A judge has refused to summarily dismiss proceedings by collapsed construction group JM Kelly against its former accountant, finding it was an issue for trial whether he caused the company to continue operating despite financial issues leading to its liquidation.
A bid by KPMG to push off the filing of its defence in a class action over misleading statements ahead of Arrium’s $754 million capital raising in 2014 has been shot down by a judge, who said the auditor has known the claims against it since November.
An accountant who was kicked out of an Australia and New Zealand accounting association after a court found he sexually harassed a colleague has failed to win readmission after being unable to find an eligible member who could vouch for him in a character reference.
A partner who hit Deloitte with a $3.8 million age discrimination lawsuit says the accounting giant has been treating him as an “inactive partner” who is on the verge of retiring, including by failing to conduct a performance assessment for the 2021 financial year.
Professionsal services giant EY has added to the many cross-claims flying in the shareholder class action against Pitcher Partners over advice to law firm Slater & Gordon, and has alleged the accounting firm engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and negligence and that it breached its retainer.
Group members in a class action against Oculus Accounting may not receive a payout after the company’s insurers refused to indemnify it against claims alleging the accounting firm was negligent in prompting an investment in failed music streaming platform Guvera.
Count Financial has failed in its bid to put a former financial advisor’s insurers on the hook for a $15.3 million lawsuit brought by his former clients, as the accounting services company seeks to claw back its losses allegedly resulting from the advisor’s breaches of his duty of care and skill.
A tax agent and accountant who conducted multiple tax exploitation schemes between 2011 and 2015 has been hit with a $22.7 million penalty, the largest ever against a tax promotor.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is looking to shut down a class action by irate bondholders of collapsed asset finance lender Axsesstoday Limited over alleged misrepresentations in a $50 million bond offer.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised preliminary competition concerns about accounting software provider MYOB’s proposal to swallow up cloud practice management software provider GreatSoft, saying the South Africa-based company has the potential to become a strong competitor to MYOB as more accounting firms migrate to the cloud.