Big4News

Big4News

Home
Investigations
Case Watch
Expert Voices
News

Audit Quality

Could Audit Firms Be Improving Their Metrics While Losing Professional Judgement?
Patrick Rose explains Judgement Displacement Risk — how improving quality metrics can mask deteriorating professional judgement, and why AI could make…
 • Claudine Cassar
UK Audit Exemption Plans Raise Fears of £1.2bn Fee Loss
Accounting firms warn that extending audit exemptions to medium-sized companies could weaken challenger firms and undermine efforts to increase…
 • Claudine Cassar
Could a Weaker PCAOB Leave Audit Misconduct Unpunished?
Former SEC enforcement lawyer Andrew Feller discusses the future of US audit oversight, the risk of enforcement gaps as the PCAOB’s role evolves, and…
 • Claudine Cassar
ASIC finds EY and PwC audit deficiencies in A$80 billion of Australian Super Fund investments
ASIC finds audit deficiencies involving A$80 billion in Australian super fund investments, raising concerns about the scrutiny of asset valuations.
 • Claudine Cassar
Deloitte faces no enforcement action as FRC closes Joules audit investigation
UK accounting regulator ends its investigation into Deloitte’s audit of the collapsed fashion retailer’s 2021 accounts, more than three years after…
 • Claudine Cassar
Why professional scepticism breaks down: inside the structural pressures of audit
How familiarity, hierarchy, inherited assumptions and poor client preparation can erode challenge inside audit teams.
KPMG asked for the AI dividend. Now its clients want one too
KPMG cited AI efficiency to push for a cheaper audit. Its 14% fee cut is now a talking point for Big Four clients — and a pricing problem.
 • Claudine Cassar
Part 2 — £1.8 billion and borrowed trust: the limits of institutional oversight
What the MFS collapse reveals about fragmented assurance, divided responsibility and the gaps between auditors, banks, a Security Agent, and regulators.
 • Abdelhamid Taha
Deloitte’s Mars FX audits face fresh scrutiny after court authorises subpoenas
Mars FX representatives can now seek Deloitte records in the Cayman Islands, while an investor challenges four years of clean audit opinions.
 • Claudine Cassar
Big Four split over Australia’s 20-year auditor rotation plan
PwC and Deloitte oppose mandatory rotation; KPMG and EY favour a softer “comply or explain” regime.
 • Claudine Cassar
The Big Four helped build the climate-reporting market. Can they independently audit it?
A 16-state challenge asks whether the Big Four can remain independent while supporting climate reporting — and selling services around it.
 • Claudine Cassar
Macquarie drops KPMG as future auditor, citing capacity and culture concerns
Macquarie will retain PwC after concluding that departures from KPMG’s proposed audit team and concerns about the firm’s culture have undermined its…
 • Claudine Cassar
© 2026 Claudine Cassar · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture