Luxury resort developer jailed for 12 years over £226m fraud September 30, 2022 A “thrice bankrupt fraudster”, who lost investors almost £400m through a “fatally flawed” Caribbean property scheme, was jailed at Southwark Crown Court today. David Ames, 70, a former double-glazing seller from Essex, was sentenced to 12 years in prison today, after being convicted of defrauding investors of £226m. Ames’ Harlequin property development company collapsed in [...]
Deloitte pays partners more than £1m each as consulting revenues surge September 30, 2022 Deloitte today said its 672 equity partners will take away average payouts of £1.06m each after a bumper year for its advisory business saw the Big Four accounting firm’s revenues surge 10 per cent to £4.9bn. The uptick in Deloitte’s UK revenues for the year running up to 31 May 2022 came as sales [...]
Junior KPMG auditor ‘should have questioned’ manager’s instructions, tribunal says September 27, 2022 A 25-year-old junior KPMG auditor, who copied meeting minutes into a document as part of a scheme to deceive the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC), “should have questioned” his manager’s instructions, a disciplinary tribunal has said. Junior accountant Pratik Paw, who was asked to forge documents by his superiors during an FRC inspection of KPMG’s [...]
Liz Truss urged to ‘remain committed’ to audit reform September 26, 2022 One of the UK’s largest audit sector trade bodies has called on the UK’s new government to set out a “clear timetable” for its plans to overhaul the UK’s audit sector in claiming audit reform will play a vital role in securing long-term economic growth. Writing to UK prime minister Liz Truss, business secretary [...]
Union to ballot 150,000 civil servants on plans for public sector strike September 26, 2022 The public sector workers’ union is set to ballot more than 150,000 civil servants on plans to strike over pay and working conditions. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said it is urging its members in 214 government departments to vote in favour of taking industrial action, after the UK government set out plans [...]
Sanjeev Gupta’s auditor King & King quit over lack of evidence September 21, 2022 The tiny firm that audits the accounts of Sanjeev Gupta’s steelmaking empire has said it resigned from auditing four of the magnate’s companies due to being unable to complete its audits because a “lack of sufficient information.” In a letter filed to Companies House, King & King said it had resigned as auditor four of [...]
EY posts record revenues of £40bn as consulting sales surge September 21, 2022 EY today posted record revenues of $45.4bn (£40bn), on the back of its strongest growth in decades, as partners in the Big Four accounting firm prepare to vote on plans for a global split in what could be the biggest shakeup to audit sector in years. The accountancy firm saw its combined global revenues [...]
Auditor to Sanjeev Gupta’s metals empires cuts ties to at least two key firms September 15, 2022 The little-known firm responsible for audits the accounts of Sanjeev Gupta’s metals empire has resigned from at least two of the embattled magnate’s core firms, following the launch of a probe in May. Two-office accounting firm King & King has resigned as auditor from Liberty Specialty Steels and Liberty Steel Dalzell, Companies House filings show. [...]
UK’s accounting sector on course for record year as firms capitalise on volatility September 12, 2022 The UK’s accounting sector’s turnovers continued to grow over July as the industry bucked trends towards plummeting revenues in the wider services sector. The accounting sector’s turnovers increased 0.69 per cent from June to July, to heights of £3.54bn, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. The growth saw the sector’s revenues [...]
EY’s Greater China business opts-out of global split September 11, 2022 EY’s Greater China practice, which covers mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Mongolia, has confirmed it will not be taking part in the Big Four firm’s global split. EY’s China segment said it is “unable to participate” in Big Four accounting firm’s ground-breaking plans to separate the firm’s audit business from its consulting arm. [...]