Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to intervene in case over £1.4bn of gold deposited in the Bank of England June 1, 2021 In a case that is set to determine the fate of almost £1.4bn of Venezuelan gold deposited in the Bank of England, UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been granted permission to intervene at the Supreme Court during a hearing scheduled for next month. The case at the highest court in the land is between the [...]
EY to centralise power in Europe in break from typical Big Four model June 1, 2021 EY will centralise power in a new European executive team, in a move that breaks away from the typical model employed by Big Four firms. The European executive team will pool resources from across the region, the Financial Times first reported. Big Four firms typically operate a federal model, with profits and resources largely kept [...]
Slaughter & May adopts different working rules for junior and senior staff May 30, 2021 Law firm Slaughter & May is planning separate rules for its junior and senior lawyers that will see those in higher positions able to work from home more often. Trainee lawyers, newly qualified associates and new recruits will be required to work from the office four days a week on average from September, the Telegraph [...]
Business and professional services boosts UK economic output in May May 30, 2021 The City of London’s dominant business and professional services industry put rockets under the UK’s private sector business activity in the three months to May, according to the latest CBI monthly gorwth survey. Business and professional services activity grew at a survey record pace, gorwing at a rate of 50 per cent, up from a [...]
‘Risky’ FTSE firms could be shunned by worried auditors fearing backlash May 29, 2021 There are worries that the crushing weight of public criticism combined with record-breaking fines could see perceived ‘risky’ FTSE companies shunned by auditors. Following large-scale collapses like Carillion and Patisserie Valerie, the audit sector has faced harsh criticism, having come under both the media and government’s spotlight for failing to do their jobs properly. According [...]
Deutshe Bank mulls ditching EY as auditor following Wirecard scandal May 28, 2021 Deutshe Bank is inviting firms to compete for its 2020 audit just two years after hiring EY to replace KPMG, in a move that could see EY ditched in favour of another company. The chair of Germany’s biggest lender Paul Achleitner told shareholders that the company wants “to keep all its options open” when it [...]
Promote auditors who challenge clients says think tank May 28, 2021 Auditors who challenge clients should be celebrated and promoted, according to a new report from think tank IPPR, in order to better serve society as a whole. A complete culture change is needed within the UK’s audit industry to ensure that public trust is fully restored, the think tank said in its latest report. Without [...]
Challengers turn their backs on ‘shared audits’ of the largest companies May 27, 2021 So-called ‘challenger’ audit firms BDO and Grant Thornton are reportedly considering not pitching for shared audits of FTSE 100 companies, in a move that could jeopardise the government’s plans to water down Big Four dominance. The two challengers are instead considering focusing on increasing the number of FTSE 250 companies they audit on a solo [...]
Audit watchdog admits it was not up to the job amid major company collapse May 27, 2021 The boss of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has admitted the audit regulator was asleep at the wheel following large scale business collapses that shook confidence in the sector. Sir Jon Thompson, chief executive of the FRC, said he agreed with criticism of the regulator following the collapse of Carillion and Patisserie Valerie. Speaking to [...]
As accounting firms prep for busy period, non-Big Four players spot new opportunities May 26, 2021 The majority of 2020 was a slow year for the UK’s deals market, with mergers and acquisitions depressed by the Coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdown restrictions. This trend, however, now seems to be in reverse with a number a big deal in the private sector, including Virgin Media and O2’s £31bn mega merger, and [...]