Big Four Layoffs Hit Amid Uncertain Time for Accounting Pipeline
Recent layoff announcements at Big Four accounting, tax, and consulting firms come as the industry faces economic uncertainty and a shrinking talent pool.
The accounting profession is at a crossroads as a new class of students graduate. While recent data shows heightened interest in both undergraduate and master's degree programs, the industry faces possible disruptions like workforce reductions and emerging artificial intelligence tools.
Deloitte LLP announced in April it would lay off government consulting employees as the Trump administration slashed federal contracts. The firm said in a statement the personnel actions were based on its public-sector clients' "evolving needs," among other factors.
PwC LLP plans to cut roughly 1,500 jobs, many in its tax and assurance practices, the firm said last month, after two years of historically low levels of turnover. The firm plans to slow down its campus recruiting and will offer fewer internships for next year.
But PwC announced this week it plans to reorganize its US advisory business, doubling the number of divisions from four to eight. The move "is being approached from a position of strength," according to a statement from PwC US advisory leader Tyson Cornell.
Peter Demerjian is the director of the school of accountancy at Georgia State University. Namaan Mian is the chief operating officer at Management Consulted, a professional training and coaching organization.
Demerjian and Mian spoke with Bloomberg Tax reporter Jorja Siemons about the recent layoffs, the industry's embrace of AI, and potential impacts on the industry's next generation.
Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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20:49
Why Markets Fear Impact of House GOP's Proposed Retaliatory Tax
The “revenge” tax provision that’s in the giant tax bill working its way through Congress has a lot of people worried.
Known as Section 899, the provision would impose stiff, retaliatory tax rates on companies and people from countries that the US deems to be imposing "unfair" and "discriminatory" taxes against US companies. It was included in the version of the bill House Republicans narrowly passed last month, and now gets Senate attention.
The aim of Section 899 is to push those countries into changing their policies, but many observers fear the move would lead to lower foreign investment in the US, costing American jobs and cutting into economic growth.
That’s not the only reason for concern. Financial markets are worried about the retaliatory tax’s potential impact on the value of US assets. Some observers think Section 899 would damage the US’s longstanding reputation as a stable, reliable place for global companies to do business and for global investors to put their money,
On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax senior reporter Michael Rapoport explains the retaliatory-tax proposal and discusses its prospects for becoming law.
Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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14:31
International Provisions in GOP Tax Bill Face Senate Changes
Companies scored wins after the House passed a multi-trillion-dollar tax bill that largely preserved the current tax rates on foreign-earned income.
Republicans' 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new international tax regime including a minimum tax on global intangible low-taxed income, or GILTI, a reduced tax rate on foreign-derived intangible income, or FDII, and a base erosion and anti-abuse tax, or BEAT.
Each of these tax rates will go up in 2026 without congressional action, but House lawmakers made slight changes that will result in minimal tax increases.
But the debate isn't over. The bill now heads to the Senate, where tax practitioners and companies expect impactful changes to the mammoth legislation, including the international provisions.
On this week's episode of Talking Tax, reporter Lauren Vella talks about the House provisions, what companies want to see in the Senate version of the tax bill, and how the legislation might impact US relations with other countries.
Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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19:41
A Budget Watchdog Veteran Warns GOP Tax Bill to Hike Deficit
House Republicans are moving quickly to get a massive tax-and-spending package across the finish line before week's end even as they negotiate with party factions over outstanding concerns.
Some Republicans are demanding deeper cuts to social programs like Medicaid to curb deficits as part of the deal and to reduce the package's cost to extend the 2017 tax overhaul. And yet the bill increases the debt limit by $4 trillion and adds billions in spending. Cut out of the process, Democrats oppose the proposal, and even some Republicans have objected to its size and scope.
Regardless of where lawmakers fall on the political spectrum, they all seem to agree on one data source: What the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has to say about the package and what it will do to the national deficit, which now stands at over $36 trillion.
On this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax reporter Chris Cioffi talks with Maya MacGuineas, longtime president of the nonprofit public policy group, and digs into why the growing debt can be problematic for future economic growth.
Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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19:42
IRS Staff Downsizing Offers New Look at Private Sector Tax Work
With the massive wave of federal government layoffs, tens of thousands of workers from the IRS and other agencies are likely looking for new jobs, potentially in the private sector for the first time.
Caroline Ciraolo, a partner at Kostelanetz and founder of the firm's office in Washington, D.C., has started an initiative that connects former federal tax professionals with law firms and other private employers. She knows what it's like to make the transition: Ciraolo was the No. 2 official in the Department of Justice Tax Division from 2015 to 2017 before returning to the private sector.
In this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax Editor at Large Rebecca Baker sat down with Ciraolo to discuss shifting out of government work, and how the "love of the practice area" is a key transferable skill.
"That passion for unpacking complicated transactions and complicated facts and circumstances, identifying the issues—those skills are equal on both sides," she said.
Do you have feedback on this episode of Talking Tax? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
Talking Tax, from Bloomberg Tax, is a weekly discussion of the most pressing issues facing tax and accounting professionals. Each week the podcast features discussions with lawmakers, federal regulators, lawyers, and journalists. From the courts to Capitol Hill to the IRS, Talking Tax has it covered.
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