Tesco fraud fiasco leaves new SFO boss with serious questions to answer December 6, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has had more ups and downs than Thomas Cook’s share price. When it scores a big success, like the near £500m deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Rolls-Royce, it gets cheered to the rafters, while failures such as the Tchenguiz brothers debacle sees it dubbed the Serious Farce Office by critics. [...]
Serious Fraud Office trial against Tesco executives collapses December 6, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office’s case against two senior former Tesco’s executive has collapsed because of insufficient evidence. At Southwark Crown Court this morning Judge Sir John Royce instructed the jury to acquit both defendants, former UK managing director Chris Bush and ex-UK food commercial director John Scouler. The pair had both been charged with one [...]
Ted Baker appoints law firm Herbert Smith Freehills to probe hugging claims December 6, 2018 Fashion chain Ted Baker said this morning it has appointed law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to investigate claims of forced hugging by its boss Ray Kelvin. The Ftse 250 chain’s shares have been battered since the news emerged that the fashion retailer has launched an internal investigation into harassment claims. In a trading update [...]
‘Front end’ of company reports do not meet auditing standards, says regulator December 6, 2018 Auditors’ work on non-financial information in company reports does not meet auditing standards, a new report has found. A report published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said auditors are often not doing enough to support statements made in the ‘other information’ section of company reports. The ‘other information’ section, also known as the [...]
The colour purple: Cadbury loses latest court battle over trademark December 5, 2018 The Court of Appeal has ruled against chocolate-make Cadbury in a battle over its ability to trademark a shade of purple. Cadbury was attempting to modify a trademark it already holds in relation to the use of a distinctive shade of purple with its chocolate bars. Cadbury’s trade mark for the shade of purple “applied [...]
City watchdog taken to court over failure to act in Royal Bank of Scotland GRG scandal December 5, 2018 A Scottish businessman is taking City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to court over its role in the investigation into the Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring unit. According to court documents, frequent RBS critic Neil Mitchell has filed an application for a judicial review of the FCA’s decision not to sanction anyone from RBS’s [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
DEBATE: In light of the ongoing court case, should ‘ethical veganism’ count as a protected belief? December 5, 2018 In light of the ongoing court case, should “ethical veganism” count as a protected belief? Beth Hale, technical director at CM Murray, says YES. It is likely that Jordi Casamitjana, the claimant in this case, will be successful in persuading the tribunal that “ethical veganism” is a protectable belief under the Equality Act 2010. Provided he can show [...]
KPMG’s South African wing will donate fees from scandal-tied Gupta family December 3, 2018 The South African branch of accountancy firm KPMG said it will redistribute the fees it earned for the country’s scandal-hit Gupta family. KPMG will repay 47 million rand (£2.7m) to several civil society organisations aimed at promoting ethical leadership and accountable governance, and some education non-profits, it announced today. The firm has suffered a series [...]
Has masculine culture changed? The answer lies in our height December 3, 2018 Have you been watching Dynasties on BBC? The first episode followed the plight of David, an alpha male chimpanzee, as he tried to maintain power within his tribe. After one attempted coup, David sustained severe injuries, the likes of which might have killed a human. However, through extreme posturing and canvassing of support from other [...]