How PwC is welcoming staff back into the office safely August 18, 2020 The office still has an important role to play in society, the chairman of Big Four auditor PwC believes, as his staff seek to return to their desks after months spent at their kitchen tables. Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC tells City A.M. that while the firm has adjusted to remote working the office still [...]
PwC boss Kevin Ellis: returning to work like ‘crossing the Rubicon for some people…you have got to make them feel safe’ August 12, 2020 The chair and senior partner of PwC UK Kevin Ellis said the Big Four firm had found it needed to overcome fear among some of its workers to help them return to the office. Speaking on City A.M.’s The City View podcast, Ellis said: “It is about crossing the Rubicon for some people…you have got [...]
German regulator examines EY over Wirecard audits August 3, 2020 The German auditing regulator is reportedly examining EY in connection with its involvement with the disgraced payment services firm Wirecard. A document from the Economic Ministry, seen by German newspaper Handelsblatt, states that regulator Apas is examining all of EY’s audits of Wirecard from 2015. The Big Four firm has been Wirecard’s auditor for over [...]
Ince Group sees revenue jump 87 per cent but just misses £100m target August 3, 2020 Legal and financial services firm Ince Group continued its rapid growth this year, with revenue increasing 87 per cent despite disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. Although the firm narrowly missed its target of £100m in revenue, the firm said its underlying business had proved “resilient” in the face of the pandemic. Shares in the firm [...]
London’s legal sector continues to lead the world August 3, 2020 Socially-distanced juries, virtual trials, and a mass shift to remote working — these are just some of the radical steps that have been taken to allow justice to be served during lockdown. Almost every part of our economy has had to adapt to Covid-19 and the legal system is no different. One constant throughout these [...]
Robert Walters sees profit slump 80 per cent amid coronavirus July 30, 2020 Recruitment group Robert Walters suffered an 80 per cent drop in pre-tax profit in the first half of the year after all of its operations regions were “significantly impacted” by the coronavirus pandemic. The figures Robert Walters’s profit before tax slumped 79 per cent to £4.3m in the six months ended 30 June, from £20.9m [...]
Counting the human cost of Covid — and of leaving small business owners behind July 23, 2020 The daily lists of cases, tests and R numbers tell a tale of the scale of the Covid-19 crisis, but they don’t always explain the full story of the cost on people’s lives. ACCA and the Corporate Finance Network (CFN) are running a tracker poll among accountancy firms representing more than 22,000 small businesses to [...]
KPMG set to slash jobs and pension contributions in cost-cutting drive July 22, 2020 KPMG is set to cut more than 100 jobs and slash contributions to employees’ pensions in a bid to slash costs during the pandemic. The Big Four firm is expected to cut just under 200 jobs across the UK ahead of the long-awaited reform of the audit reform. Sky News first reported that partners and [...]
Grant Thornton faces legal action over Patisserie Valerie audit July 19, 2020 Grant Thornton is reportedly facing legal action over its auditing of cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, which collapsed last year following allegations of suspected fraud. Liquidator FRP Advisory has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya to explore a claim, potentially worth tens of millions of pounds, against Grant Thornton, which audited the cake shop’s accounts for [...]
Government dragging its feet on audit reform, says business committee July 14, 2020 The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has accused the government of dragging its feet on proposed audit reforms. The government has today published its response to the committee’s inquiry into the collapse of Thomas Cook last year. In the original findings from the inquiry last October, the committee expressed disappointment that the government [...]