PwC Financial News

Almost three-quarters of global asset managers are considering a merger over the next two years, with soaring inflation, market volatility and a rapid shift to digital distribution posing a threat to those that fail to adapt to the new market landscape.

After answering tens of thousands of questions for KPMG staffers, the consultancy’s custom ChatGPT tool is now available for clients to build their own chatbots, powered by OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence.

US audit officials have started a fresh round of inspections of New York-listed Chinese companies in recent weeks amid simmering tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

London | The British accounting regulator has criticised BDO and Mazars for “unacceptable” shortcomings in their audits, underlining the challenge the groups face in loosening the grip of the big four firms on the market.

Growth in consulting work is slowing as high inflation causes clients to cut costs at the same time the PwC tax leak scandal fuels a reputation crisis in the industry and the federal government tightens up on public sector work.

Based on the recent job numbers, the so-called Great Resignation appears to be over, or at least in its final stages.

The asset management industry is facing significant consolidation, with a prediction that one in six companies may disappear within the next four years as a result of market volatility, high interest rates and fee pressures.

PwC Australia will cease most of its political donations as part of a plan to rehabilitate its public image amid the ongoing tax leaks scandal, depriving the major political parties of contributions worth an average of more than $200,000 a year.

The survey from PwC found that the top ten largest asset managers are expected to control half of all mutual fund assets by 2027

Indian startups raised $3.8 billion in the first half of 2023 (January to June), falling by a massive 36% as compared to the fundraising in H1 of 2022. This is also the lowest six-month funding in the last four years, as per PwC India research report.

Indian startups fell by 36 per cent in January-June to USD 3.8 billion, the lowest half-yearly number in the last four years, as investors are taking longer time in due diligence of every aspect of business, according to a PwC India Report. Early-stage deals accounted for 57 per cent of the total funding in the first half of 2023 (H1 CY23) in volume terms, said the report titled, «Startup Perspectives — H1 CY23».

The robo-debt royal commission rejected the oral evidence of a PwC partner who testified he could not recall if the firm was preparing a report about the scheme for the Department of Human Services.

Reliance Industries Ltd, the company said on 8 July. Earlier, Reliance announced its plans to demerge its financial services undertaking into Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL) and rename and list it as Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL).

Rajiv Mehrishi are among the directors appointed on the board of demerged financial services unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, the company said on Saturday. Reliance had previously announced plans to demerge its financial services undertaking into Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL) and rename and list it as Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL). It will lend to consumers and merchants based on proprietary data analytics and will eventually branch out to insurance, payments, digital broking and asset management. Every Reliance shareholder will get one share of the new firm for every share held in the parent. While the effective date of the demerger has been fixed as July 1, July 20 has been fixed as the record day for allocating shares of the new company, according to the company's stock exchange filing. The spinoff, which will create fifth-largest financier in terms of capital and compete directly with the likes of Paytm and Bajaj Finance, will complement Reliance's consumer businesses, which include India's largest wireless operator with about 428 million users, top retail chain with over 17,000 stores.

Senators pursuing PwC over its tax leaks scandal have demanded the firm reveal the names of the US tech giants given tax advice based on confidential government information obtained by a former PwC partner.

PwC Australia advised Uber and Facebook how to restructure in face of an Australian law clamping down on tax avoidance, but both companies said on Friday they were surprised to find out PwC's advice may have been based on leaked government plans. The «big four» firm is under pressure to name all the clients it advised on the basis of confidential government tax plans leaked by a former partner between 2014 and 2017 while consulting for the government on international taxation. Citing two sources, Reuters reported on Wednesday Google had received confidential information from a former PwC employee confirming the likely Jan.

PwC Australia has belatedly reported the details of an official investigation into its tax leaks scandal to a powerful US audit watchdog, a move that dramatically widens the risk to the firm’s global operations.

US tech giants Uber and Facebook set up new company structures to sidestep Australia’s multinational tax avoidance law using PwC advice, days before the legislation came into effect in January 2016.

PhonePe on Thursday announced the launch of its Point-of-sale (POS) device that enables merchants to accept payments via debit cards, credit cards and UPI. «The device comes preloaded with the PhonePe POS App and supports transactions through tap/swipe/dip and interoperable dynamic QR codes,» PhonePe said in a statement. The launch of one-stop POS solution by PhonePe will intensify the competition for strong rival Paytm, which has in recent months handed over their all-in-one POS machines to check-out counters across the country that was otherwise accustomed to using the devices from established banks. One97 Communications, the parent entity of Paytm, had last month reported a 118 % spike in payment devices subscribed by its merchants in the first two months of this fiscal year that started April 1. The number of merchants paying subscription for its payment devices including soundbox and PoS machines rose to 75 lakh during April and May from 34 lakh in the comparable year-earlier period. «With PhonePe’s extensive network of over 3.5 crore merchants nationwide, our goal is to expand this solution pan India and deploy 150,000 devices by next year,» said Vivek Lohcheb, Head of Offline Business at PhonePe.

PwC Australia provided Google confidential information about the start date of a new tax law leaked from Australian government tax briefings, according to two sources familiar with the matter. This is the first time a company has been directly linked to the national scandal involving the «big four» accounting firm that was first revealed in January. PwC is under fire because several years ago a former partner, Peter Collins, who advised the Australian government on anti-tax avoidance laws shared confidential drafts with colleagues about the government's plans that were then used to drum up business with multinational companies.

A dispute between two ex-KPMG partners who advised NSW government officials over a controversial transport entity has gone public, after one accused the other of using a federal parliamentary inquiry to take “revenge” on her by making a submission full of “unfounded assertions”.