Third lockdown ‘far more challenging this time around’ for auditors January 21, 2021 The timing of England’s third national lockdown has posed new and more difficult challenges for audit firms to overcome, that could see annual results delayed or even qualified. With lockdown rules urging people to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus, auditors are struggling to physically carry out necessary tasks to perform an audit. [...]
Tax penalties double in six months following lockdown lull January 20, 2021 The value of penalties imposed by HMRC has doubled in the last six months, with November up nearly 100 per cent on May. Some £41m was collected from penalties in November 2020, up a whopping 97 per cent from the £21m that was collected in May, according to HMRC’s receipts and expenditure data. Penalties could [...]
Consultants expected to be Covid-19 winners after bagging lucrative contracts January 20, 2021 The UK consultancy sector is expected to grow nine per cent in 2021, after the sector won lucrative contracts during the pandemic.
‘We want to be the regional magic circle firm,’ says Knights CEO January 19, 2021 Regional law firm Knights saw revenues jumped by some £14m in the second half of 2020, up to £46.2m from £31.9m in H1, and the positive year has only fuelled the firm’s ambitions. The promising results were in part delivered in part by the successful remote acquisitions of Shulmans, ASB and Fraser Brown, and the [...]
EY staff told to work 16 hour days, weekends, and berated for getting food poisoning January 19, 2021 It’s all work and no play for EY staff in the Hong Kong office, as employees were pressured to work until 11:30pm each week night and at the weekend during the busiest period. An email from one manager at the Big Four firm in Hong Kong told staff they should be working 16-hour days during [...]
Begbies Traynor acquires CVR Global in biggest buy yet January 18, 2021 Insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor has acquired CVR Global in a deal worth £20.8m. The move represents the largest insolvency acquisition Begbies Traynor has made to date, and provides a significant expansion of its scale in London and the South of England. The share price of the corporate restructuring firm jumped 5.5 per cent today following [...]
Isabelle Jenkins named PWC’s new leader of financial services January 18, 2021 Isabelle Jenkins has been named the new leader of financial services for PwC UK after spending 17 years as a partner at the firm. Jenkins replaces Andrew Kail, who held the role over the last four and a half years. He will take up a new role as the CEO of Legal and General retail [...]
FCA insists it protects consumers from investment harm despite criticism January 18, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened 1,500 supervisory cases involving scams or high risk investments in the first 10 months of 2020, in an effort to clamp down on consumer investment harm. The city regulator also stopped applications for authorisation from 343 financial services firms and individuals where the potential for consumer harm was identified [...]
City salaries up this quarter as London weathers worst of 2020 January 18, 2021 Salaries in the City of London are up 14 per cent on the last quarter, as the city moves past the worst of the pandemic damages. The city jobs market has remained resilient despite the triple threat of the pandemic, Brexit trade deal and the US election. Brexit has also failed to deliver a big [...]
Norton Rose Fulbright cuts over 100 London jobs January 15, 2021 Norton Rose Fulbright has cut 132 roles in its Europe, Middle East and Asia division, with London the worst affected city. The international law firm has made 114 redundancies in London, largely of secretarial and business service functions, including some contractors and 19 individuals of counsel and associate level. Norton Rose Fulbright has contacted those [...]