New Tricks: Video streaming sites are trending among over-65s August 17, 2021 The pandemic has encouraged 65 to 75 year olds to start using video streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Almost three fifths of consumers in this age bracket, some 57 per cent, have access to a video streaming service as of 2021. The figure marks an increase of 19 percentage points compared to [...]
Deloitte partner lays down the law for junior staff in leaked email July 19, 2021 The UK lead of Monitor Deloitte told junior staff that they should become “millionaires, authors or bums” if they wanted to be picky with their projects, in a leaked internal email. Alexander Curry, a partner and UK Lead at Monitor Deloitte, said that junior staff do not own their own time, in an email sent in [...]
Audit reforms: IoD call for caution in plans to break Big Four dominance July 8, 2021 The government should approach its plans for an audit and corporate governance reform with greater caution, said the Institute of Directors (IoD). A government white paper aimed at breaking up the concentration of the Big Four auditing firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY has stirred criticism from the business group, who said that the [...]
Big Four lobbying may dilute Government’s audit reform, says ex-accounting watchdog June 14, 2021 Big Four lobbying will dilute Government's audit reform, says ex-accounting watchdog
As accounting firms prep for busy period, non-Big Four players spot new opportunities May 26, 2021 The majority of 2020 was a slow year for the UK’s deals market, with mergers and acquisitions depressed by the Coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdown restrictions. This trend, however, now seems to be in reverse with a number a big deal in the private sector, including Virgin Media and O2’s £31bn mega merger, and [...]
Has lockdown triggered a City brain-drain? May 20, 2021 The explosion in home-working due to lockdown is shifting the focus away from a London-centric view of careers, with regional firms benefiting from a growing desire to shun the commute. Lockdown is prompting a shift away from City jobs to opportunities at smaller, regional practices with talent-hungry boutique firms stretching to match Square Mile-level salary [...]
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 [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? April 28, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Cazoo bolsters board after $7bn NYSE listing After its $7bn New York Stock Exchange listing through its AJAX merger, UK online car retailer Cazoo has confirmed that a new non-executive director [...]
LinkedIn: Barclays, Tesco and NatWest ranked top three UK workplaces April 28, 2021 Barclays has been crowned the best company to work for, followed by Tesco and NatWest, according to LinkedIn’s list of the 25 top workplaces in the UK. The list ranks workplaces on their capacity to build and sustain a long-term career and have been compiled based on actions taken by the platform’s 30m UK members [...]
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 [...]