Ex-Baker McKenzie boss admits sexually harassing lawyer ‘half his age’ December 4, 2019 The former London managing partner of Baker McKenzie Gary Senior today admitted sexually harassing a lawyer “half his age” in 2012. Senior has been accused of breaching professional standards after sexually harassing a junior lawyer (Person A) after a night of drinking and then allegedly interfering in the internal investigation into the incident. Senior was [...]
Junior lawyer felt ‘cast aside’ by Baker McKenzie after alleged sexual harassment December 3, 2019 A junior lawyer who was allegedly sexually harassed by Baker Mckenzie’s former London managing partner Gary Senior said she felt like she was “cast aside” by the firm following the incident in 2012. Giving evidence to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal today, the lawyer (known as Person A), said: “My feeling at the time was I [...]
Baker Mckenzie boss ‘propositioned’ junior lawyer at 3am after night of drinking December 2, 2019 Former Baker Mckenzie London managing partner Gary Senior propositioned a junior lawyer at 3am after asking her to stay behind in his hotel room, a tribunal heard today. The incident took place in 2012 but was hushed up by the firm, with Senior keeping his job and the junior lawyer (Person A) leaving with a [...]
Big Four client numbers fall but FTSE 100 stranglehold remains December 2, 2019 The number of clients audited by the Big Four accountancy firms has fallen but they retain an iron grip on the FTSE 100, figures published today show. Figures from Adviser Rankings for the quarter to 6 November showed the number of stock market clients audited by PwC (353), KPMG (312) and Deloitte (225) all fell [...]
Big Four firm PwC cracks down on drinking alcohol in the office December 1, 2019 Big Four accountancy firm PwC has cracked down on drinking alcohol in the office. Under new rules introduced this year, alcohol can only be drunk on PwC premises when it has been supplied by the firm’s in-house catering team at specially designated events. A spokesperson for the firm said: “As part of the regular review [...]
General Election 2019: Conservative Party to ditch central tenet of Big Four audit reform plans November 25, 2019 The Conservatives will throw out a proposal to impose mandatory joint auditors on large companies if they win the General Election. Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) have in recent weeks indicated that the system is unlikely to be introduced as part of wider reform of the auditing sector, Sky [...]
KPMG slashes headcount in transformation unit amid cost cutting drive November 20, 2019 KPMG is making redundancies in its in-house project management team as part of a campaign to slash millions of pounds in costs. KPMG told more than half of the staff in its transformation centre of expertise (TCE) this week that their jobs were at risk of redundancy, Sky News reported. The unit works across KPMG [...]
John McDonnell says Labour will break up Big Four ‘cartel’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell today promised to break up the “cartel” of the Big Four accounting firms if Labour wins the upcoming election. “Under Labour the Big Four companies will not be allowed to continue to act like a cartel,” McDonnell told a Westminster audience during a speech on Labour’s plans for the economy. The [...]
Can you trust custom-made funds? November 19, 2019 Segregated mandates — possibly the most unsexy phrase you will come across all year. And yet, these boringly named contracts are becoming increasingly popular. When wealth management firms hire a fund manager to run a bespoke investment portfolio for their clients, this is known as a segregated mandate. Take, for example, St James’s Place (SJP), [...]
EY partners set to take pay cut after growth slows November 19, 2019 EY UK partners are set to take a pay cut this year after the audit firm today announced anaemic revenue growth of 1.5 per cent. Average partner pay for the year ended 30 June slipped to £679,000 from £693,000 the previous year. The firm said investments in tech and audit quality and an increase in [...]