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Healthcare organisations worldwide are struggling to provide their services in the absence of error. To provide the right drug in the right doses to the right patient at the right time using the right equipment and the right documentation. Adverse drug events have always been an issue, and continue to be of increased importance for the healthcare industry due to tight operating budgets, and new impending regulations focusing on patient safety. Deloitte argues in a new whitepaper that improved efficiency and effectiveness within the supply chain can enhance an organisation’s ability to track medication from its point of origin to the point of care. Errors that may result in loss of life and loss of significant sums of money will also be reduced. For more information, read Deloitte's whitepaper. Click here to view the article

Deloitte Consulting will take over as lead contractor of MNsure, an online sister publication of Finance & Commerce. At least $10 million in additional IT spending has been dedicated for this year, according to a preliminary budget released in mid-March. “I can’t confirm anything,” MNsure spokeswoman Jenni Bowring-McDonough said when asked about the choice. “We’ve made a decision. We’re waiting for CMS to approve it. Until it’s approved, we can’t make any announcement.” For more details, read the full article. Click here to view the article

Deloitte has launch ConvergeHEALTH, a new business unit focusing on healthcare transformation. We understand that Healthcare is Deloitte's biggest industry by revenue, and the new business unit comes with a new investment by Deloitte of up to $200 million in healthcare analytics. Deloitte appears to believe that healthcare will become increasingly data-driven, and there are 3 reasons why this could happen: (1) increased regulation around quality, (2) changing reimbursement structures, and (3) a continued focus on cost reduction. For more details, read the full article.

Deloitte Anjin, the Korean member firm of Deloitte, may have been caught cooking the books. Back in 2009, Ssangyong Motor fired more than 2,000 employees. Last week, and 5 years later, a Korean Appeals Court ruled that the layoffs were invalid because they were based on Deloitte Anjin's “wrong” evaluation of Ssangyong’s value. The Ssangyong Case has led to of allegations that Deloitte Anjin engaged in accounting fraud. The allegations could have serious implications for Deloitte Anjin since, even if unsubstantiated, they could damage its credibility and bottom line earnings in the Korean market. The allegations could also have serious political implications since the Korean regulator, the Financial Supervisory Service, had previously cleared Deloitte Anjin of wrongdoing after an extensive investigation. Potentially bad news for Deloitte, but a boon for its main rivals in the Korean market: Samil PwC, Samjong KPMG Advisory, and Ernst & Young Korea. For more details, read the Korea Times article.

Deloitte is running a Social Innovation Pioneers programme. It plans to choose around 15 social enterprises to receive up to £1m worth of support in the form of staff time and skills. The aim is to help social enterprises grow and become investment-ready. Over the previous 2 years, Deloitte has supported 46 innovative businesses from a variety of industries in the UK. In order to be eligible, an enterprise needs to have a clear social impact and an innovative product or service; they also need be able to explain the type of support they require from Deloitte. The deadline is Sunday, 23rd February. To apply now, visit the website.

Deloitte announced in December that it has launched Deloitte University Europe, the Middle East and Africa (DU EMEA). The aim of the new institution is to help the organisation stay on the leading edge of learning and innovation. Situated in Belgium (maybe Deloitte just likes chocolates and beer?), this is Deloitte's second university. The first was built in Texas two years ago. The new initiative makes sense from a number of angles: 1. Thought leadership - there is no better way for an accounting/consulting firm to be on the leading edge of ideas and insights than to have a university in its back pocket. 2. Recruitment - the ability to offer staff the opportunity to attend courses at the firm's in house university is a great perk, and could help to attract the best candidates. 3. Networking & Retention - the ability to offer staff the opportunity to attend courses at the firm's in house university is also good for business. It allows staff to network in a more relaxed and collegiate environment. Research suggests that staff who have friends at work are more likely to do good work, and less likely to leave. For more details, read the full article.

Reuter's report that Deloitte has become the world's top accountant (by revenue). Fee income in 2013 for the Big Four is reported as follows: $32.4 billion for Deloitte; $32 billion for PwC; $25.9 billion for EY; and $23.4 billion for KPMG. This report raises three issues worth noting. Firstly, Deloitte's lead as top firm (as measured by revenue) may be brief since PwC and Booz & Co are currently in merger talks. This would increase PwC's revenue by more than $1 billion. Secondly, the report conflates the ideas of "highest revenue" and "top accounting firm". While the Big Four do have the highest revenue figures and are thereby able to spend the most on marketing, there is no evidence to suggest that the big firms actually produce the highest quality audit work. Audits at the Big Four are primarily conducted by squadrons of junior business analysts fresh out of university, and it is entirely possible that mid-tier firms like BDO and Grant Thornton (mid-tier as measured by revenue) may actually produce higher quality audits. Thirdly, and most importantly for our purposes, the Reuter's report appears to gloss over the fact that firms like Deloitte and PwC are no longer mere accounting firms. The PwC merger with Booz & Co is a case in point, and less than half of PwC’s revenues now come from its assurance business. Consulting is one of PwC’s fastest growing operations.

Deloitte Digital and Konrad Group have announce a strategic alliance in Canada. The alliance builds on Deloitte's strong business and technology advisory practice and Konrad Group's world class digital capabilities. It looks set to make Deloitte Digital Canada a one-stop shop for digital strategy, web design and development, and systems implementation. For more details, read the full article.