Accountancy body reverts to in-person exams over AI cheating fears Accountancy The UK’s accounting body, which has almost 260,000 members, is planning to halt remote exams amid a surge of students cheating with AI. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has said that from March it will no longer allow students to take online exams, except in exceptional circumstances. Remote testing, like in many universities [...]
Forvis Mazars tax partner: I’m confident we can handle the next 12 months Opinion Raj Bhundia, tax partner at Forvis Mazars, takes us through his career, favourite City spots and his confidence for the next year.
Cisco: Only 16 per cent of UK firms ready to deploy AI safely Britain’s race to embrace AI could stumble before it starts, as new research from tech giant Cisco has revealed that just 16 per cent of UK firms are adequately equipped to scale AI safely across their operations. The company’s ‘AI readiness index’, City AM can reveal, shows a sharp divide between businesses racing ahead and [...]
Lloyds Bank set to increase motor finance provisions October 9, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group said on Thursday morning it would “likely… be required” to hike its motor finance provisions following further updates on the regulatory redress scheme. The FTSE 100 banking titan – which owns the UK’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse – currently leads the pack for £1.2bn in provisions. The Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Motor finance lenders gear up for ‘forensic test of discipline’ over redress scheme October 8, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has softened the motor finance blow for lenders but experts say firms won’t be able to shift into a new gear just yet. The City watchdog has priced the cost of its industry-wide redress scheme at £11bn – a hefty sum but far below the eye-watering £44bn previously floated. Just over [...]
Warm weather bolsters retail sales ahead of all-important golden quarter September 19, 2025 Retail sales were bolstered by good weather and rising real incomes this summer, but the struggling sector is looking ahead to the festive season for a bigger boost. Sales fell by 0.1 per cent in the three months to August 2025 when compared with the three months to May 2025, according to the Office for [...]
UBS invests in AI data platform amid financial services shift August 21, 2025 UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, has announced an expansion of its partnership with enterprise AI platform provider Domino Data Lab, which includes a new equity investment. The move signals the bank’s focus on scaling AI across its operations, though it emphasises the need for robust governance and risk management to ensure a responsible rollout. [...]
Are cyber attacks about to become the norm for British retailers? May 20, 2025 In the last month, cyber attacks have gone from a destructive but uncommon issue to the top of most Brit’s news feeds. Marks and Spencer’s, Co-op, Harrods – plus the international Dior and Coinbase – have all been the target of attacks in the last months, with more unsuccessful or smaller attacks likely to have [...]
Trade wars: how will tariffs really affect the global economy? May 15, 2025 Separate the signal from the noise on tariffs and the damage done, thus far, is not significant. However that doesn’t mean all is well, says George Lagarias In all the trade war noise, it is easy to miss just how much global trade conditions have deteriorated in the last few months. If, one year ago, [...]
Why M&S, Harrods and the Co-op were hit by cyber attacks May 8, 2025 Cyber security experts have warned that retail’s lack of investment in IT protection, as well as the amount of consumer data it has access to, has put a bullseye on the sector. The warnings follow a trio of serious attacks at major UK households names – Harrods, Marks and Spencer (M&S) and the Co-op. “Retailers [...]