Aston Martin begins search for new audit firm three months after IPO January 2, 2019 Aston Martin is on the hunt for a new audit firm just three months after it floated on the London Stock Exchange. The luxury car maker has begun to contact new accountancy firms after KPMG, which has carried out the work since 2007, declined the opportunity to re-pitch for the role, Sky News reported today. [...]
Shares in law firm Gordon Dadds resume trading following Ince & Co merger deal January 2, 2019 Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds resumed trading today after it sealed a merger with shipping firm Ince & Co. Shares in Gordon Dadds were suspended in September after City A.M. broke the news that the pair were in late-stage merger talks. Gordon Dadds has taken over the UK assets of Ince, having originally [...]
City watchdog plans to overhaul treatment of whistleblowers in 2019 December 31, 2018 The City watchdog is planning an overhaul of its approach to whistleblowers in the new year, in order to encourage more people to feel safe in coming forward. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it would announce details of the plan, first reported by the Financial Times, later in 2019. It will revisit how it maintains [...]
Chinese human rights lawyer trial ends with no verdict announced, sparking anger among activist groups December 26, 2018 The trial of a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer for subversion ended on Wednesday with no verdict announced, sparking outrage among human rights groups. Wang Quanzhang, who handled allegations of police torture and defended followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, went missing in mid 2015 amid a crackdown on human rights activists. Most [...]
Court orders ‘driving force’ behind RBS action group to hand over thousands of documents December 20, 2018 An action group company that was set up to sue the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over its 2008 rights issue has been ordered to hand over approximately 19,000 documents relating to the litigation, a London court ruled on Wednesday. The RBoS Shareholders Action Group company (AGC) brought together RBS shareholders who successfully sued the [...]
SFO tells former Barclays trader convicted of Euribor rigging to pay £77,000 confiscation order December 20, 2018 A former Barclays trader who was found guilty of manipulating the Euribor interest rate benchmark has been ordered to pay more than £77,000 or have an extra three years added to his sentence. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought its case against Philippe Moryoussef in 2015, has ordered the former trader to pay a confiscation order [...]
Kier leads the FTSE’s morning fallers after investors shun call for cash December 20, 2018 Shares in outsourcing group Kier fell by almost 15 per cent as markets opened this morning, after the firm revealed that investors only bought 38 per cent of the new shares it had issued as part of a fundraising effort. Kier announced last month that it would turn to the market in a heavily-discounted share [...]
Dealing with the auto-enrolment challenge December 19, 2018 This year saw automatic pension contributions rise to five per cent, and an increase to eight per cent is scheduled for April 2019. While auto-enrolment has certainly been a positive step in encouraging people to save some money towards their pension, there are notable challenges that the initiative poses. The main concern is that there [...]
DEBATE: Will the new recommendations from the CMA help rebuild trust in the audit sector? December 19, 2018 Will the new recommendations from the CMA help rebuild trust in the audit sector? Michael Izza, chief executive of ICAEW, says YES. The proposals from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), alongside the Kingman Review, are the kind of bold intervention in audit that we have been calling for. Breaking up the larger firms was unlikely [...]
SFO director Lisa Osofsky wants agency to crack down on ‘corporate big boys’ December 18, 2018 The director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said she wants the agency to be able to go after the "corporate big boys" who typically evade prosecution for economic crime and fraud. Ex-FBI lawyer turned SFO director Lisa Osofsky told the Justice Select Committee that senior individuals within large corporate organisations were not being [...]