In this week’s accountancy career moves, partner promotions at KPMG, Mazars, Armstrong Watson and BDO, and senior hires at Wilkes Partnership, Ted Baker and WPP

Big Four firm KPMG has taken on the administrations of two companies – a medical innovation start-up and an established polythene film manufacturer – which have both collapsed putting over 200 jobs at risk

Deloitte UK has published its 2019 gender pay gap data, indicating that progress towards parity is taking a while to achieve

PwC’s global revenue topped $42bn (£34bn) last year, up 7%, placing it second of the Big Four behind Deloitte

McBrides Chartered Accountants is merging with Shea & Co of Forest Hill with founder John Shea joining the firm as a consultant

Top 30 accounting firm Price Bailey is expanding the size of its executive board from five to six members and creating an operational board, to support growth and strengthen governance

Scottish based accountancy firm, Johnston Carmichael, has opened a London office as part of a strategic expansion of its financial services sector offering

The head of the HMRC, Sir Jon Thompson, is due to take up his new job as chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) at the beginning of October but has not been replaced at the tax authority

MPs are calling for faster progress on audit reform, as the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee launched an inquiry into Thomas Cook’s leadership and auditors EY and PwC

In this week’s accountancy career moves, partner promotions and hires at Mercer & Hole, EY and Haysmacintyre, board appointments at HMRC, and 39th president of AAT

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has slammed audit firms over the quality of their transparency reporting, describing it as ‘ineffective’ and no more than a 'marketing exercise', while most audit chairs did not even know the reports were produced

Northern Ireland bus manufacturer Wrightbus has collapsed and insolvency experts at Deloitte have been appointed to handle the administration of the company, which makes the iconic red London Routemasters and employs some 1,400 people

Pure Circle, a manufacturer of artificial sweeteners for the global food and beverage industry, has been forced to delay its annual results, after auditor PwC unearthed a potential $30m (£24m) accounting issue

PwC is to pay $7.9m (£6.3m) to settle claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the US firm and one of its partners violated auditor independence rules and engaged in improper professional conduct

Top 20 firm Begbies Traynor Group plc has acquired Regeneratus Consulting 1, an Exeter-based advisory practice specialising in restructuring, turnaround and legal issues