Deloitte to create Asia Pacific firm
Deloitte is merging its operations in Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South East Asia, to create Deloitte Asia Pacific, which will become operational by 1 September. With hopes to create a US$10 billion business by 2022, the firm plans to allocate US$321 million in extra investment to speed up the transition. The new alliance will have a total of 44,500 professionals across the new business. Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Australia Cindy Hook will take up the role of CEO of Deloitte Asia Pacific, and said that the move will allow Deloitte to increase its scale across the Asia-Pacific region and enhance its client service capabilities. In 2016, the firm combined its United Kingdom and Swiss operations with its Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish member firms, to create Deloitte North West Europe.
Tax credit phase-out triggered for Tesla
California-based carmaker Tesla is the first to trigger the reduced incentive for electric cars in the United States, Bloomberg reported. The US$7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles is set to start phasing out for the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 after 31 December, according to the company’s website. After that date, the tax credit will be halved during the first half of 2019 and halved again during the second half, assuming there’s no change to the programme. The tax credit, put in place during the Obama administration, was an incentive for car buyers to purchase electric vehicles and to encourage more manufacturers to adopt new technology. Tesla buyers eager to purchase the US$35,000 Model 3 are to be affected the most, as the car is still slated for a mid-2019 release.
EY buys cryptocurrency technology
EY acquired cryptocurrency technology as part of its strategy to expand the firm’s blockchain capabilities-related capabilities, the firm announced this month. The firm acquired certain technology assets and related patents from Elevated Consciousness, a San Francisco-based startup that focuses on digital currency, and specializes in the Andy Crypto-Asset Accounting and Tax (CAAT) tool, which connects with multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to provide better visibility into cryptocurrency transactions and inventory.
KPMG: 1MDB audits are unreliable
KPMG last month informed Malaysia’s scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that its annual audits from 2010 to 2012 do not provide a “true and fair” assessment of the fund. According to Reuters, with no access to relevant documents, the Big Four firm retracted the audit reports. “According to KPMG, they reached the decision after going through the recently declassified auditor general’s report on 1MDB and other relevant documents that were withheld from them by the previous management,” 1MDB said. KPMG also told 1MDB that if the documents had been disclosed to the auditors, the audit firm believed the information “would have materially impacted the financial statements and the relevant audit reports.” The wealth fund, which was established in 2009 by former prime minister Najib Razak, faces a global corruption probe, with authorities alleging that US$4.5 billion has gone missing.
