To qualify or not to qualify? Auditors move to ditch risky clients November 30, 2020 Qualifying an audit could lead to unhappy clients and litigation risks, so it is safer to ditch clients instead, an expert has told City A.M., after several auditors dropped clients in October. Last month three separate auditors terminated contracts with clients in compromising circumstances. At the time the reputational risk of being associated with the [...]
Capita confirms talks to sell ESS to private equity firm Montagu November 27, 2020 UK outsourcing group Capita today said it is in exclusive talks with private equity firm Montagu about the potential sale of its Education Software Solutions (ESS) business. Capita said it “confirms” the negotiations after media speculation. Yet it said there “can be no certainty” that a deal will be reached. Bloomberg last month reported that [...]
KPMG launches energy transition practice to help clients achieve ‘net-zero’ November 27, 2020 KPMG has launched a new specialist Energy Lead Advisory practice to help support clients through energy transition. The new practice will support clients who would like to de-carbonise and embrace the new ‘net-zero’ economy. The new team contains 30 energy specialists in the UK, including newly promoted partner Gavin Quantock to lead alongside KPMG’s new [...]
KPMG partner blasts “witch hunt” case at Silentnight tribunal November 25, 2020 A partner at KPMG who is wrapped up in a case involving KPMG, Silentnight and the FRC has described the case as a “witch hunt” during an outburst at the tribunal. David Costly-Wood, a restructuring partner at KPMG is, along with the big four firm, accused of helping private equity firm HIG Capital force the [...]
Labour’s bid to ban anti-vax content from the internet is well-meaning — but misguided November 24, 2020 How to combat anti-vaxxers spreading misinformation online and hampering the government’s efforts for UK-wide immunisation? The answer, according to the Labour party, is for an emergency law to be brought in introducing financial and criminal penalties for social media platforms who repeatedly fail to remove anti-vaccination content. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth suggested the law [...]
Petropavlovsk appoints KPMG as independent forensic investigator November 23, 2020 Russian gold mining company Petropavlovsk has appointed KPMG to undertake a forensic investigation into certain business deals made in the last three years. The investigation will examine deals between Petropavlovsk and its subsidiaries, and fellow mining company IRC and its subsidiaries in the three years to August 2020. The investigation was proposed at Petropavlovsk’s general [...]
‘We aren’t what people expect’ – Linklaters on the firm’s virtual internship and social mobility November 23, 2020 Last year Linklaters launched a virtual internship - the first of its kind among the legal profession. The magic circle firm believes launching such a programme has facilitated greater social mobility, by opening up the business to those who may not see themselves as a natural fit.
Slaughter and May partner helping government on Covid financing makes immediate exit November 19, 2020 Slaughter and May partner Oliver Storey has left the magic circle firm following an internal investigation by the firm. Storey has left the firm with immediate effect and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRC) has been notified. When a firm passes information to the SRC having completed an internal investigation, it is then the job of [...]
Deloitte handed PPE contract 4 months after it started work November 18, 2020 The Cabinet Office awarded a £3.2m contract to big four auditor Deloitte to help procure personal protective equipment (PPE), four months after it had started working with the government. According to a critical report from the National Audit Office (NAO), Deloitte was handed the multi-million pound contract on 21 July 2020, with the contract effective [...]
Brexit to bring blow to UK Covid-19 recovery – KPMG November 18, 2020 Brexit could hamper the UK’s economic recovery from the coronavirus, with the UK economy not expected to reach pre-Covid levels until late 2022, according to KPMG forecasts. The manufacturing sectors hardest hit by Brexit, including textiles, chemicals and electrical manufacturing, could see output at the end of 2021 between 6% and 12% lower than in [...]