Pandemic pushes corporates’ legal spend higher April 15, 2021 Law firms are one of the few winners in the pandemic with corporates planning to increase legal spend this year, new research shows. Some 38 per cent of UK companies polled by Thomson Reuters are planning to increase their legal spend, almost twice as many planning to make cuts. It is partly driven by demand [...]
Judge to decide if PwC US lawfully sacked whistleblower April 14, 2021 Following a nine-day trial, a judge will decide if PwC US broke the law by firing a senior manager for blowing the whistle on the Big Four firm’s allegedly cosy relationship with two tech companies it audited. Former PwC senior manager Mauro Botta accused audit giant of firing him because he submitted complaints to the [...]
Enforcement of judgments: Brussels opposes UK entry to the Lugano Convention legal pact April 13, 2021 Brussels is pushing for the UK to not be able to join the Lugano Convention, an international legal pact, after officials held a crunch meeting yesterday. The EU is reportedly against allowing the UK to join the convention on the grounds that it is not a member of the European Economic Area or the European [...]
Jon Holt elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive April 12, 2021 Following a partnership vote Jon Holt has been elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive, marking a transitionary moment for the Big Four firm after a bumpy start to the new year. Holt, formerly head of audit at the firm, will begin his new role immediately and serve as chief executive until the end of September [...]
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 [...]