Regulator zeroes in on KPMG over M&C Saatchi audit April 12, 2021 KPMG faces scrutiny from the audit regulator after an accounting scandal at M&C Saatchi saw the business overstate its profits £14m in irregularities dating back to 2014. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made initial inquiries to determine whether KPMG’s auditing met the required standards, the Financial Times first reported. The inquiries are a formal [...]
Welcome to paradise: The most expensive island homes revealed April 8, 2021 A visit to a tropical island may seem like a far-fetched dream for many Londoners, especially after a year spent lockdown. While we may not be able to leave the UK for a jetsetting adventure any time soon, some people are lucky enough to call these exclusive island properties home. From a £109.6m Fijian private [...]
Nine in 10 Grant Thornton staff want to continue working from home April 7, 2021 Staff at Grant Thornton want to spend fewer days in the office than they did pre-pandemic, believing a more flexible approach to working would have a positive effect on them. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) employees at Grant Thornton want to work from home for at least half of the time after coronavirus restrictions ease, [...]
KPMG UK nominates audit head Jon Holt for chief executive role March 31, 2021 The board of KPMG UK has nominated Jon Holt for the role of chief executive, following the resignation of Bill Michael last month. Holt is currently KPMG UK’s head of audit, where he oversees 7,000 people, and chair of the firm’s executive committee for audit. Prior to that, he was KPMG UK’s head of financial [...]
PwC staff to head into the office two to three days a week post-Covid March 31, 2021 PwC will allow flexible working to continue when coronavirus restrictions ease, and has said staff can finish at lunchtime on Friday during July and August. The Big Four firm said it expects staff will spend an average of two to three days per week co-located with colleagues, either in the office or at client sites. [...]
Capgemini to make 1,500 UK hires in 2021 March 29, 2021 Capgemini plans to hire 1,500 new team members across the UK in the next year, adding to its existing 8,800-strong workforce. A third of the new recruits are expected to be sourced through the professional services firm’s long-running graduate and apprentice programmes, now in their 10th and 12th years respectively. The grad and apprentice programmes [...]
EY drops $11m case against whistleblower who alleged gold smuggling cover-up March 29, 2021 EY UK has dropped its appeal against a High Court case that saw a former partner awarded $10.8m in compensation. The Big Four firm was due to begin an appeal this year against a High Court ruling in favour of Amjad Rihan, who said he was forced to flee Dubai after alleging EY helped cover [...]
Grant Thornton defends audit of troubled Liverpool Council March 29, 2021 Grant Thornton has defended its audit work on Liverpool Council after a government report found the council was not providing best value for money to council taxpayers. A recent report into Liverpool Council found a litany of failures, including around a “rotten culture” of dubious contracts and backroom bullying. Official records of the council were [...]
Non-executive directors ‘can’t just turn up and take a fee’ says FRC March 26, 2021 Non-executive directors are responsible for running a business, and cannot simply turn up and cash in, the audit watchdog said yesterday. The comments made by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) followed the publication of a keenly-awaited report on audit reform by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). As part of the reforms, [...]
Deloitte paid to draft parliamentary answers and media lines on test and trace March 25, 2021 The government has been using Deloitte to help ministers draft parliamentary questions and media lines to defend the ‘test and trace’ system. Since the pandemic began, Deloitte has won public sector contracts worth £323m, according to figures from the Good Law Project. Buried in those contracts are details of help with PR and communications, with [...]