Three-quarters of new FRC panel members being ex-Big Four causes interest concerns May 5, 2021 The majority of individuals recently recruited to the FRC’s advisory panel have at some point worked for a Big Four firm, raising concerns about their objectivity when it comes to making recommendations that are in the public interest. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently announced 19 new appointments to its advisory panel, a body established [...]
Government spends £624m on consultancy contracts during pandemic May 4, 2021 The government has awarded contracts worth at least £624m to private firms for consulting, marketing and research purposes during the pandemic, despite criticism it has been too reliant on private firms during the crisis. In total some £30.2bn in contracts have now been awarded by the UK government in response to Covid-19, the latest figures [...]
EY hands £1,100 pandemic ‘thank you’ bonus to non-partners April 30, 2021 EY will hand out payments of around £1,100 to non-partners next month as a thank you for the work carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 17,000 UK staff will receive the one-off payment, which is in addition to EY’s normal salary review and bonus that take place in October. EY is the second of [...]
Interim KPMG CEO quits after being passed over for permanent role April 29, 2021 Interim KPMG CEO Mary O’Connor, the first woman to lead the Big Four firm, has quit after she was passed up for the permanent role. O’Connor took over as chief executive of KPMG UK following the sudden departure of Bill Michael earlier this year, after he made controversial comments about unconscious bias training during a video call [...]
KPMG staff fired after rowdy ‘boys’ night out’ featuring binge drinking and strippers April 28, 2021 Staff from KPMG’s private equity division in Melbourne were fired after a wild ‘boys’ night out’ that featured heavy binge drinking and strippers. A 2015 video invitation to ‘boys’ night’, sent to 80 male employees at KPMG’s Melbourne office, with women excluded, has just recently come to light. According to the Mail Online, the video [...]
EY quits as auditor of P2P lender Kuflink over governance concerns April 27, 2021 EY has resigned as auditor of peer-to-peer lender Kuflink after finding a litany of problems at the group, including worries about its general oversight. The Big Four firm stepped down as auditor on 16 February, according to a letter on Companies House, which said Kuflink had “significant work” to do on multiple aspects of its [...]
Big Four and challengers ask for leeway on difficult audits to avoid public criticism April 27, 2021 The Big Four and the challenger audit firms have asked the accountancy watchdog for more leniency when it comes to more difficult audit jobs, for fear of public criticism if they make a mistake. Audit firms have asked the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to pause quality inspections of their work for a year if they [...]
KPMG’s ex-interim CEO Mary O’Connor in talks about leaving after being passed up for the top job April 23, 2021 Mary O’Connor, who was the first woman to head up KPMG, is in advanced talks to leave the firm after being passed over for the top job. O’Connor is close to agreeing the details of her exit, Sky News first reported, and a statement on her future at the company could be made in the [...]
City Moves: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? April 21, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. In this week’s City Moves, we have a host of newly created roles making their way across the Square Mile. From chief data officers to directors of environment social and governance – the [...]
Audit sector ‘failing society and needs reform’ warns think tank April 21, 2021 The UK’s audit sector is “failing society” by coming up short when assessing firms’ finances and governance, leaving the door open to costly, Carillion-style business collapses, according to think tank IPPR. The think tank said there is an “expectation gap” between what audit currently assesses and what it needs to assess to fulfil the [...]