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Conspiracy Theories

With KPMG losing the overtime case in Canada, it would set a precedent for the rest of the big 4 to be sued and lose the case. Then, it could potentially trickle into the Big Kahuna, good ol' USA. And if one of the big 4 loses here, then all hell could break lose. Why? Because if employees get paid overtime for the all the hundreds of hours they put in over the past few years, we're talking millions of dollars of compensation by the public accounting firms.

Wanted to put out there a theory a co-worker had, in light of KPMG's defeat in the overtime case in Canada.
a) Firms like PWC and EY have started offering CPA bonuses to employees who pass their CPA in their first few years with the firms. Now, this overtime compensation only applies to employees who have not been professionally certified. Why? Well I honestly have no idea, but apparently that is the case. So even though the firms are spinning the bonus to reward employees for passing their exams early, it could actually pay a way to stem potential damages if the firms lose a similar lawsuit in the US in the next 4-5 years. Intriguing!

Comments

Anonymous said…
At the risk of repeating myself in another comment I've left here, none of the "professional staff" get cash overtime.

Regarding CPA bonuses, the story I heard was that first one firm offered it, then the second one did to 'keep up'.

All about reducing turnover a bit rather than dealing with O/T.

In fact, the bonus would have ZERO impact on O/T liability, as it's not for hours worked, but for the exam.

The theory doesn't work, I'm afraid.
notfordisplay said…
It doesn't , it is outlandish, but since it is making the chatter ,I figured it needed to hit the webwaves. I did point out in a later post that a partner mooted this point by making valid counter-arguments.
notfordisplay said…
I must say though, that employees of the big 4 (professionals) did get paid overtime until the mid-80s. Then, when PWC said that they'd raise the salaries and abolish OT, the other firms followed suit because it made more business sense. This was what a partner said.

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