英国第六大会计师事务所致同（Grant Thornton）执行长 Malcolm Gomersall 反驳外界对私募股权投资的质疑，指出欧洲收购集团 Cinven 于 2024 年入股后，反而促使该机构更注重审计品质。他强调，私募机构最终会寻求出场销售，若品质声誉不佳便无法脱手，因此事务所绝不会承接任何 Cinven 投资企业的审计案，并主动避开利益冲突的灰色地带。

过去十年全球已有超过千家会计机构引入私募基金，引发监管机构与业界对审计独立性及短期利益导向的普遍担忧。Cinven 以约 15 亿英镑收购致同 60% 股权，成为检验私募基金能否推动英国大型会计所转型的关键案例。致同过去曾因 Patisserie Valerie 等重大审计缺失遭受监管罚款，目前正借由私募资金挹注推动改革、重塑专业评级。

致同订定宏大成长目标，预计在明年底前达成年营收 10 亿英镑，并在 2027 年底前新增超过 160 名合伙人以提升未来转售价值。此外，该所认为人工智慧带来庞大发展契机，因而扩大毕业生招募规模，而非缩减基层职缺；不过因应客户对新技术接纳度的差异，事务所亦针对个别项目的 AI 使用需求采取灵活应对策略。

Malcolm Gomersall, chief executive of Grant Thornton, the UK’s sixth-largest accounting firm, pushed back against criticism of private equity ownership, maintaining that European buyout firm Cinven's 2024 majority stake has sharpened the firm's focus on audit quality. He stressed that Cinven will eventually seek an exit and a firm with poor quality cannot be sold, affirming that Grant Thornton strictly avoids auditing Cinven-backed companies and bypasses potential grey areas regarding independence.

With more than 1,000 accountancy practices globally receiving private equity investment over the past decade, regulators and industry bodies have voiced growing concerns over auditor independence and short-termism. Cinven’s acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Grant Thornton, which valued the firm at approximately £1.5 billion, serves as a crucial test of private equity's impact on UK accountancy as the firm strives to move past previous high-profile auditing scandals and regulatory fines.

Looking forward, Grant Thornton is targeting £1 billion in annual revenue by the end of next year and plans to recruit more than 160 new partners by late 2027 to rebuild its market standing for prospective buyers. The firm is also expanding graduate hiring rather than cutting junior roles due to artificial intelligence, viewing the technology as a major growth opportunity while respecting the varying comfort levels of clients regarding AI adoption in audits.