Professions

SPECIAL REPORT: Business News has been tracking changes among WA’s accounting firms for 25 years, including seminal events like the collapse of Andersen and the break-up of the old PKF practice.

SPECIAL REPORT: Gender equity is a key goal for major accounting firms but their track record is varied, especially in WA.

Law firm Jackson McDonald has launched a branded secondment service in response to growing demand from clients and lawyers for more flexible working arrangements.

It may seem a trivial matter, but a recent Court of Appeal ruling on who was responsible for maintaining the shower recess in a $1,700 per week rental property should be of keen interest to many landlords and insurers.

Deloitte has won a state government contract to prepare a business case for the Morley to Ellenbrook rail line, to be undertaken in parallel with another study looking at route options.

PwC Australia has completed a deal to acquire key partners and staff from PPB Advisory, bolstering the firm’s corporate restructuring and deals business, as well as partners and staff from Litmus G

New APM chief executive Michael Anghie has bolstered his team by recruiting Youth Focus chief executive Fiona Kalaf to take a newly created role with the human services company.

Peter Quinlan has been appointed Western Australia's 14th chief justice of the Supreme Court, effective August 13.

Executive search firm Gerard Daniels has updated its leadership structure, with the appointment of Alison Gaines as chief executive and the recruitment of Steve Scudamore as chairman of its advisory board.

Companies as diverse as multinational Konica Minolta and local startup Kirrikin are operating as both for-profit and for-purpose businesses.

Former governor and practising barrister Malcolm McCusker has been appointed chairman of Law Access, following the retirement of founding director Adam Ebell.

Professional services company Deloitte has recorded a 15 per cent rise in national revenue for the 2018 financial year, including improved activity in Western Australia after four tough years.

Engineering and resources sector executive Simon High has taken a new role as Western Australia area director at international insurance broker Gallagher.

Perth-based Strategic Human Resources has agreed to a merger of equals with Brisbane employment company Livingstones.

Belmont-based Industrial Recruitment Partners, Mills Resources and LNG Recruitment are among a panel of companies selected as preferred suppliers for recruitment services by the WA Local Government Association.

Law firm Squire Patton Boggs is sharpening its Asian engagement strategy, with former Lavan partner Tony Chong appointed to head its Asia desk in June.

Accounting firm RSM and Bunbury-based consultancy IPS have won the lion’s share of work under a new round of state government contracts to deliver the Business Local support program across regional Western Australia.

Oil prices fell on Friday, but Brent crude marked its sixth straight week of gains, boosted by plummeting Venezuelan production, strong global demand and looming US sanctions on Iran.

Former Rising Stars award winner Harrier Human Capital has continued its rapid national expansion, winning a $15 million recruitment contract with AGL Energy.

More women than men are being appointed to the boards of Australia's top 200 companies for the first time on record.

Barrister John Vaughan has been appointed a judge of the WA Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Justice Peter Martino.

The state government has recruited Canberra-based Caroline Spencer to be the state’s next auditor general, three years after she was appointed to review the performance of incumbent Colin Murphy.

SPECIAL REPORT: There has been a flurry of high-profile moves by senior lawyers in Perth as the sector readies for a pick-up from several quiet years.

SPECIAL REPORT: Technology and a greater emphasis on strategic advice are how one local accounting franchise hopes to brace for changes in the professional services sector.

The funeral industry in WA is increasingly dominated by a handful of big players, including two listed companies that hold more than 50 per cent of the market after buying some of the state’s oldest operators.

John Poulsen, who has been a prominent fixture in Perth’s legal scene for many years, is planning to retire from his current role and seek chief executive opportunities.

SPECIAL REPORT: Western Australian businesses participated in nearly 200 corporate finance transactions in the September quarter collectively worth $4.8 billion, research by Business News has found.

Litigation funder IMF Bentham has committed $30 million towards two new investment vehicles, which will have a combined pool of $150 million.

The Insurance Commission of Western Australia increased spending on the Bell Group litigation to $9.6 million last financial year, while also revealing in its annual report it has applied to the Supreme Court for a single trial to cover all related matters.

It was 20 years’ ago this month that Perth’s two largest law firms surprised the business community by merging their operations. Herbert Smith Freehills hosted many of the 50-plus partners who were there at the time to mark the occasion.

The founders of four Western Australian businesses, in industries ranging from mining software and horticulture to construction and industrial equipment, have been selected as finalists in the 2017 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards.

The Supreme Court has ordered privately owned mining company Global Advanced Metals to open its books to a minority shareholder, despite the shareholder being a competitor, a litigation adversary in the US, and having a chief executive who was found to have carelessly handled confidential information supplied earlier this year.