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Big Four Audit Scrutiny

A group of global security regulators led by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is formally investigating how private equity ownership of accounting firms might affect audit quality and independence. This is putting pressure on the Big Four Firms. In recent years, private equity groups have been buying stakes in smaller and mid-tier audit firms. Around a third of larger U.S accounting firms are now at least partly owned by PE firms.

A major driver is a coordinated review led by international securities regulators examining whether changes in firm ownership structures, incentive systems, and business models could weaken audit independence and quality. While the probe is not limited to the Big Four, it reflects broader concern about concentration risk in audit markets and whether current safeguards are enough to protect investors.

The IOSCO is planning to examine a number of potential risks for audit firms, including conflicts of interest, independence, and the quality of their work culture. At the same time, the growing use of AI in audits has raised questions about how technology affects audit quality, judgment, and pricing. Taken together, these developments suggest regulators are shifting from isolated enforcement actions toward a more systemic evaluation of how audits are structured, governed, and delivered.

Why it matters: Audits support trust in capital markets. If confidence in audit quality erodes, investors demand higher risk premiums, regulators step in more aggressively, and companies face higher compliance costs.

Student Takeaway: This trend highlights that technical competence and independence matter more than ever. Regulators are paying close attention to ethics, judgement, and governance. If you’re looking into a career in audit, expect those roles to become more technology-enabled, more regulated, and more investigated.

Wall Street Goes All In On AI

Big banks on wall street are dumping billions into AI. JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▼ 0.26% ), Bank of America $BAC ( ▲ 0.22% ), Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 0.33% ), Citigroup $C ( ▼ 0.04% ), Wells Fargo $WFC ( ▲ 0.04% ), and Morgan Stanley $MS ( ▼ 0.22% ) have moved beyond experimentation and are embedding AI deeply into their core operations.

Bank of America spent around $13 billion on tech in 2025, CEO Brain Moynihan said the bank plans to spend 10% more on tech development in 2026. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon defended his banks spending, claiming that he is trying to keep the company from falling behind. JPMorgan’s annual technology budget is around $18 billion.

At Goldman Sachs, the bank is partnering with AI firm Anthropic to build autonomous AI agents capable of handling labor-intensive functions like trade accounting, compliance onboarding, and due diligence, underlying a broader organizational shift toward operational automation. Across the sector, AI is being deployed to automate document review, risk assessments, fraud detection, client communication, and even complex research tasks that historically required deep manual effort.

Student Takeaway: For students considering careers in investment banking, wealth management, or corporate finance, AI fluency will be a competitive advantage. Entry-level analysts who understand how AI augments research, modeling, compliance, and client work will stand out, as the industry shifts from manual grunt work to hybrid human-AI workflows.

Definition: EBITDA stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. It’s a common used financial metric that shows a company’s operating performance by stripping out financing decisions, tax environments, and non-cash accounting charges. To put it simply, EBITDA is meant to approximate how much cash a business generates from its core operations before external and accounting-related factors.

Investors, bankers, and analysts often use EBITDA to compare companies across industries or geographies, since it removes differences in capital structure and tax rates. It’s also widely used in valuation, especially in multiples like EV / EBITDA, because it provides a cleaner view of operating profitability than net income.

Suppose Company A reports the following for the year:

First, calculate EBITDA:

EBITDA = 1,000,000 − 650,000 = 350,000

So, Company A’s EBITDA is $350,000.

Even though depreciation, amortization, interest, and taxes reduce net income, EBITDA ignores those items to focus strictly on how profitable the company’s operations are before financing and accounting choices.

Student takeaway: EBITDA is a go-to metric in finance, banking, and consulting, so you should be comfortable calculating it, explaining it, and discussing its limitations. Employers use EBITDA to evaluate a company’s operating performance and compare businesses across industries, which is why it shows up constantly in valuation (EV/EBITDA), credit analysis, and deal discussions.

At the same time, remember that EBITDA is not cash flow. It ignores capital expenditures, debt obligations, and working capital needs, which can be huge in real businesses. Strong candidates stand out by showing they understand both why EBITDA is useful and when it can be misleading — especially in interviews

Mistake: Not understanding the role or firm/bank

When candidates don’t understand what the firm actually does or what the role involves day-to-day, it signals a lack of preparation and genuine interest. Interviewers can tell almost immediately when someone applied broadly and is “figuring it out as they go.”

For example, saying you want to work in investment banking because it’s “fast-paced and prestigious,” or saying you want Big Four audit because it’s “a good place to start,” doesn’t show understanding. Firms want to hear that you know how they make money, who their clients are, what differentiates them from competitors, and what the role actually looks like in practice. At MBB or Big Four, this might mean knowing the difference between audit, tax, and advisory; at a bank, it means understanding coverage vs. product groups and how deals get executed.

From the interviewer’s perspective, this mistake raises a red flag: If you don’t understand the role now, you’ll struggle on the job and may leave early. It also suggests you haven’t spoken to employees, followed recent firm news, or reflected on how your skills fit the position.

The importance of not only understanding the numbers but learning to speak them is crucial. In finance and accounting, it’s not enough to crunch numbers—you need to communicate what they mean. Whether it’s explaining a company’s leverage ratio, discussing valuation multiples, or walking through an LBO model, your ability to translate data into a clear story sets you apart. Employers value candidates who can take complex analysis and make it digestible for clients, teammates, or even non-finance professionals.

Student takeaway: Practice explaining financial concepts out loud, as if you’re teaching a classmate. If you can clearly explain why a company’s 25% debt-to-asset ratio signals conservative financing, you’re building both technical and client-facing skills—two things recruiters love to see.

The Top 10 Schools recruited by PwC

Here are the top ten universities most consistently targeted by PwC for consulting, accounting, and transaction roles:

1. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

2. Indiana University-Bloomington (Kelly)

3. University of Michigan (Ross)

4. University of Texas at Austin (McCombs)

5. University of Southern California (Marshall)

6. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies)

7. Ohio State University (Fisher)

8. Michigan State University (Broad)

9. University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)

10. Boston College (Carroll)

The Campus Capital brand has gained an insane amount of traction and attention recently. In the past 4 days we have gained 39 subscribers, 4,700+ TikTok followers, and are almost at 100 followers on LinkedIn. I am incredibly excited to see the brand get this kind of recognition, I have cherished every moment of this journey from the very first issue to now. I am grateful that I get the opportunity to share my love of finance and accounting with like-minded individuals on large, growing scale. Campus Capital’s future is incredibly bright, thanks to everyone that reads each week and stays up-to-date on our social media platforms.

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My name is Braunsen Bax, I’m a honors finance and accounting student-athlete at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois (45 mins outside of Chicago). I graduated from Walton High School in Marietta Georgia. Outside of the classroom I compete in the throws events for the Track & Field team, 35 time NCAA DIII national champions. I’ve had a love of finance and the business world since my sophomore year of high school and started Campus Capital to share that love with my community and like minded individuals in a similar position, with similar goals. My mission is to help people like me shape their futures to ensure they reach their goals while being up to date and educated in the Finance industry.