Grant Thornton slapped with multi-million pound fine after FRC calls out ‘serious failings’ in Sports Direct audit July 18, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog today hit Grant Thornton with a £2.05m over “serious failings” in its audits of high-street retailer Sports Direct. The fines come after the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said Grant Thornton had failed to properly scrutinize Sports Direct’s relationship with an unnamed delivery company and the impact the relationship would have [...]
UK launches innovative ‘problem-solving courts’ to tackle drug and alcohol related crime July 18, 2022 The UK’s Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has opened three “innovative” new courts specifically for those with substance abuse problems, as part of its £900m plan to tackle drug and alcohol related crime. The new “problem-solving courts” – in Liverpool, Teesside, and Birmingham – will provide services including rehabilitation services and housing support, in a bid [...]
PwC set for record revenues as global chief rejects plans for split July 18, 2022 The global head of PwC has said the accounting firm is set to post record revenues of around $50bn this year, after speaking out against plans to follow in the footsteps of EY by separating out PwC’s audit and advisory businesses. In an interview with the Financial Times, PwC global chairman Bob Moritz said the [...]
UKH Hacker Young sanctioned after Laura Ashley audits July 13, 2022 UKH Hacker Young has been “severely reprimanded” and slapped with a £350,000 fine by the accounting watchdog over its audit of Laura Ashley. The Financial Reporting Council has imposed serious sanctions on the firm for its audit of the fashion retailer for the 2018 and 2018 financial years. The retailer, which had 155 UK stores [...]
Exclusive: UK becomes Europe’s leading jurisdiction for class-action lawsuits July 12, 2022 The introduction of “opt-out” claims has seen the UK become the leading jurisdiction for European class action lawsuits, according to new figures from law firm CMS, which show that more than half (54 per cent) of all class action lawsuits filed in Europe over the past five years were filed in the UK. The UK [...]
UK’s audit watchdog sets out plans to shakeup Britain’s accounting sector July 12, 2022 The UK’s accountancy watchdog has vowed to put in place a raft of new measures to increase standards in the UK’s audit sector in a bid to pave the way for the UK government’s long-awaited reforms. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on Tuesday published a paper outlining its plans to revise existing codes, strengthen [...]
First judges to new patent court appointed: How will Europe’s new one-stop shop for IP impact the UK? July 12, 2022 Europe’s new one-stop shop for IP enforcement – the Unified Patent Court – has taken a major step forward as 90 new judges began to be informed that their applications to sit on the court have been successful. The Administrative Committee of the Unified Patent Court received over 1,000 applications from judges across Europe. Of [...]
Lawyers should stop telling clients to pay ransoms to hackers, UK watchdogs say July 12, 2022 Lawyers should not advise their clients to pay out ransoms to hackers, the UK’s data protection watchdog and cybersecurity agency have warned. In a joint letter to the Law Society, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) called on lawyers to discourage their clients from paying ransomware requests, as they argued [...]
Baker McKenzie ups pay for new lawyers to £110,000 a year July 12, 2022 Baker McKenzie has given newly qualified (NQ) lawyers in its London offices £5,000 pay rises after upping their salaries to £110,000 a year. The Chicago headquartered law firm said its freshly trained lawyers will see their base pay surge to heights of £110,000 plus bonuses. The pay hikes mean Baker McKenzie’s trainees will now see [...]
City watchdog tells banks to treat small businesses ‘fairly’ during cost-of-living crunch July 12, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has told Britain’s top banks to improve their treatment of struggling small business owners when collecting and recovering debts. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Britain’s banks should take action to ensure fair treatment of small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, after the watchdog uncovered repeated instances of failures during [...]