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☆ It’s not you, it’s them: Engaged couples are cutting back on lavish weddings
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The obsession with lavish weddings grew to a fever pitch in the years following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s bad news for wedding vendors who provide services like videography, photo booths and catering. Meanwhile, those vendors are facing a more worrisome existential threat: a looming drop in the overall number of weddings. But she said that so far in 2024, weddings are “cooling a bit.”A recent wedding where Gabrielle Stone served as the planner. In another life, some of those would-be couples who never met in 2020 could have gotten engaged this year.

Persons: ”, Shane McMurray, What’s, McMurray, Gabrielle Stone, ” Stone, Stone, Kay, Jared, Gina Drosos, “, Z, ” McMurray, Toni Burrowes, Burrowes, didn't, Toni Burrowes “, Alyssa Young, We've, Alyssa Young “, it’s, ” Young, It’s Organizations: CNN, Signet Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Signet, Alpha, University of Virginia, Brigham Young University, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: Boston, Zales, Central Florida, San Antonio, Texas

PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Lewis Jackson Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - PwC Australia said on Thursday that dozens of staff who had been set to move across to spin-off consultancy Scyne Advisory will no longer have roles at the new firm and have been told to look for jobs internally. Over 1,500 people out of PwC Australia's more than 9,000 staff were expected to move to the new firm, PwC said in September. A Scyne Advisory spokesperson said a delay in closing the deal, originally planned for September, changes to its "partner mix" and the need to establish Scyne as a "sustainable business" were factors in the decision. The move comes as Scyne Advisory gears up to reclaim advisory work that netted PwC Australia A$680 million ($427 million) last financial year.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, PwC, Kevin Burrowes, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Scyne, PwC, PwC Australia, of Finance, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia, PwC

[1/3] PwC Australia Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burrowes listens during the inquiry into management and assurance of integrity by consulting services at Parliament House in Canberra, October 12, 2023. The global firm announced last month it had taken "appropriate action" against six staff outside Australia who received confidential information and should have raised questions. No confidential information was used for commercial gain, it said. Burrowes told senators PwC Australia had not been provided details about the international investigation and did not know where the staff worked or how they had been disciplined. An investigation by the U.S. accounting regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is underway and PwC Australia is providing further information to the body, a senior executive told parliament.

Persons: Kevin Burrowes, Mick Tsikas, PwC, Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: Australia, House, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Police, PwC, Public Company, KPMG Australia, Thomson Locations: Canberra, U.S, PwC Australia

A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened with extinction, meaning they are either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. “Amphibians are the world's most threatened animals,” said Duke University's Junjie Yao, a frog researcher who was not involved in the study. But a growing percentage of amphibian species are now also pushed to the brink by novel diseases and climate change, the study found. The study identified the greatest concentrations of threatened amphibian species in several biodiversity hotspots, including the Caribbean islands, the tropical Andes, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Other locations with large numbers of threatened amphibians include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, southern China and the southeastern United States.

Persons: ”, Duke University's Junjie Yao, Michael Ryan, Patricia Burrowes, Juan Manuel Guayasamin, Guayasamin Organizations: University of Texas, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Northern, University San Francisco, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Madrid, Quito, Ecuador, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Forest, China, United States

☆ PWC Aussie mess is classic do as I say not as I do
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, Sept 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - PWC Australia is likely to need a long time to recover from what is turning out to be a self-inflicted double whammy. Now the independent review sparked by the furore has laid bare another problem: PWC Australia took a do as I say not as I do approach to running its own shop. The report, commissioned by PWCA in May, written by one of the country’s corporate grandees, Ziggy Switkowski, and published on Wednesday, outlines a series of corporate governance failures. What’s worse, and even more ironic, is PWC Australia’s aversion to tapping external advice. Many of the changes will come from applying, “to the extent feasible”, the Australian Securities Exchange’s corporate governance principles and recommendations.

