, PCAOB’s demand was not authorized by any court of law. PCAOB’s processes allowed no opportunity for John Doe Corporation to challenge the demand in court before either complying with the demand or facing severe financial penalties, debarment, and potential criminal prosecution, depriving NCLA’s client of due process of law.
Talent
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Office Space
Accounting firm KPMG will move its NJ offices from Short Hills to Morristown [NorthJersey.com]
Accounting and consulting giant KPMG is moving its New Jersey offices from Short Hills to Morristown Headquarters Plaza, a 1 million-square-foot office, retail and hotel center in Morris County. The move will “better accommodate” KPMG’s local employees, a company spokesperson said, and “provide direct connectivity to New York Penn Station, notably, our new headquarters at Two Manhattan West.”
Grassi Announces Relocation of New York City Headquarters [Grassi]
Grassi today announced the relocation of its New York City headquarters to 360 Madison Avenue. The move to the building’s entire seventh floor reflects the firm’s continued growth and commitment to the New York market. The new, expanded office space features modern amenities and a prime Midtown location, positioning Grassi to serve its growing client base while providing an enhanced work environment for its professionals. The strategic location offers improved accessibility for clients and team members alike.
Accounting firm steps into HR market, combines metro Detroit offices [Crain’s Detroit Business]
Yeo & Yeo, a Saginaw-headquartered CPA firm, is merging two of its metro Detroit offices. The firm acquired Bloomfield Hills-based Berger, Ghersi and LaDuke PLC in July, and is relocating employees from that office and its Auburn Hills location to a new office in Troy.
People
Nominations Open for 2025 “Most Powerful Women in Accounting” Awards [CPA Practice Advisor]
CPA Practice Advisor has opened the nomination period for one of its most prestigious awards. The Most Powerful Women in Accounting Awards, now in their 12th year, were created by CPA Practice Advisor to promote and support the success of women leaders as part of its broader mission of sustaining the profession. There are no costs associated with nominations or award recognition.
Big 4
Deloitte’s New Growth Area: Outsourced Corporate Tax, Legal Work [Bloomberg Tax]
Corporations are increasingly leaning on outside accounting firms to help navigate complicated tax laws and take advantage of lucrative green energy incentives, a top Deloitte official said. An ever-changing global tax and business landscape means companies need extra help, said Willem Blom, Deloitte Global Leader, Tax & Legal, in an exclusive interview Jan 7. “More and more companies are looking to us as sort of advisers and saying it’s becoming harder and harder to keep up with all the new regulations,” Blom said. “So there’s more of a demand from our clients to outsource part of those activities. I would say there’s a growing group of companies who are looking to decrease the activities they perform in-house, working with providers.”
EY’s ‘Transformations’ Campaign by Ogilvy Goes ‘All In’ to Shape the Future of Business [DesignRush]
Dial it back a little bro, they just crunch numbers and check trial balances JFC.
Multinational professional services organization Ernst & Young (EY) launched a new global integrated marketing campaign as part of its recent expansion to highlight how it helps businesses transform and adapt to change. According to Chris Spenceley, Ogilvy UK’s managing partner, the production team created a device that represents all of EY’s services as “multi-colored, multi-faceted shapes that transform everything in their wake. They are a positive, aspirational force, that through the film inspires, supports and benefits humanity at every touch point, all to reinforce the new brand platform of ‘Shape the Future with Confidence.’”
Why HR can’t ‘afford to take our eye off the ball’ of wellbeing this year [HR Executive]
Ginnie Carlier joined professional services network EY in an accounting role 32 years ago—and her career has changed just as much as the organization has in the last three decades. “Compared to 30 years ago, we compete in very different markets; we’re a multi-disciplinary firm now, we operate in new countries, the types of organizations we support are different,” she says. “The service offerings today probably weren’t even envisioned 30 years ago.”
Advocacy
AICPA tax policy and advocacy successes: 2024 highlights [Journal of Accountancy]
As we look back on 2024, the AICPA Tax Division’s Tax Executive Committee, along with its 14 committees and technical resource panels and various task forces, had over 30 tax advocacy successes. Combined, we produced over 46 comments this past year.