EY has said it is pushing ahead with this year’s round of mid-year promotions “as normal,” following reports that Big Four rival KPMG has called off its own round of April promotions.
An EY spokesperson told City A.M. the “small number of mid-year promotions” it makes “every year” are “continuing as normal.”
KPMG, by contrast, has called off plans to hand out promotions to its auditors this April, after carrying out a “thorough review of workforce planning,” The Times first reported.
In an email to staff, KPMG’s head of audit, Catherine Burnet, explained the accounting firm had seen its “attrition levels stabilize,” meaning its “year-end headcount is expected to be higher in comparison to the prior year.”
The reported email comes after KPMG laid off 700 of its US staff – equivalent to two per cent of its US workforce – as the global economic downturn has hit the Big Four firm.
KPMG’s decision to call off this year’s round of April promotions signals the talent war that has played out between the Big Four firms might be starting to subside.
Fierce competition for white-collar staff has previously seen driven the Big Four towards offering bumper payouts and promotions to their workers, in their efforts to recruit and retain employees.
KPMG is the smallest of the Big Four accounting firms both in terms of headcount and revenues.
A spokesperson for KPMG said the firm is continuing to “to significantly invest in the development of our talent”.
The KPMG spokesperson added that “many of our colleagues will be promoted as part of our annual promotions cycle later this year”.
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