Latest
What went wrong with KPMG’s legal experiment
Finding top lawyers willing to tolerate relative anonymity and powerlessness in a distant corner of a mammoth multinational proved a challenge for the legal division.
- Maxim Shanahan
Ashurst partner profits top $2.5m as US challenge looms
Ashurst’s revenue rose by 9 per cent, and partner profits received a handsome boost. But the UK-based firm is looking to the US as American rivals challenge.
- Maxim Shanahan
Boutique firms prove attractive in big four exodus
Management consultant Sin Yin Long has joined Rennie Advisory, as boutique firms capitalise on instability at the large operators.
- Maxim Shanahan
KPMG pay growth slows in tough market
Pay rises for this financial year were minimal, with graduate salaries increasing by an average of just 1.5 per cent.
- Maxim Shanahan
KPMG axes legal division, dozens of jobs to go
KPMG will undertake its second major restructure in a month, bringing a decisive end to its ill-fated legal experiment.
- Maxim Shanahan
Data Trackers
Financial Review consulting salary guide 2022-23
The full guide to how much you can earn at Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG and PwC.
- Edmund Tadros
PwC seeks absolution but can it really change?
The publication of two documents and a video apology for the tax leaks scandal this week was meant to be a circuit breaker. But it won’t be that easy.
- Edmund Tadros
Professional Moves
Scyne hires from public service, new KPMG role for former OECD exec
Public sector consulting firm Scyne has appointed its first new managing director, while KPMG has brought on former Labor minister David Bradbury as a partner.
- Edmund Tadros and Tom McIlroy
Fastest-growing firm pledges ‘aggressive’ targeting of legal rivals
Global law firm HFW has booked record local revenue, and says it plans to target competitors for further growth.
- Maxim Shanahan
More Baker McKenzie exits as firm declares turnaround
Two more partners have left for other firms, but Baker McKenzie says it returned double-digit revenue growth in FY2024.
- Maxim Shanahan
This Month
Magellan activist Nick Bolton loses high-stakes battle over legal fees
Nick Bolton’s enemies are legion. Though few can be as determined as John Atanaskovic.
- Myriam Robin
‘Give her a go’: New judge blasts ‘painfully slow’ progress for women
Jane Needham blasted the “painfully slow” progress of women in law and urged barristers to consider briefing “that young woman who went to a school you haven’t heard of”.
- Michael Pelly
Rapid growth puts pressure on law partnership structures
Almost two-thirds of new legal partners are now on a part-salary arrangement as rapid growth puts pressure on equity allocations.
- Maxim Shanahan
Deals bounceback yields $3.8m each for law firm partners
A return to deal-making has resulted in profit allocations soaring at London’s Linklaters, which has an alliance with Australian firm Allens.
- Adam Mawardi
- Professional Services Winner
- Sustainability Leaders
Would you like coffee with your concrete?
One of the world’s most polluting materials can be made less polluting. The new technology has helped Arup win the Professional Services category.
- Michael Bleby
- Opinion
- Consulting
Is McKinsey a partnership? Court case, leadership battles stir debate
A former senior partner is suing McKinsey after he was fired for having “communicated about document deletion” relating to the firm’s advice to opioid manufacturers.
- Stephen Foley
Scyne hires from public service, new KPMG role for former OECD exec
Public sector consulting firm Scyne has appointed its first new managing director, while KPMG has brought on former Labor minister David Bradbury as a partner.
- Edmund Tadros and Tom McIlroy
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Sold for $1, Scyne claws back a third of PwC’s revenue
Scyne, spun out of PwC a year ago, is heading towards $200 million in revenue, rebuilding a third of the roughly $600 million earned by its predecessor firm.
- Edmund Tadros
- Exclusive
- Legal industry
Clifford Chance partner to dispute his termination
Perth-based Sam Luttrell, a leading arbitration lawyer, was terminated by the firm after an investigation into complaints of serious misconduct.
- Maxim Shanahan
- Analysis
- Legal industry
Santos takes aim at ‘cause lawyering’ in Barossa fight
The resources giant is going for the jugular in its fight with the Environmental Defenders Office over the NT gas pipeline.
- Michael Pelly
Fastest-growing firm pledges ‘aggressive’ targeting of legal rivals
Global law firm HFW has booked record local revenue, and says it plans to target competitors for further growth.
- Maxim Shanahan
More law firms hit gender targets as partnership gap narrows
A record number of law firms now have more than 40 per cent female partnerships, but part-owner gender ratios contrast sharply with the engine room.
- Maxim Shanahan
More Baker McKenzie exits as firm declares turnaround
Two more partners have left for other firms, but Baker McKenzie says it returned double-digit revenue growth in FY2024.
- Maxim Shanahan
How PwC conjured a FIRB crackdown
PwC continues to answer the bare minimum, opening doors to meaning and revelation.
- Myriam Robin and Mark Di Stefano
EY’s new boss leaves split questions up in the air
Janet Truncale’s alternative to a failed spin-off of the firm’s consulting arm is criticised for lacking detail.
- Stephen Foley and Simon Foy
Consultants face decade-low growth slump
Annual growth in the sector is forecast to fall to its lowest level – apart from the short-lived pandemic slump – since 2015.
- Edmund Tadros
- Sponsored
- EY
A diverse leadership team makes CEOs bolder
A diverse team at the top brings a breadth of perspectives - fostering a richer exchange of ideas and more innovative solutions.
Sponsored
by EY
PwC makes first partner promotions since tax leaks scandal
The smaller-than-usual partner intake is the first since January 2023, and includes those whose promotion was deferred by the tax leaks scandal.
- Maxim Shanahan
PEXA’s well-connected lobbyist can’t hurt
The change of government did wonders for Morris Iemma’s lobbying business, and property transfer monopoly PEXA is one of those hoping to take advantage.
- Myriam Robin
New EY chief rules out reviving plan to split firm in two
New chief executive Janet Truncale has unveiled a plan to slim down the firm’s central bureaucracy.
- Stephen Foley and Simon Foy