John Sams found out he was the new chief executive of embattled big four accounting firm KPMG at 8.30am on Tuesday morning. His honeymoon period won’t have lasted past lunchtime.Sams, a long-time KPMG partner and the firm’s chief financial officer since last September, is in a race against the clock to tick five key items off his to-do list: convince clients, staff, potential directors and governments that the firm’s much-hyped action plan is workable, and deliver the inevitable round of painful cost-cutting and restructuring required to meet the reality of KPMG’s shrinking business.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles