Give shareholders more say over audit, watchdog urged November 5, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has been encouraged to drive shareholder involvement in picking and overseeing company auditors, as it looks for ways to shake up the sector. In their responses to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review of the audit sector, two shareholder bodies – the UK Shareholders’ Association (UKSA) and UK Individual Shareholders’ [...]
King & Wood Mallesons’ City boss on rebuilding after the UK’s largest-ever law firm collapse November 4, 2018 When King & Wood Mallesons’ (KWM) European arm filed for administration on 17 January 2017 it was the culmination of a slow-motion car crash that had kept the UK legal market agog for months. Less than two years on the new London managing partner of what has been dubbed KWM 2.0 is not keen to [...]
Bosses should take blame for bad corporate reports, says Big Four’s EY November 4, 2018 One of the UK’s biggest audit firms has said top bosses and directors should take individual responsibility if their companies make errors in financial reports. EY, one of the Big Four audit firms, said regulators should adapt the US system of corporate responsibility, which stipulates C-level executives must personally confirm the integrity of their companies’ [...]
HMRC to sue General Electric for £770m over tax relief claims November 4, 2018 American industrials giant General Electric is being sued by HM Revenue & Customs over allegations it wrongly claimed tax relief amounting to $1bn (£770m). HMRC has accused GE of wrongly claiming tax deductions from 2004 to 2015. The tax man has informed GE that it intends to disallow interest deductions to its financial services arm, GE Capital. Interest deductions reduce the [...]
Mazars says joint audits and market caps are solution to audit sector woes November 4, 2018 Mazars, the professional services firm which is France’s fifth-largest auditor, has weighed in on the under-fire sector’s future, calling for market share caps and joint audits to disrupt the dominance of the Big Four firms. It is the first large audit firm to release its response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is [...]
End Big Four dominance using French-style joint audits, watchdog told November 1, 2018 Regulators should consider introducing a French-style joint audit system to break the Big Four’s stranglehold on the top end of the market, the industry body said yesterday. Responding to a fast-moving review of Britain’s audit sector, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) warned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the [...]
Asian legal giant King & Wood Mallesons positioning itself for post-Brexit trade with China as it rebuilds in London October 30, 2018 Asian legal giant King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is betting on post-Brexit trade with China and Australia as it rebuilds in London following the collapse of its European arm in January 2017. The firm’s London managing partner Darren Roiser said: “Given the nature of our client base and the fact we want to be building [...]
Listed challenger law firm Gordon Dadds swallows 150-year-old City firm Ince & Co October 29, 2018 Gordon Dadds is set to become the largest listed law firm in England after today agreeing a deal to buy venerable City shipping firm Ince & Co for £34m. City A.M. revealed the firms were in talks last month following which shares in Gordon Dadds were suspend. Gordon Dadds, which advised The Telegraph in the Philip Green [...]
Big Four accountant EY admits need for improved audit standards as UK revenues rise October 29, 2018 Accounting giant EY has said that standards must improve in the audit sector and welcomed an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into the scrutinised sector, as it reported increased UK revenue today. The figures EY’s fee income, equivalent to revenue, grew 2.7 per cent to £2.41bn for the financial year ending June. EY’s partners will [...]
BDO extends lead as top junior market auditor October 29, 2018 BDO, the UK’s sixth-largest audit firm, has hugely extended its lead as the UK’s top auditor of mid-size, Alternative Investment Market (Aim)-listed firms – more than quadrupling the gap between it and second-placed KPMG in the past half a year. New data from Adviser Rankings shows BDO now has 149 Aim-listed clients, 23 more than [...]