Court rules in favour of Asda workers in equal pay claim against supermarket giant January 31, 2019 Asda workers have been handed a victory in their equal pay claim against the supermarket giant after the Court of Appeal ruled that store workers' roles are comparable to jobs in its warehouses. Tens of thousands of store workers claimed they had been discriminated against in being paid less than their male counterparts who predominantly [...]
Sweating under today’s tax return deadline? It might be time to let your accountant go… January 31, 2019 Left your tax return until the last minute? Desperate to avoid a fine? Take a few tips from me, an award-winning financial technology journalist. Well, okay, the “award” came from Guildford Magistrates Court – in the form of compensation against my useless accountant at the end of a small claims hearing. That verdict was an [...]
Law firm DWF announces intention to float in UK’s largest legal listing January 31, 2019 Law firm DWF yesterday announced its intention to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in what would make it by far the largest law firm to go public worldwide. The firm would become just the sixth publicly traded UK law firm, the first to list on the main market and the [...]
Treasury under fire following allegations it had ‘influence’ over RBS GRG unit January 30, 2019 The Treasury has been accused of a “flagrant breach” of the arms-length relationship it had with RBS during the financial crisis following allegations that a Whitehall agency exerted influence over the bank’s controversial restructuring unit. On Tuesday allegations came to light via a legal claim by one of RBS’s former customers, Oliver Morley, that the [...]
‘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 [...]