UK government drops audit reform from Queen’s Speech agenda April 30, 2022 The UK government is expected to announce further delays to its shakeup of the audit sector, after dropping a draft bill on audit reform from the Queen’s Speech. A draft bill to introduce a raft of measures aimed at reforming the UK’s audit industry, including by replacing the UK’s audit watchdog with a new more [...]
Accountancy firm RSM consolidates power after buying out former partners April 28, 2022 The board of accountancy firm RSM has made a push to consolidate its power, by taking control of almost all shares in the firm through a buyout of its former partners. The shareholder buyout comes after RSM shareholders launched a coup against the accountancy firm’s ex-board in 2020, following the discovery an almost £10m hole [...]
UK’s audit watchdog set to reclaim control over licensing of major accountancy firms April 12, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog is preparing to strengthen its powers to sanction Britain’s major accountancy firms. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is readying itself to take back control over the registration of the UK’s auditing firms, sources told the Financial Times. In doing so, the FRC would be given new powers to strip licenses from [...]
Randox delays release of audited results amid concerns over Covid procurement process March 30, 2022 Covid test maker Randox has delayed release of its audited results amid mounting scrutiny over the government’s decision to award it contracts worth almost £777m. The delay to publication comes after the UK’s public spending watchdog said the government failed to document the procurement process that led to Randox being awarded 22 government contracts for [...]
UK government appoints four new directors to FRC in shakeup of audit regulator February 8, 2022 The UK government has put four new directors on the board of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), amid a shakeup of the UK’s audit regulator. The appointments come after former Rio Tinto chairman Sir Jan du Plessis – the government’s pick to head the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) – said the watchdog is in a [...]
Audit watchdog is ‘in poor state’, says FRC candidate for chair: ‘This is really not the way to run a regulator’ January 25, 2022 Sir Jan du Plessis, the government’s preferred candidate to head the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), has said the independent regulator is now in a “pretty poor state” due to the failures of its top level managers. Du Plessis, who has previously chaired some of Britain’s major companies including BT and Lloyds TSB, vowed to “address [...]
Out-of-court settlement in Malaysia: KPMG coughs up $80m to end global 1MDB scandal January 13, 2022 KPMG has paid $80m to the Malaysian government, in the form of an out-of-court settlement, after Malaysia sued the Big Four firm over the 1MDB scandal, which saw billions stolen from Malaysia’s state-backed 1MDB investment fund. The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal saw at least $4.5 bn channelled out of Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund, by [...]
Mazars hit with £250,000 fine over audit failure January 6, 2022 One of Britain’s largest accountancy firms has been slapped with a £250,000 fine over auditing failures of a local authority’s 2019 financial statements. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the accounting regulator, said that Mazars’ audit of an unnamed local authority “fell far short of the applicable standards and regulations” and had the “potential to undermine [...]
Boardroom bloody noses: Activist activity surges as FTSE firms feel the heat over pay and director votes December 13, 2021 There were plenty of bloody noses around FTSE boardrooms this year, with new data out today showing a surge in investor activism rattling remuneration committees over pay awards and spooking directors trying to get re-elected to their posts. Investors in FTSE 350 companies are increasingly more activist, with a 29 per cent surge in shareholder [...]
Big Four auditors will be forced to share FTSE business December 10, 2021 Plans to force FTSE 350 companies to use challenger audit firms have been signed off by the business secretary as pressure for reform mounts, according to reports. Kwasi Kwarteng wants to push ahead with a proposal to break up the dominance of the Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – and is [...]