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Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you\u2019re here, subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> to get the week\u2019s top stories in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n Comments are closed on Friday Footnotes<\/a> and the Monday Morning Accounting News Brief<\/a> by default. If you have something to say about any stories linked here you are welcome to email the editor<\/a>, text us<\/a> at 202-505-8885, or hit us up on Twitter @going_concern<\/a>. See ya.<\/em><\/p>\n 97% of accounting firms say they\u2019re inefficient with technology<\/strong> [CFO<\/a>] Accounting fees climb amid rising business costs, report finds<\/strong> [Accountants Daily<\/a>] The Fastest Growing Accounting Firms Spend Twice as Much on Marketing<\/strong> [Globe Newswire<\/a>] Deloitte to slash bonuses and scale back hiring as profits slump<\/strong> [Telegraph<\/a>] EY labels former head of EY Abu Dhabi a \u2018fraudster\u2019 in \u00a32.7bn legal battle<\/strong> [City A.M.<\/a>] PwC launches new AI hub in Singapore<\/strong> [Investment Monitor<\/a>] Inside KPMG\u2019s Global AI Trust Study<\/strong> [Forbes<\/a>] \u2018PricewaterhouseCoopers\u2019 Relocating Baltimore Office to Baltimore Peninsula<\/strong> [SouthBMore.com<\/a>] The PwC scandal was bad, the cover-up is worse<\/strong> [Australian Financial Review Opinion<\/a>] The death of the digital nomad<\/strong> [Business Insider<\/a>] Is your firm hiring for remote or hybrid roles? Then you\u2019ll definitely want to check out this week\u2019s top tax and accounting candidates<\/a>. These are professionals for hire pre-screened and hand-picked by Accountingfly for their superior skills and experience. Give the post below a look to find out more:<\/em><\/p>\n Grant Thornton hires Storme Sixeas as new tax legislative leader<\/strong> [International Accounting Bulletin<\/a>] Here\u2019s What\u2019s in the Big Domestic Policy Bill to Deliver Trump\u2019s Agenda<\/strong> [New York Times<\/a>] Billy Long wants IRS to take \u2018clues from private sector\u2019 on IT modernization<\/strong> [FedScoop<\/a>] House\u2019s 60-day deadline for IRA eligibility would trigger \u2018scramble\u2019: EY experts<\/strong> [Utility Dive<\/a>]Practice<\/h2>\n
Among both public and private accounting firms, where many CFOs are turning to for services in areas like auditing and tax, new data indicates that nearly all aren\u2019t utilizing technology efficiently. This contradicts the sales pitch and marketing efforts that are being constantly being pitched to finance leaders. CPA.com and Bill\u2019s 2025 Growth and Technology Survey found that 97% of the accounting firms of the 400 accounting firm leaders and practitioners they surveyed said their firms are not using technology efficiently. Though the larger firms have talked extensively about technology efforts in areas like auditing and the CFO\u2019s role in digital transformation, the data suggests some accounting firms may be better at hyping their philosophy around technology than they are at actually using it.<\/p>\n
Accounting firm fees have gone up across the board in 2025, revenue and billing automation platform Ignition has found in its annual Tax and Compliance Pricing Benchmark report. \u201cIt\u2019s no surprise that mounting cost pressures are driving firms to raise prices this year,\u201d chief executive Greg Strickland said. \u201cWhile firms are planning ahead to cover rising costs, the real opportunity is adjusting pricing to maximize revenue and profitability. Only 11 per cent are increasing fees to improve profit margins, and even fewer (5 per cent) are doing so to increase revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to marketing, the accounting industry tends to be risk averse and invests less than most other professional services industries,\u201d says Liz Harr, Managing Partner at Hinge. \u201cBut the data shows that those that spend more on marketing are getting superior results.\u201d The report looks at how these high performers allocate their budgets compared to their slower-growing counterparts.<\/p>\nBig 4<\/h2>\n
Richard Houston, senior partner at Deloitte\u2019s UK business, told staff that the firm\u2019s consulting arm had \u201cfaced a particularly challenging year\u201d, which led to a \u201cworse-than-expected\u201d performance. Staff in Deloitte\u2019s consulting business will see their bonuses cut by 20pc after the unit \u201cfell materially short of its performance goals,\u201d Mr Houston\u2019s email said.<\/p>\n
EY UK\u2019s lead barrister described the former head of EY Abu Dhabi as \u201cplainly a fraudster\u201d in the opening submissions at the \u00a32.7bn legal battle against the firm over the collapse of NMC. Abdulrahman Basaddiq, who previously headed up EY\u2019s operations in the United Arab Emirates and served as the country managing partner, was nominated by Sheikh Khadem Bin Butti in 2014 to join the NMC board as an independent director. At the High Court in London today the firm\u2019s lead barrister named the \u201cfraudsters\u201d that the Big Four firm alleged were responsible for NMC\u2019s losses, and Basaddiq was named to the court.<\/p>\n
