Welcome to your weekly curated briefing of the latest news and views that matter to board directors.

This week, I take a look at a self-inflicted blow against audit fee increases by KPMG and we highlight the unfolding governance crisis at French miner Eramet and the breadth of Jeffrey Epstein’s network as the scandal deepens.

If you want to catch up on recent briefings, do explore the FT Infosys Board Network hub, where you’ll find links to the FT.com articles and research that we’ve referenced in recent weeks and to our archive of recent briefings.

Do you have comments or suggestions for the newsletter? Send them to me at Andrew Hill at andrew.hill@ft.com or Jonathan Moules at jonathan.moules@ft.com.

Thanks for reading.

Companies are always trying to fire back at fee increases imposed by professional services firms. Most board directors would be surprised, however, if the firms themselves started supplying ammunition for the counterattack.

That is what KPMG, one of the world’s largest auditors, seems to have done by pressing its own auditor for a significant reduction in fees. KPMG International, which coordinates the group’s independent locally owned partnerships worldwide, argued that Grant Thornton UK should pass on savings from the application of artificial intelligence. Neither firm has commented, but Companies House filings suggest Grant Thornton did slash its bill.

All accountants have ploughed money into AI, in the expectation that the technology could help speed up audits by automating routine tasks. When I spoke to the head of a UK firm recently, he said speedier AI-enabled audits meant the group could do more, and more complex, work. Were clients putting downward pressure on fees? No, he told me, because they also understood the scale of technology investment involved and, in any case, “clients want more assurance, regulators want more assurance”.

Still, KPMG does seem to have fired shots into both feet by pressurising Grant Thornton. First, it has shown there is no shame in asking your auditor for a discount, potentially signalling an end to years of rote increases in audit fees. Second, it has confirmed AI is reducing audit costs and opened the way for that argument to be deployed against its member firms.

Boards should pause, though, before cutting and pasting the KPMG negotiating playbook into their prep for the next meeting with their auditor. There is something to the accounting industry’s argument that high-quality auditing is worth paying for. Listen to Sir Jan du Plessis, one of the most experienced board chairs around and current chair of the UK’s Financial Reporting Council. If he were a chief financial officer, he cautioned a few years ago, the audit fee “is the last place that I would look to cut costs”.‌

‌Americans are changing their dining patterns to cope with the rising cost of living in the US. In the process, they are challenging the economics of the country’s 215,000 fast-food outlets.

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My top FT picks

Funding the Muskverse will require ever more audacious moves Being the world’s richest man has not shielded Elon Musk from the daunting task of funding a tech revolution. But if his plan to fold xAI into SpaceX proves the key to unlocking the next trove of capital, why should he stop there? French mining group Eramet suspends finance chief days after ousting CEO The company has become engulfed in a growing governance crisis with the suspension of its finance boss just days after firing its recently appointed chief executive. New CBI boss criticises UK government policy of taking stakes in businesses Cressida Hogg tells the FT she is ‘never convinced by the crowding-in argument’ for state investment. Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s social Ponzi scheme Sometimes a table can tell a story, particularly if it is the one pictured here in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, adorned with more than a dozen framed photographs of some of the world’s most recognisable people.

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1. When the Stakes Rise | Russell Reynolds The executive search and leadership advisory firm’s latest Global CFO Turnover Index found that incoming CFO appointments reached a seven-year high in 2025.

2. Corporate Governance snapshot: Preparing your annual report and for your AGM in 2026 | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer This report summarises the key developments of the last 12 months that UK-listed companies should have on their radar when preparing their 2026 annual report.

3. The Inclusion Imperative For Repairing Corporate Governance | Forthcoming Business Lawyer Drawing on 2025 proxy statements, this academic study shows how many firms and shareholders continue to place a priority on inclusive governance.

Board Network is written by Andrew Hill and Jonathan Moules