Interview: Rachel Reeves drags audit into the light November 13, 2018 Rachel Reeves doesn’t fit the typical mould of a select committee chair. Where her counterparts leverage their positions of parliamentary power to try to forcibly move their party’s position (see Nicky Morgan), or to launch populist crusades to fix society’s ills (see Damian Collins), Reeves has taken a less attention-seeking approach to the chair, and [...]
Interserve shares plunge to lowest level in more than 30 years November 12, 2018 Shares in troubled outsourcing firm Interserve plummeted more than 10 per cent today to the lowest level in more than 30 years. The price dropped from 45.18p to a low of 39.03p today, as the construction and support services giant continued to struggle despite agreeing a rescue deal with lenders in March. The company's finances were [...]
MPs launch inquiry into future of ‘broken’ audit sector November 12, 2018 A powerful parliamentary committee will launch an inquiry into the “broken” audit market today, aimed at ensuring an ongoing competition probe ends the “overwhelming market domination” of the Big Four. Labour MP Rachel Reeves will announce the inquiry – by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee which she chairs – during a [...]
3i Infrastructure ‘delighted’ as investment portfolio delivers £157m return November 8, 2018 British infrastructure investment fund 3i today hailed a rise in net asset value per share today as its portfolio delivered a return of £157m. The figures The fund's total return rose to £157m for the six months to September, up from £121m for the same period last year. This represents a 9.3 per cent return on its opening [...]
KPMG will halt non-audit work on FTSE 350 clients in wake of Carillion November 8, 2018 KPMG is set to become the first of the so-called Big Four to cease all non-audit work for FTSE 350 clients in the wake of Carillion. The auditor will stop providing all but some essential non-audit services for the 90 FTSE 350 customers whose accounts it audits, it has told 625 UK partners in a [...]
End Big Four dominance using French-style joint audits, watchdog told November 1, 2018 Regulators should consider introducing a French-style joint audit system to break the Big Four’s stranglehold on the top end of the market, the industry body said yesterday. Responding to a fast-moving review of Britain’s audit sector, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) warned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the [...]
Government to ban private finance initiatives for future public sector projects after Carillion collapse October 29, 2018 The government will abolish the use of private finance initiatives (PFI) to fund future projects, chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. The announcement in Hammond's Autumn Budget, the last before Brexit, comes after the collapse of construction giant Carillion put the controversial funding model in the spotlight. "We will honour existing contracts, but the days of the public [...]
Audit watchdog boss Stephen Haddrill set to step down amid probe October 28, 2018 The chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Stephen Haddrill, is reportedly preparing to step down amid a government probe into the watchdog’s operations. Haddrill is planning to leave within months, Sky News reported. He has led the FRC, which monitors and regulates the audit sector, since 2009. Citing an anonymous source, Sky said [...]
Audit re-appointments waved through by shareholders despite year of failures in sector October 25, 2018 Shareholders overwhelmingly vote to back the re-appointment of company auditors despite widespread controversies in the sector, new research shows. Analysis of annual general meeting votes in 2018 by outsourcing firm Equiniti has found that the average votes in favour of re-appointing an auditor ranged from 97.6 per cent to 99.5 per cent across the FTSE [...]
As Laing O’Rourke is late filing its figures, is it another major contractor we should be concerned about? October 24, 2018 Pinning down the finances of private companies can be a tricky task for City stakeholders. Public companies, however, are mandated to keep investors and other interested parties entertained with a steady stream of financial updates. When it comes to filing financial statements – the audited figures upon which financiers hang their hats – listed firms [...]