Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, said the spending figures on external accountants and lawyers were eye-watering. “All too often we have seen Auckland Council employ these law firms against its own ratepayers - always expensively and often unsuccessful, including the $1 million-plus failed litigation in defence of decisions of the Maunga Authority,” he said. Given the council was meant to be dealing with a budget crisis, the scale of the financial largesse was also troubling, said Lee. Photo / Michael CraigĬouncillor Mike Lee, a longtime critic of contracting out council services, said it was revealing how the council remained so protectively generous to the law firms and the international accountancy corporates but was willing to cut spending for libraries and community services. Very little of this spend is accounting related,” he said.įor example, said Laing, PwC had advised AT on property issues with the Eastern Busway, and EY on ferry matters and a holiday pay review.Ĭouncillor Mike Lee said the council remains protectively generous to law firms and accountancy corporates but is willing to cut spending on libraries and community services. “They also help with things like ensuring compliance with holiday pay, internal audit, and probity reviews. “Where successful at trial or on appeal, the council will seek costs, as it is currently in a number of matters,” Wild said.ĪT, which spends almost as much on the “Big 4″ accountancy firms as the Auckland Council, utilises their consulting skills for things like complex procurement of bus, rail, ferry and road maintenance contracts, says AT finance boss Mark Laing. ![]() They include a big leaky building claim brought by the New Zealand Retail Property Group that was successfully defended the judicial review of the council’s hotel bed tax and the local alcohol policy. ![]() She said the lower rates had delivered savings, but the council was not able to control the volume of work, with a recent spike in very large claims. Last month, the Herald revealed Brown had spent $299,053 with the law firm Meredith Connell in his first five months on the job. The period does not cover the $375m budget hole addressed in Brown’s first budget this year. The average $104,000-a-day cost to ratepayers continued through the emergency and recovery Covid-induced budgets that led to cuts in public transport and road maintenance due to a sharp fall in income. They have also horrified Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, who has promised to clamp down on spending by consultants from “the big end of town”. The investigation follows a similar probe in 2021, which found that the Super City has become a $10 billion goldmine for multinational corporations and local companies.Ĭritics have described the figures as eye-watering and troubling during a time of pandemic budget cuts. Law firms have accounted for $127 million over the five-year period, followed by the “Big 4″ accountant firms of PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG, which have been paid $63m between them, coming to a total of $190m. ![]() ![]() The “Big 4″ global accounting firms and top New Zealand law firms have been pocketing more than $100,000 per day in fees from the Super City over the past five years, a Herald investigation has found. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the cost has horrified him and promised to clamp down on spending by consultants.
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