Wirecard forged client list to secure £760m investment from SoftBank July 11, 2022 German payments processer Wirecard forged client data in its efforts to secure €900m (£760m) in investment from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, as it sought to reassure investors about the fundamentals of its business before it collapsed the following year. The Bavarian fintech firm showed SoftBank’s representatives a fabricated list of clients on a computer in Wirecard’s [...]
Professional services network Xeinadin buys up Doncaster accounting firm Smith Craven July 11, 2022 London headquartered professional services firm Xeinadin has acquired Doncaster based accountancy firm Smith Craven. Xeinadin, which was formed through coming together of more than 100 independent accountancy firms throughout the UK and Ireland in 2019, has absorbed Smith Craven into its network, after first investing in the firm earlier this year. First established in 1928, [...]
PwC partners set to receive record payouts of more than £1m this year July 7, 2022 Partners at PwC are set to earn more than £1m each for the first time ever this year, after an “exceptional” trading period boosted the accountancy firm’s profits. The accounting firm has told partners that their £920,000 profit-per-partner pay packages will be bolstered by £100,000 windfalls from the sale of PwC’s global mobility services business, [...]
UK’s cost of living crisis has created ‘perfect conditions for fraud to flourish,’ new report says July 6, 2022 The UK’s cost of living crisis is creating the “ideal environment for fraudulent activity,” a new report from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA) has warned. Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and the UK’s cost-of-living crunch are creating the “perfect conditions for fraud to flourish,” the report says, as it calls on businesses to [...]
Wirecard’s finance chief admits forging documents after facing pressure from KPMG July 4, 2022 Wirecard’s former head of accounting has admitted forging documents, after coming under pressure to provide evidence of transactions during a special audit by KPMG. Wirecard’s ex-chief financial officer, Stephan von Erffa, told prosecutors he falsified the documents, after coming under pressure from the auditor to provide evidence of a €50m payment, according to sources speaking [...]
EY agrees record $100m settlement with US regulator over ethics exam cheating scandal June 28, 2022 EY has reached $100m (£82m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over claims the Big Four firm’s auditors cheated on accounting exams and later misled the watchdog’s investigators. The US financial watchdog said in a statement that EY had agreed to pay the highest penalty ever imposed on an audit firm by [...]
Grant Thornton settles £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators June 27, 2022 Grant Thornton has settled a £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s bankruptcy administrators over its role in the café chain’s collapse. The London headquartered accountancy giant has reached agreement to settle its case with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators out of court, according to the Sunday Telegraph who broke the news. In a statement sent to City A.M., [...]
UK’s audit watchdog says it ‘strongly supports’ global ESG reporting standards June 27, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog has said it “strongly supports” the development of high-quality, global standards for reporting on climate and sustainability data. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it backs plans put forward by the International Sustainability Standard Board’s (ISSB’s) for new worldwide ESG reporting rules. The comments come after the International Financial Reporting [...]
PwC to give 11,000 workers their biggest pay rise in a decade June 26, 2022 PwC is set to give around half of its UK workforce their biggest pay rise in a decade, in hiking around 11,000 of its workers base salaries. The accountancy firm is set to give a nine per cent pay rise to around half of its more than 22,000 staff – at a cost to [...]
Tory MP warns of ‘conflicts of interest’ in UK’s accounting watchdog after FRC hired EY to advise on plans June 26, 2022 A Tory MP has warned of potential conflicts of interest inside the UK’s accounting watchdog, following reports that Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) brought in consultants from EY to advise on one of its plans. Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake hit out at the FRC for hiring advisors from the Big Four auditor, as the watchdog [...]