‘In a dark place’: Kier shares plummet 40 per cent after embattled outsourcer gives £25m profit warning June 3, 2019 Kier Group shares have suffered a fresh blow this morning, dropping more than a third as the troubled outsourcer reels from its latest profit warning. The construction and services company, which is listed as one of the government’s top external suppliers of public services, shocked investors this morning with the news operating profit will be [...]
Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit April 30, 2019 A financial watchdog has stung KPMG with a £6m fine and “severely reprimanded” the auditor after finding fault with how an insurance audit was conducted. Read more: KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs KPMG must also carry out an internal review following the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) findings, which relate [...]
Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and Interserve among firms kicked off government’s anti-late payment scheme April 29, 2019 The public sector’s war on late payment intensified today as 17 big hitters in British business were kicked off a voluntary scheme intended to crack down on the problem, including several blue-chip firms. Read more: Number of firms paid late by Cabinet Office nearly triples since 2016 Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and BHP Billiton were among the [...]
Business lobby groups slam competition watchdog’s calls for radical audit reform April 18, 2019 Business lobby group the CBI said reforms to the audit sector proposed today by the competition watchdog could “undermine confidence in corporate Britain”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today called for the Big Four accountancy firm’s audit arms to be split from their non-audit arms with separate profit pool and management in a major [...]
Major companies could be exempt from joint audit rules in competition watchdog report April 14, 2019 The UK’s competition watchdog reportedly could exclude some major companies from a new rule that would require many business to appoint joint auditors. Sky News reported that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to publish its long awaited report into the audit sector this week. According to the report, the CMA has been [...]
KPMG examining audit spin-off in wake of damning report from MPs April 8, 2019 Big Four accounting firm KPMG is reportedly planning an overhaul of its UK business in the wake of political pressure and a wave of scandals. KPMG could split its UK audit practice from its wider UK business, The Times reported. Read more: MPs call for full breakup of audit’s Big Four in wake of scandals [...]
EY continues expansion into law with Thomson Reuters managed legal services acquisition April 4, 2019 EY has announced the acquisition of a 1,000 strong managed legal services business from Thomson Reuters, marking another step forward in the Big Four audit firm’s push into the legal sector. The deal follows EY’s acquisition of tech-heavy alternative legal provider Riverside Law in August which was widely seen in the sector as underlining EY’s [...]
Big Four must face up to the realities of reform or risk having no choice April 3, 2019 A couple of MPs managed to tear themselves away from Westminster's slow motion car crash yesterday to deliver a kicking to another scandal-hit sector of the British establishment. Labour chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee Rachel Reeves and Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach addressed a packed auditorium at the Chartered Accountants’ Hall near [...]
Mitie ‘would be foolish’ not to consider buying Interserve’s support services arm, says chief Phil Bentley March 28, 2019 The boss of outsourcer Mitie has confirmed the company has expressed an interest in buying Interserve’s support services business. Speaking to City A.M., chief executive Phil Bentley said reports that the company was looking to cash in on Interserve’s collapse into administration were a result of Mitie “registering an interest”. Read more: Mitie's order book shrinks as [...]
Mitie’s order book shrinks as outsourcing sector battles ‘undoubted challenges’ March 28, 2019 Mitie’s shares slid this morning as it announced its order book had thinned by around one-tenth in the last year amid tricky conditions for outsourcers. Chief executive Phil Bentley said the decline was part of a shift towards “adding more value and services to our top clients,” as the firm continues to battle headwinds from several [...]