Report into audit sector commissioned by John McDonnell calls for break-up of Big Four December 14, 2018 A report into the audit sector commissioned by shadow chancellor John McDonnell has called for the break-up of the Big Four audit firms. The report, published today, recommended that the audit business of accounting firms must be legally separate from everything else and says it should be a criminal offence for auditors to perform non-audit [...]
Mark Kleinman: Come in Houston, just as UK audit reforms bite December 14, 2018 Talk about a hospital pass. Richard Houston, Deloitte’s consulting chief, might be forgiven for feeling a bit like Theresa May this week. Houston’s is the solitary name on a ballot open to partners at the Big Four accountancy firm’s UK operation as it seeks to elect a successor to David Sproul, its chief executive for [...]
Competition and Markets Authority to recommend market share cap for Big Four audit firms December 13, 2018 The UK's top four audit firms are facing a market share cap to encourage competition from smaller companies as the sector comes under increased scrutiny following a number of high profile corporate collapses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to recommend a limit on the number of large listed companies that the so-called Big [...]
South Korea launches raid on Samsung subsidiary amid fraud probe December 13, 2018 South Korean prosecutors investigating alleged accounting fraud yesterday raided the offices of Samsung’s biopharma unit and its two auditors, KPMG and Deloitte. The Financial Services Commission, which last month suspended trading in Samsung Biologics shares, claims the company intentionally breached accounting rules before listing in 2016. Biologics, which denies wrongdoing, said today that investigators had [...]
The next generation of City high-flyers are turning their backs on university December 13, 2018 When the alarm clock goes off and 19-year-old Luke Johnson has to get out of bed, shower, and put on a suit, ready to catch his train into the City, he may think wistfully for a moment of his friends from school who are still snoring away at university. “I did have a great offer [...]
EY and PwC reveal that both dismissed five partners over inappropriate behaviour December 11, 2018 The final two Big Four financial services firms have disclosed the number of partners that have left the companies following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. PwC fired five partners for inappropriate behaviour including harassment or bullying over the last three years. EY revealed that five partners had left the company over a four year period, becoming [...]
The future of corporate training lies in virtual reality December 11, 2018 Virtual training is being hailed as the “new Powerpoint” for corporates when it comes to training up staff. And as virtual reality (VR) continues to rise in popularity across the social community, it is no surprise that organisations are looking to embrace this immersive technology as a replacement for existing, more traditional methods. No more [...]
Seven KPMG partners left the firm over inappropriate behaviour including bullying and sexual harassment within four-year period December 10, 2018 A total of seven KPMG partners have left the financial services firm over the last four years following accusations of inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment and bullying. The revelation comes after it was reported that fellow ‘Big Four’ firm Deloitte fired 20 partners for similar behaviour over the same period and as workplace culture faces [...]
PwC loses FTSE 100 client crown in audit pass-the-parcel December 3, 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the UK’s biggest accountancy firm, has had its crown – holding the highest number of FTSE 100 clients – snatched by rival KPMG. It is the first time PwC has lost its position as the leading auditor of the UK’s top blue-chip firms. KPMG now audits 28 FTSE 100 firms, to PwC’s 27, [...]
Big Four investigate their own clients on behalf of software giants November 23, 2018 The UK's top four accounting firms have been accused of a conflict of interest by investigating their own clients' use of software on behalf of technology firms. The so-called Big Four – PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – carry out software audits on their clients on behalf of vendors such as Microsoft, SAP and IBM to see if firms [...]