New Deloitte legal boss says the Big Four firm can become a ‘significant player’ in the £26bn UK market March 10, 2019 The new head of Deloitte’s legal arm says he wants the Big Four firm to become a “significant player” in the UK’s £26bn legal market. Michael Castle, who joined Deloitte last month from Allen & Overy to lead its new UK legal venture, told City A.M. that the firm is poised to “transform the legal landscape”. [...]
Diversity inside law firms is shifting from exceptional to expected March 8, 2019 Large corporate law firms are commonly perceived as conservative, exclusive clubs which only hire more of the same to maintain the monoculture. However, thankfully times change, and over the course of a generation the clubby institution of the large law firm is transforming to an extent which would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. [...]
A market cap is the quickest way to inject some competition into audit March 7, 2019 As you read this, the Kingman review, the Competition and Markets Authority review, the Brydon review, and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee are all scrutinising the audit profession following a series of high-profile scandals. Failures such as Carillion, BHS, and Patisserie Valerie present very different problems, but each case rightly led to [...]
DEBATE: Are cuts to police numbers the main factor behind the rise in London knife crime? March 6, 2019 Are cuts to police numbers the main factor behind the rise in London knife crime? Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, says YES. There is most definitely a correlation between rising crime and falling police numbers – to say otherwise is absurd. In 2010, there were 143,734 police officers in England and Wales. There [...]
Corporate insolvencies boost puts Begbies Traynor on track to meet expectations March 5, 2019 Corporate insolvencies rose by ten per cent in 2018, consultancy firm Begbies Traynor said in a trading update this morning, as it reported it was on track to meet full-year expectations. The restructuring firm announced it had seen a “good flow” of insolvency appointments in the three months to the end of January this year, [...]
PwC back with a vengeance at top of audit client rankings March 3, 2019 Accountancy giant PwC has become the leading auditor of listed UK clients for the first time since 2013, retaking its FTSE 100 client crown in the process. PwC, Britain’s biggest professional services firm by revenues, leapfrogged fourth-placed KPMG to take pole position. The smaller firm lost 12 clients between November last year and February, while [...]
Accountant pleads guilty to stealing £280,000 from pension scheme he administered February 27, 2019 An accountant who acted as an administrator and a trustee to pension schemes has admitted to embezzling £280,000 from a pension fund he oversaw. Roger William Bessent, 66, took the money from Focusplay Retirement Benefit Scheme by converting the transfers into loans and making official minutes listing other trustees as present at meetings they did not attend. He [...]
Barclays and Bank of Ireland sued over film finance tax evasion scheme February 26, 2019 Barclays and Bank of Ireland are being sued as part of a £180m lawsuit brought by investors in a film finance scheme the pair were involved in. Investors in the Eclipse film financing scheme lost out after tax authorities ruled the vehicle, which purported to invest in Disney films, was actually a tax avoidance scheme. [...]
Financial Reporting Council extends probe into Carillion’s accounts February 26, 2019 Britain’s accounting watchdog will look even further into the past in its investigation of the audit of failed outsourcing giant Carillion. For the first time the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) probe will stretch to work done in 2013 – but a spokesperson declined to say why this was. Read more: KPMG boss confident in Carillion [...]
Diabetic barrister barred from court because of can of drink February 25, 2019 A diabetic barrister said today he was refused entry to court because of a can of drink. Max Schofield, a tax barrister at 3PB chambers, tweeted: “I am currently being refused entry to Milton Keynes County Court because I have a 150ml can of drink which I keep in my bag as a diabetic just [...]