PwC will invest over $4m in Singapore over the next three years to establish this AI hub firmly. It has also garnered support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).<\/p>\n
There is a large conversation about trust in generative AI, and KPMG\u2019s latest study in collaboration with The University of Melbourne is an incredibly comprehensive review of trust, use, and attitudes towards AI. Their study captures the attitudes of 48,000 people across 47 countries. On average, 58% of people surveyed view AI systems as trustworthy, but only 46% are willing to trust them. Many are also concerned about AI-generated misinformation, with 70% not knowing if online content can be trusted because it might be AI-generated. Ruth Svensson, a partner at KPMG UK who serves as the Global Head of People and HR CoE, and Samantha Gloede, who leads AI Trusted Transformation for KPMG International, discuss the key findings.<\/p>\n
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) will relocate its Baltimore office from 100 E. Pratt St. to the Rye Street Market building at Baltimore Peninsula. This news was first reported by the Baltimore Business Journal. PwC expects to make the move to its new 23,000 sq. ft. office in late 2026. PwC has a workforce of 250 in Baltimore.<\/p>\nOpinion<\/h2>\n
Remember when PwC paid for and appointed Dr Ziggy Switkowski to write a report in the midst of the Peter-John Collins-initiated global tax scandal? They creatively called it \u201cindependent\u201d. This week, in a move drawn from the same well-worn playbook, the law firm that PwC appointed and paid for to assess its implementation of those reforms has also delivered a report. Unsurprisingly, this report is also branded as \u201cindependent\u201d. The recipient? A smiling PwC Australia CEO, Kevin Burrowes, who was installed during a PwC International-led takeover and is being well-paid by the global firm as well.<\/p>\nRemote Work<\/h2>\n
The pandemic jumbled the global labor market, causing big shifts in how and where people worked. It gave way to the explosion of remote work, which afforded workers an unprecedented opportunity to move around. Some people adopted a full-on digital nomad lifestyle, while others just quietly typed from the beach in Mexico for a month. Countries launched special visas to lure in footloose foreigners and make up for lost tourism traffic. In the immediate wake of the pandemic, people picking up jobs in other countries surged, too, as travel restrictions were lifted and cross-border movement normalized. The superhot job market also meant more workers and businesses were looking abroad for prospects. Now the party\u2019s over in terms of working abroad.<\/p>\nTax<\/h2>\n
US accounting firm Grant Thornton has named Storme Sixeas as the new leader of Tax Legislative Affairs in its Washington National Tax Office (WNTO).<\/p>\n
The bottom line: The heart of the bill is a roughly $4 trillion tax cut that would lock in many of the tax cuts Republicans passed in 2017, including lower marginal income rates, a larger standard deduction and a higher threshold for the estate tax, with some tweaks. The measure also includes several new, temporary tax cuts that Mr. Trump campaigned on, including his promises not to tax tips or overtime. His pitch not to tax Social Security benefits takes the form of a bonus $4,000 deduction available to Americans 65 and older, with the benefit shrinking at higher income levels. Americans would also be able to deduct interest on car loans from their taxable income, though the car has to be made in the United States.<\/p>\n
Billy Long, a former GOP congressman from Missouri who once co-sponsored legislation that would have abolished the IRS, told members of the Senate Finance Committee that he\u2019ll approach modernization by looking to \u201ca lot of big companies that deal with more people than the IRS does\u201d that \u201cseem to be able to pull off things seamlessly with all their IT.\u201d \u201cI think we need to take the clues from private sector,\u201d said Long, an auctioneer by trade. \u201cI think that we need to look at what private sector is doing and run the government a little bit more that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
House Republicans passed a budget bill Thursday morning with an amendment that amplifies the impacts of the legislation\u2019s already-steep cuts to Inflation Reduction Act funding by requiring that projects break ground within 60 days of the bill\u2019s signing to qualify for clean electricity production and investment tax credits. If that aspect of the legislation passes through the Senate and becomes law, \u201cit\u2019s going to strain the renewable energy development community and the supply chain,\u201d said Brian Murphy, EY Americas power, utilities and renewables Tax Leader. \u201cIt\u2019s going to trigger a scramble to undertake as much as possible in that 60-day window.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n