Sunday News Roundup 26.03.22: KPMG audit deficiencies, Deloitte AI errors, and more Canadian accounting news
Our weekly Canadian accounting news roundup includes CPAB audit inspection reports, why you should join CPA Canada, the accounting dealbook and more.
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TORONTO, Mar. 22, 2026 – Sometimes it’s not what you release but how you release it. Case in point: the Canadian Public Accountability Board releasing its audit inspection reports for the Big Four firms all at the same time. It was entirely predictable that KPMG would steal the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
It should have been a celebration for CPAB and for the firms that performed well. After all, this was the first time that CPAB had “named names” in its inspection reports, breaking from its past practice of compiling results. The change is historic and took substantial work behind the scenes. Further, as we reported, Deloitte Canada and PwC Canada did remarkably well, and deserved their flowers.
But media outlets chose instead to focus on KPMG. The Globe and Mail, which has been critical of CPAB practices in past years, led with KPMG had most deficiencies in audit files reviewed last year of Big Four firms, regulator finds. Bloomberg Tax led with Watchdog Flags Issues With One-Fifth of KPMG Canada’s Audits (ouch!). And The Logic, “Canada's business and tech newsroom,” went with Auditing watchdog’s first public probe of the Big Four highlights issues at KPMG.
The Financial Post focused on deficiencies at all the firms: Audit watchdog flags 'significant' problems in Big Four's work in review that actually names names. Only Accounting Today, the American accounting profession website, focued on the change: Canada posts first audit firm inspection reports.
Perhaps it was inevitable that the media would compare results and single out the firm with the worst results. But it was unfortunate, and all but Canadian Accountant missed the significant upgrades to the regulator’s website, which now mirrors its American counterpart in providing an easily accessible database of reports. Though the changes occurred under the leadership of Carol Paradine, it’s a fresh start for new CEO Sonny Randhawa.
And now, on to the rest of the news from the past week in Canadian accounting.
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Laura Friedrich and Brian Friedrich are the principals of friedrich & friedrich corporation. |
KPMG replaces Canadian CEO with Aussie CEO
Speaking of KPMG, the Big Four firm announced a new global chairman and chief executive officer of KPMG International this past week, replacing Bill Thomas, FCA, FCPA. Gary Wingrove, who served as CEO of KPMG Australia from 2013 to 2021, before becoming gobal chief operating officer, will replace the Canadian Thomas, though the two will work together for six months to ensure a “seamless transition.”
Big Four risk jeopardizing lucrative consulting with AI fakery
Deloitte Canada is the largest and most profitable accounting firm in Canada. But it did not climb to that peak of profit simply by offering tax advice, as we have reported in Canadian Accountant. Deloitte is king of the mountain due to lucrative consulting contracts — we have estimated that at times Deloitte Canada has earned as much as 50 per cent of its annual revenue through consulting.
Yet the recent artificial intelligence scandal in Newfoundland and Labrador jeopardizes not just Deloitte but all consulting companies. Simply put, Deloitte used AI to produce a healthcare services report for the provincial government and, as Deloitte has admitted, the report included fake citations of research that did not exist. The investigative journalism came courtesy of The Independent, one of the many independent online news platforms that have sprung up in recent years across Canada.
Media outlets from Fortune Magazine to the CBC to Canadian Press all reported on the scandal, noting that Deloitte did a similar thing in Australia, where they agreed to partially refund their consulting fees. No doubt this is all very embarrassing to the progressive conservative government of Tony Wakeham, a former healthcare executive who was elected just six months ago, and is said to have an “aggressive agenda” on healthcare.
But the scandal also erodes public trust in the “shadow government” of professional consultants, and puts more scrutiny on public procurement policies and, ultimately, profit.
A clearline perspective on your CPA Canada membership
We’re just 10 days away from the official launch of CPA Canada’s new membership model, when the national body will shift its operational model to become fully voluntary, offering three membership tiers to chartered professional accountants across Canada. The seven largest accounting firms in the country have already signed up their accountants as members, plus CPAB and FP Canada.
But say you’re a sole practitioner or one of the hundreds of local accounting firms across Canada. Should you join? Well, Clearline Consulting, the sister firm of Clearline CPA, had an interesting take recently in its blog post, Is a CPA Canada Membership Worth It for Your Firm?
The post was written before this past week’s announcement that Wolters Kluwer is expanding CPA Canada access to its AI-powered CCH AnswerConnect platform for tax and accounting professionals. Having said that, Clearline asserts that, at the bare minimum, every CPA should join as an Affiliate (free membership tier), and firms should consider “which people in our firm should join at which tier, based on what they actually buy and use.” In other words, by role, rather than any another reason.
Fair enough. But what about all the management accountants out there, working for corporations or the public sector? Given that most employers compensate accountants for professional membership dues, the benefit to signing up for either the Member or Advantage tier is a no-brainer.
Accounting Dealbook: BDO, MNP, DGT and more all announce deals
March has been a busy month for the accounting dealbook, with some major acquisitions announced across Canada.
BDO buys GrantMatch. BDO Canada advisory services will now be able to offer clients access to a platform that uses custom-built software and artificial intelligence to track and write applications for grants. GrantMatch is based in Oakville, Ontario and has about 35 employees.
BDO also recently announced the launch of its AI strategy, AI Vision 2030, “a commitment to embed artificial intelligence into how the firm operates and how it serves clients.” At the start of the year, BDO announced “BDO Powered by Intuit QuickBooks,” a new integrated service combining QuickBooks with BDO’s national advisory services.
Crowe MacKay LLP buys MJS Tax Services. MJS Tax Services, a Vancouver-area boutique accounting firm, is said to expand Crowe’s Global Mobility Services bench, adding a team of professionals focused exclusively on cross-border individual tax compliance, treaty planning and shadow payroll.
Doane Grant Thornton buys Percival Group. The firm run by Eric Percival is based in Bloor West Village in Toronto. Percival will join DGT as a business advisor in the firm’s downtown Toronto office.
MNP continues Quebec expansion. Homegrown accounting giant MNP has announced another acquisition in la belle province: Dumas Leduc CPA, Inc. Based in Ormstown, in the Montérégie Region of Québec, the firm is led by two partners, who will join MNP as partners. Two managers at the firm will also become partners upon joining MNP. The partners are supported by a team of six team members.
Wagepoint brand refresh. Homegrown Canadian payroll software provider Wagepoint has announced a brand refresh and is set to announce new product enhancements in the coming months. The old branding emphasized friendliness and accessibility and was no doubt right for the times. The new branding is more minimalist, cleaner, brighter and more “corporate.”
Quick Hits: Articles of Interest
Canadian
International
By Canadian Accountant staff.
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