London firm lets lawyers work-from-home in return for 20 per cent pay cut April 30, 2022 London law firm Stephenson Harwood has given its staff the option to work from home as often as they like, in return for a 20 per cent pay cut. The law firm’s new remote working policy says employees must come in at least three days a week, unless they are willing to see their salaries [...]
Russia dodges default after paying debts in US dollars April 30, 2022 Russia has paid $649m worth of interest payments using its US currency reserves, in a bid to avoid a default. The payments come after Russia said it would only repay its debts in its own currency, as it claimed sanctions were blocking it from paying in dollars. The Russian Federation has now sent $649m in [...]
EY faces $2.5bn lawsuit over NMC Health audit April 30, 2022 Big Four accountancy firm EY faces a $2.5bn (£2bn) lawsuit over its audit of collapsed healthcare company NMC Health, after bankruptcy administrators yesterday said they had filed a claim against the auditor. The lawsuit comes after Abu Dhabi firm NMC Health went into administration in 2020, after the firm was accused of understating more than [...]
UK government drops audit reform from Queen’s Speech agenda April 30, 2022 The UK government is expected to announce further delays to its shakeup of the audit sector, after dropping a draft bill on audit reform from the Queen’s Speech. A draft bill to introduce a raft of measures aimed at reforming the UK’s audit industry, including by replacing the UK’s audit watchdog with a new more [...]
KPMG refuses to sign off Adler audit following allegations of wrongdoing April 30, 2022 Big Four accountancy firm KPMG has refused to sign off the 2021 financial results of German property group Adler, after an investigation by the auditor last week unveiled widespread issues with the property firm’s corporate governance. In a statement, the Berlin based real estate company, which owns 52,000 flats across Germany, said KPMG had “not [...]
Taxman waives fines for million Brits unwittingly caught in anti-money laundering crackdown April 29, 2022 The UK taxman has said it is waiving fines for those who unwittingly faced penalties for failing to list any trusts they own on anti-money laundering registers. Her Majesty’s Revenues & Customs’ (HMRC’s) decision to waive the penalties comes in the midst of a major anti-money laundering crackdown, which saw the introduction of new rules [...]
Allianz vows to stop insuring Arctic oil and gas projects April 29, 2022 Insurance giant Allianz has said it will stop insuring Arctic oil and gas fields by the middle of next year. The German multinational, which is one of the biggest oil and gas sector insurers in the world, vowed to stop insuring new oil and gas fields, oil powerplants, and oil pipelines in the Arctic by [...]
Amazon posts first quarterly loss since 2015 as higher costs and lower sales hit bottom line April 29, 2022 Shares in Amazon have plummeted after the e-commerce giant posted its first quarterly loss in seven years, as the firm faced a litany of challenges that led to higher costs and lower sales. The Seattle headquartered firm posted its first quarterly loss since 2015, as staff shortages and inflationary pressures increased its costs and the [...]
M&C Saatchi reinstates dividend after swinging back to profitability April 29, 2022 Advertising agency M&C Saatchi today said it had returned to profitability after pretax profits of £21.6m for 2021, compared to an £8.5m loss in 2020. The communications agency spun out of Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995 said it plans to reinstate its dividend 2022, after failing to pay it last year. The firm claimed its [...]
UK fraud office returns £1m to victims of ‘Wolf of Wimbledon’ scammer April 28, 2022 The UK’s serious fraud office (SFO) has returned £1m in stolen funds to more than 200 victims of Australian fraudster Jeffrey Revell-Reade. The SFO said it had handed over another £1m in stolen funds, on top of the £3m already returned, after the fraudster conned investors out of a total £70m. The return comes after [...]