US legal correspondent Joe Miller and US accounting editor Stephen Foley are heading a new professional services reporting team in New York. Together, they will be covering a range of topics relating to the legal and accounting sector for a global readership.
To give FT readers a better understanding of what they can expect from this expansion, we are bringing you a 3 part blog-series with insight from Joe and Stephen themselves.
Please introduce yourself and tell us about your journey at the FT so far
Joe Miller: Hi, my name is Joe Miller. I’m the newly minted legal correspondent at the Financial Times. I moved here from Germany, where I covered German industry and technology for three years. That was my first role at the FT.
Before that I spent more than six years at the BBC, primarily in business journalism around the world, US, UK and India.
Stephen Foley: Hi, I’m Stephen Foley. I’m the new US accounting editor in New York. At the FT, I have covered bond markets, stock markets, the investment management industry and was most recently on the US news desk as deputy news editor. I also worked with our sister publication Nikkei Asia for a year before returning to New York.
It’s my 11th year at the Financial Times. I joined in 2012 from The Independent, a British newspaper who sent me over to New York just in time for the financial crisis. So I’ve been writing about issues in finance for most of my career in business journalism.
What type of news coverage does the new professional services team cover?
JM: The new professional services team at the FT touches upon all aspects of the American economy. Not to mention how both sectors are branching out beyond their traditional remits to all sorts of professional services, be that internal investigation, audits etc.
We will be following what's going on inside the largest firms across America and indeed across the globe.
US Legal Correspondant
The FT thought it was the right time to expand our coverage in professional services in the United States. We will be following what's going on inside the largest firms across America and indeed across the globe. You can also expect to find out what trends within the industry mean for the broader economy as a whole.
SF: We’re very excited by the new professional services team. When I was on the news desk here in the US, we really wanted to build out our coverage of professional services. We have such a large readership in the accounting and legal sector, especially here in the US, where our readership is growing fast and has one of the highest engagement rates at the FT.
EY is definitely an example of big stories the professional services team will be covering in great detail.
US Accounting Editor
This new role covers the accounting profession and financial issues across corporate America. It was serendipitous to create this role and team at this particular time with such dramatic changes occurring in the accounting industry. I promise this expansion was conceived before we learnt about EY’s big plan to break itself into two! EY is definitely an example of big stories the professional services team will be covering in great detail.
Who is the audience you are writing for?
JM: We're covering the legal and accounting industry not just for insiders but for all our readers around the world. Rarely will we cover something if we do not think it has relevance to people in other countries.
The new team looks at what is happening in the US and certain market trends. So our coverage is relevant for those working in many sectors such as the government, NGOs, retail etc. Almost everything we write about has some touch point to people in different industries and parts of the world.
SF: The stories I am writing for the accounting sector have resonance for groups across corporate America. The accounting standards are changing rather rapidly. Investors are calling upon the audit profession to be much more proactive and for standard setters to increase the transparency in corporate reporting. So the new professional services team aims to appeal to all sectors, such as the investor constituency, leading corporate executives and C-suite constituencies.
The stories I am writing for the accounting sector have resonance for groups across corporate America.
US Accounting Editor
Want to find out more?
Stay tuned for part 2, where Joe and Stephen tell us about how the US economy is changing and why reporting in this sector has become a priority for the FT.
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