‘We’re not looking for fraud’: New Grant Thornton boss clashes with MPs over audit expectations January 30, 2019 Grant Thornton’s new chief executive clashed with MPs today over whether his firm should detect fraud at companies it audits, in a debate that touched on the industry’s much-analysed expectations gap. David Dunckley told members of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Select Committee: “We’re not looking for fraud, we’re not looking at the [...]
KPMG boss confident in Carillion audit despite partner suspension January 30, 2019 KPMG’s UK boss said the firm remains confident in the quality of its audit work for collapsed construction firm Carillion, despite suspending a partner over concerns related to falsified documents. Earlier this month, the Big Four audit confirmed it had suspended the top audit partner Carillion, Peter Menshan, along with three other non-partner members of [...]
EY and PwC ban consultancy for audit clients as MPs blast Big Four bosses January 30, 2019 EY and PwC said they will follow KPMG by phasing out selling non-essential extra services to their FTSE 350 audit clients. The chief executives of the two accountancy giants, half of the sector’s Big Four, informed MPs of their decision at a parliamentary hearing today, following months of intense criticism of Britain’s biggest bean counters. [...]
Staffline startles investors with results delay, shares plummet January 30, 2019 Recruitment support services company Staffline spooked investors into a mass sell-off today by delaying the publication of its full-year results without giving a reason. The AIM listed firm announced this morning it would provide a further update as soon as possible, sending shares into a nosedive. Staffline’s stock was 32 per cent down this afternoon. [...]
Deloitte fined in connection with 1MDB corruption scandal January 30, 2019 Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte has today been hit with a 2.2m Ringitt (£409,559) fine by Malaysian regulators for failures in its audit of a firm linked to the scandal-hit 1MDB fund. The Securities Commission Malaysia issued a reprimand and fine for four breaches connected to the 2.4bn Ringitt Sukuk Murabahah Programme, an Islamic bond issued [...]
Investors get green light to inspect SFO documents in legal action against Tesco January 29, 2019 A group of investors pursuing legal action against Tesco over its 2014 accounting scandal have been given the green light to inspect documents compiled by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Last Friday a High Court judge ruled that the documents, now in Tesco’s possession, would be of “considerable litigious advantage” to the claimants. Judge Hildyard [...]
MJ Hudson launches Milan office to strengthen EU business January 29, 2019 MJ Hudson has opened an office in Milan as the asset management consultancy strengthens its European presence and targets further expansion. The firm launched a fund management solutions team in Luxembourg in 2017 to act as a gateway to Europe after the UK leaves the EU in March this year. Read more: 60 per cent of asset [...]
Recruiter SThree’s profits up 20 per cent last year despite a troubled UK staffing market January 28, 2019 SThree’s share price was up four per cent in early trading as it posted better-than-expected profits. In its final year results, the specialist staffing company said pre-tax profits were up 20 per cent for the year despite “slower industry growth” in the UK market than elsewhere. The figures Profit before tax was £53.4m for the [...]
Tougher trading conditions around Brexit could lead to more partnership disputes, warns law firm January 28, 2019 Disruption around Brexit and legal changes could lead to an uptick in the number of partnership disputes reaching the High Court, a law firm has said. Partnership and employment law firm Fox & Partners said the process of the UK leaving the EU could end the downturn in the number of partnership disputes, which dropped 20 per [...]
Legal Q&A: I bought a leasehold house 10 years ago and I am worried I may have difficulties selling it. What should I do? January 24, 2019 Firstly, please do not assume that a leasehold house is bad news. There are many parts of the UK, especially in London, where there are a considerable number of leasehold houses that are perfectly saleable and mortgageable. You need to look through the documents you received from your solicitor to check if whether there are [...]