Persons: Tom Seymour, PWCA, Ziggy Switkowski, “, Kevin Burrowes, That’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Lehman Brothers, Silicon Valley Bank, Australian Securities, Thomson Locations: MELBOURNE, Australia, Silicon

PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. PwC Australia in May commissioned former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski to review the firm's culture and governance after revelations a former partner had leaked confidential tax documents to colleagues to drum up work with global companies. Switkowski identified poor practices "uncorrected for many years", including a board stacked with longstanding PwC partners, a powerful CEO "not perceived to be accountable to the board" and a "whatever it takes" approach to making money. PwC Australia has not committed to releasing their reports publicly. PwC Australia said on Wednesday it would adopt, and in some cases already had, the report's 23 recommendations, which include appointing an external chief risk officer, revamping firm culture, and linking partner pay to ethical behaviour.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, Ziggy Switkowski, Switkowski, Kevin Burrowes, Switkowski's, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PwC, Telstra, Facebook, Police, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia

The logo of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seen on the top of a Brussels' office of the company, in Diegem, Belgium September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Sept 27 (Reuters) - PwC Australia will appoint outsiders to its board and publish audited financial statements as part of a governance overhaul to bring the partnership closer to public company standards following a scandal over the leak of confidential tax documents. PwC Australia will announce plans on Wednesday to apply some Australian Stock Exchange governance principles including appointing two non-executive directors and a non-executive chair to its board, according to excerpts of plans provided by PwC. The changes form part of PwC Australia's response to a months-long independent review into its governance and culture, which will be published in full on Wednesday. Australia said last month it would drastically toughen penalties against those who promote dodgy tax schemes and strengthen regulators in response to the scandal.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, Kevin Burrowes, Ziggy Switkowski, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill Organizations: PricewaterhouseCoopers, REUTERS, Rights, Facebook, Australian Stock Exchange, PwC, “, Telstra, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Diegem, Belgium, Australia

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia staff who are found to have acted improperly in a scandal over the leaking of government tax plans will face "severe" consequences, acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins told a state parliament inquiry on Monday. "We have failed the standards we set for ourselves as an organisation, and I apologise on behalf of our firm," Stubbins said. The firm has already placed nine partners on leave and named four former partners directly involved in the breach who have since left the firm. The move will cut PwC Australia off from the "vast majority" of public sector consulting work, although some external audit work for government clients may stay, said Stubbins. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Allegro Funds, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, New South Wales, ringfence, PwC Australia, Singapore

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - Australian lawmakers will ask for more details about PwC staff involved in the leak of government tax plans when acting head Kristin Stubbins appears before a state parliament on Monday, her first public appearance since her predecessor stepped down over the scandal. But there were still many unanswered questions, inquiry chair and Greens party lawmaker Abigail Boyd said on Sunday. "(The sale) seems like a really good way to avoid scrutiny," she told Reuters on Sunday. "Look we've taken action, we've sold off the business, we've got a new person in, everything is fine. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, Abigail Boyd, we've, Boyd, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft Organizations: SYDNEY, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: New South Wales, NSW, Singapore, Australia

SYDNEY, June 25 (Reuters) - PwC Australia on Sunday entered an exclusivity agreement with private equity firm Allegro Funds to sell its government practice for A$1 as it brought in an executive from Singapore to lead its local firm through the fallout from a national scandal. Amid a growing backlash from key government clients, PwC said it had entered an exclusivity agreement to divest its federal and state government business to Allegro Funds for A$1 ($0.67) as first reported on Friday. A spokesperson for Allegro Funds declined to comment. NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVEGlobal PwC Chair Bob Moritz publicly apologised in a statement and said PwC Australia had failed to meet the firm's standards and values under past leadership. "PwC Australia has significant work to do and I am confident that the steps they are taking ... will result in a stronger firm," Moritz said.

Persons: PwC, Justin Carroll, Deborah O'Neill, Bob Moritz, Kevin Burrowes, Kristin Stubbins, Burrowes, Moritz, Lewis Jackson, Sam McKeith, Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue Organizations: SYDNEY, Sunday, Funds, Allegro Funds, PwC, Labor, Global, & Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, Singapore, Sydney

Six-year-old Tahjir Burrowes wandered out of his Florida home on Oct. 5, wearing only a diaper and a T-shirt, and headed straight for a hurricane-flooded canal. His 17-year-old brother, Tahjon, knew something was wrong as soon as he got out of the bathroom and could not find his little brother anywhere. “Mom, mom, mom! Their mother, Lachera Burrowes, immediately jumped in her car and drove to the canal near their Lehigh home. Tahjon, left, and Tahjir Burrowes survey their Lehigh home, shortly after Hurricane Ian hit.

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