KPMG stands behind audit of Silicon Valley Bank, accounting firm’s US chief says March 15, 2023 The chief executive of KPMG’s US business has said the Big Four accounting firm stands behind its audit of Silicon Valley Bank, after it gave the California financier a clean bill of health just two weeks before its collapse. KPMG chief Paul Knopp told an event at New York University that “we stand behind the [...]
EY puts global split on hold following fight over tax business March 9, 2023 EY’s plans to split its audit division from its consulting arm are on the brink of collapse amid a fight over the future of its tax business. The Big Four accounting firm has “paused” its plans for a global split, in the face of fierce disagreements over the extent to which its tax division should [...]
PwC fined £7.5m over repeated failures in audit of Babcock International’s accounts March 8, 2023 Britain’s accounting watchdog has fined PwC and two of its former partners a combined sum of almost £8m over repeated failures in the firm’s audits of UK defence company Babcock International and its Plymouth dockyard subsidiary. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) hit PwC with a £7.5m fine – discounted to £5.625m for the firm’s [...]
EY to push ahead with mid-year promotions after KPMG calls off April round March 5, 2023 EY has said it is pushing ahead with this year’s round of mid-year promotions “as normal,” following reports that Big Four rival KPMG has called off its own round of April promotions. An EY spokesperson told City A.M. the “small number of mid-year promotions” it makes “every year” are “continuing as normal.” KPMG, by contrast, [...]
Audit reform plans ‘ready to go’ but government delays now holding UK back, accountancy chief warns February 20, 2023 The UK government’s failure to overhaul the country’s audit sector risks seeing Britain lose its position as a world-leading investment hub, the head of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales has warned. ICAEW chief Michael Izza told City A.M. continued delays to the UK’s planned reshaping of the country’s audit sector could see foreign investors [...]
Mazars UK business posts ‘record’ growth as firm pushes to tackle Big Four’s dominance February 16, 2023 Mazars today said its UK audit business grew 37 per cent over the previous year, as the accounting firm seeks to take on the Big Four and capture a larger share of the market. Mazars’ UK business posted “record” growth, despite rising costs, after its revenues increased by more than a fifth (23 per [...]
FRC chief Jon Thompson to leave audit watchdog to lead HS2 project February 9, 2023 The head of the UK’s audit watchdog, Jon Thompson, is set to step down to take up a new position as the chair of HS2. Thompson has handed in his notice to leave his job as head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and will now serve out his six-month notice period, Sky News first [...]
London firm Shipleys investigated over audit of Russian fintech Zaim Credit Systems January 18, 2023 The UK’s accounting regulator has launched an investigation into London accounting firm Shipleys over its audit work for the UK-listed holding company of Russian fintech firm Zaim Express. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said today that it has decided to open an investigation into the firm’s audit of Zaim Credit Systems’ 2021 accounts. The FRC’s [...]
Carillion: Five years on, MPs and industry leaders demand audit reform to ensure scandal is not repeated January 18, 2023 On the fifth anniversary of the collapse of outsourcer Carillion, MPs and audit sector leaders have united in calling on the UK government to push forwards with plans to overhaul the country’s audit sector. MPs said a shake-up of the country’s accounting industry is needed imminently to ensure that audit failures, such as the one [...]
PwC steps down from auditing heavily-indebted property developer Evergrande January 17, 2023 PwC has resigned as Evergrande’s auditor following a series of disagreements with the heavily-indebted property developer over its audit of the firm’s 2021 accounts. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Evergrande said its board had decided to replace PwC as the company’s auditor after the two parties failed to reach an agreement [...]