Santander chair on shortlist to lead new government-backed audit review October 22, 2018 The chair of Santander UK has been shortlisted to lead a new, government-backed review into the future of Britain’s audit sector, following a series of scandals. Baroness Vadera, a former investment banker and key ally of Gordon Brown, whom she served as a minister, was named by the Times as a candidate to lead the [...]
Auditors face fresh headache as shareholder adviser eyes industry October 18, 2018 The world’s largest adviser to shareholders is to ramp up its scrutiny of auditors, in a move that will pile further pressure on the UK’s embattled beancounters amid a series of industry controversies. Auditors will be facing another headache at their shareholder meetings next year after the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) today unveiled plans to [...]
Pilfered pens and fudged expenses could foreshadow an ethics scandal October 18, 2018 Are UK employees the least ethical in Europe? The Institute of Business Ethics’ 2018 Ethics at Work Survey seems to indicate so. Brits appear to take a more lenient approach than the average European employee to questionable workplace practices. We asked employees about their attitudes to ethical issues in the workplace, ethical practices in their [...]
Outrage-induced regulation will not fix the broken audit market October 12, 2018 The audit market is broken. Don’t take my word for it – ask Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP who chairs the BEIS select committee, or Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, or even the Conservative business secretary Greg Clark, who last month ordered an inquiry into competition in the sector. With such cross-party concerns, it should not [...]
Competition watchdog launches review of audit sector October 9, 2018 The competition watchdog today confirmed it has launched a probe into the UK's audit sector, ending weeks of speculation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will review whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high standards. Calls to review the sector and possibly break up the "Big Four" of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY [...]
Greg Clark’s flawed and feeble remedy will fail to stamp out the late payment problem October 4, 2018 Brexit confusion, in-fighting, and leadership peacocking have marred both the Labour and Conservative Party conferences this year, but business secretary Greg Clark provided a glimmer of hope for SMEs this week. Large companies could be forced to nominate a board member to ensure that invoices are paid properly as part of a planned crackdown on [...]
British construction growth sags to six-month low October 2, 2018 Output growth from the British construction sector sagged to its lowest level in six months in September as civil engineering projects stalled, according to a closely followed indicator. The construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 52.1 points in September, down from 52.9 in August, according to data firm IHS Markit. Civil engineering output, such [...]
Mitie sheds pest control business amid efforts to restructure October 1, 2018 Outsourcing group Mitie revealed plans to offload its £40m pest control business this morning, as it ramps up efforts to restructure the business in the wake of several profit warnings. The FTSE 250 firm said it would sell its pest control arm to business services giant Rentokil Initial as it seeks to plough more of [...]
More construction firms are entering insolvency since Carillion’s collapse October 1, 2018 The number of construction firms entering insolvency has jumped six per cent following the collapse of Carillion. The construction giant's liquidation caused knock-on effects for the whole industry supply chain in the UK, top 10 accountancy firm Moore Stephens said. Read more: Carillion redundancy payouts to hit £65m Figures from the government's insolvency services showed [...]
Pressure mounts on the CMA to break up accountancy’s Big Four October 1, 2018 The UK’s competition body has been told to “bare its teeth” and investigate breaking up the Big Four accountancy firms, as it prepares to announce a decision on whether it will investigate the sector. Three senior politicians from across the main parties have called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to find ways to [...]