Sage Group transformation leads to revenue boost May 5, 2016 Sage Group's endeavours to makeover its business model are paying off, after the company reported a boost to revenue in its half-year results today. However, investors were less thrilled by what the announcement had to offer, with shares in the company trading down 3.2 per cent at 585p shortly after 12pm London time. [stockChart code="SGE" date="2016-05-05 [...]
Libor latest: Tom Hayes appoints new lawyer, and he’s making good progress on crowdfunding the legal fees May 4, 2016 Tom Hayes has instructed solicitor Karen Todner to lead the next stage in his appeal, it was announced today, as he turns to crowdfunding to raise his legal fees. Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was convicted of offences related to manipulating the Yen-linked Libor last August. He was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison, [...]
EU votes through law designed to prevent Libor rigging April 28, 2016 The European parliament today voted to approve a new law designed to make the manipulation of benchmark rates, such as Libor and Euribor, much trickier to do. The legislation, which aims to make the rate setting process more transparent and less likely to be subject to conflict of interests, was voted through by 505 votes to 113. [...]
Watchdog issues new rules ahead of auditor merry-go-round April 27, 2016 The accountancy watchdog has today issued its final draft of guidance for auditors ahead of a significant piece of EU legislation coming into force this summer. The final drafts of updates to the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) UK Corporate Governance Code, Guidance on Audit Committees, and Auditing and Ethical Standards are designed to better secure the independence [...]
Emails between staff about fixing Libor were “improper”, says former Barclays senior executive April 26, 2016 A former senior executive at Barclays has today called emails between staff at the bank about setting Libor to better suit their trading position "improper". Eric Bommensath was formerly global head of fixed income at the bank and today gave evidence in a trial against five former Barclays employees accused of offences relating to manipulating US-dollar linked [...]
DLA Piper global co-chief executive Simon Levine explains why he doesn’t fear the EU referendum and why it won’t dull his firm’s international feel April 25, 2016 It's 31 December 1999 and several people are praying that the millennium bug won’t cause the world as we know it to grind to a halt. Simon Levine is one of them, because the intellectual property lawyer is on call in case clients suddenly find their systems rendered unusable and he’s already a couple of pints into [...]
Jury on Operation Tabernula case retires to consider verdict April 25, 2016 The jury on the Tabernula case, involving five former financial services professionals accused of insider trading, was retired to consider its verdict today. Accountant Andrew Hind, former Panmure Gordon stockbroker Andrew Grant Harrison, private day trader Benjamin Anderson, former managing director at Deutsche Bank Martyn Dodgson and former Aria Capital director Iraj Parvizi have been charged with conspiracy to insider [...]
World of trading revolves around rumours, says barrister representing Iraj Parvizi in insider trading case April 19, 2016 The barrister representing a businessman on trial for insider trading told a court today that the world of trading was dependent on the rumour mill. Former Aria Capital director Iraj Parvizi has been charged with conspiracy to insider deal on various occasions between 2006 and 2010, alongside accountant Andrew Hind, former Panmure Gordon stockbroker Andrew Grant Harrison, private day trader Benjamin [...]
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issues new guidance on company solvency and going concern basis April 18, 2016 The accountancy watchdog has today issued new guidance for companies on how to make it clear in their accounts whether their business can afford to keep running for the foreseeable future. The report published by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) aims to help directors to understand the going concern basis in accounting alongside the relevant disclosure requirements. The [...]
The EU Audit Directive – trying to make sense of it all and what it means for businesses and their accountants April 17, 2016 Time is running out before implementation of the EU Audit Directive on 17 June 2016. The Directive will have a significant impact on audit and advisory firms and the way they operate with Public Interest Entities (PIEs). Both companies and the audit and advisory firms need to plan for this change, and be ready for the final UK [...]