Challenger audit firms prep for forced audit separation January 29, 2021 Challenger audit firms are readying themselves for audit separation, a requirement not yet expected of them, but one they see as inevitable in the future. Last summer audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ordered the Big Four firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY – to separate their audit units from the rest of their [...]
BEIS audit reform proposals coming ‘in next couple of weeks’ January 28, 2021 The BEIS consultation on reforms to the audit sector is understood to be coming out “in the next couple of weeks”, and is expected to be extensive. The consultation will contain detail on the minimum standards for audit committees, among other things that “UK PLC will gasp at”, Scott Knight, head of audit and assurance [...]
Regulators remind auditors to pay attention to Covid measures on corporate reporting January 27, 2021 The FCA and the FRC have issued a joint statement to remind auditors of the coronavirus-led rule changes around corporate reporting for listed companies. Now is the busiest time for auditors, when, under normal circumstances, many listed companies would publish their end of year results. But 2021 is proving especially challenging for auditors, with England’s [...]
White prevalence in senior roles drives ethnicity and gender gap at PwC January 27, 2021 PwC has for the first time published its Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnic background pay gaps, with the gap being driven by under representation of ethnic minorities in senior roles. PwC’s overall median ethnicity pay gap, including partners, decreased from 6.3 per cent in 2019 to 3.5 per cent in 2020. The firm’s median gender [...]
Major London law firms still making use of government’s furlough scheme January 27, 2021 Major law firms, some of which are based in the City of London, are still making use of the government’s furlough scheme. City firms Trowers & Hamlins, BLM and and TLT were among those still making use of the coronavirus jobs retention scheme last month, according to HMRC data published by The Lawyer. A spokesperson [...]
Difficult headlines shouldn’t scare firms off admitting they’ve got work to do on equality January 27, 2021 When it comes to equality in business, it’s fair to say that very few companies are truly where they want to be yet – being honest about this is uncomfortable but important. In November 2014 we first published our gender pay gap, and four years ago we published our ethnicity pay gap. While I was [...]
Revealed: How have audit industry rankings changed in 15 years? January 27, 2021 From success stories to hours of struggle, the audit market and its key players have changed considerably in the last decade and half. Challenger firm BDO has been the standout success story of the past 15 years, doubling its client count to 314 and snatching first place for number of clients away from Big Four [...]
Bumper year for private equity as deals soar 257 per cent January 26, 2021 The number of UK listed companies taken private by private equity firms jumped from seven to 25 in private equity boom year. The total value of UK listed companies taken private by private equity firms increased from £2.3bn to £21.1bn in 12 months to 30 September 2020, research compiled by BDO has found. The audit [...]
PwC employee killed in car accident while out jogging January 25, 2021 Jack Ryan, who was a senior digital marketing manager at PwC, was struck by a car and killed while out jogging earlier this month. Ryan was hit at Battersea Bridge by an individual driving a Range Rover on 13 January, the Birmingham Mail first reported. Medics tried to save Ryan, but the 29-year-old was pronounced [...]
EY to slash business travel to hit net zero target by 2025 January 25, 2021 EY would like to be “carbon negative” in 2021, and hopes to achieve net zero at the firm by 2025, in a push to play a role in tackling climate change. The Big Four firm said its ambition to become carbon neutral underscored its commitment to the environment and to tackling “one of the most [...]