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 [...]
Exclusive: BDO’s managing partner on audit reforms, staffing issues and the company Christmas party December 3, 2021 This week accounting giant BDO saw its profits jump to over three quarters of a million pounds per partner, putting them ahead of their peers at rival firms EY and KPMG. At £760,000 per BDO partner, the firm leads the payout battle as EY partners were paid an average of £749,000 this year and KPMG [...]
Partner pay of £760m puts BDO ahead of Big Four rivals EY and KPMG as challenger firm sees revenue surge December 2, 2021 Partners at BDO saw their profits increase to over three quarters of a million pounds, putting them ahead of their peers at rival firms EY and KPMG. Profit per equity partner before tax increased to £760,000 at BDO following a 14 per cent drop last year, while EY partners were paid an average of £749,000 [...]
On the job hunt: These are the hardest vacant roles to fill in the UK November 30, 2021 Veterinary surgeons, senior auditors and HGV technicians are among the hardest jobs to fill in the UK, according to new research. Only 16 per cent of all job postings on job site Indeed fall into the ‘hard to fill’ category, meaning they have stayed on the website for over two months but over half of [...]
HSBC’s $94m-a-year audits may not be enough to woo Big Four accountants November 22, 2021 Fears that the UK’s biggest lender will struggle to attract the Big Four accounting firms have been stoked as HSBC prepares to tender the audits of its accounts next year, according to reports. The heads of HSBC reached out to the Big Four auditors but found they were reluctant to bid for the bank’s audits [...]
Accounting watchdog: Third of all audits ‘unsatisfactory’ amid fears sector reforms will be watered down November 18, 2021 An “unacceptably high” number of audits still need improving, according to the UK accounting watchdog’s latest report, amid increasing concerns that the government may scale back long-awaited corporate governance and audit reforms. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today published its latest annual report on UK audits, finding that 33 per cent of all audits still [...]