PwC fined over BT audit failings following discovery of £512m fraud August 8, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog today fined PwC £2.5m over claims it failed to properly scrutinize BT accounts following the discovery of a half-a-billion-pound fraud within the telecommunications firm. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said PwC and former partner Richard Hughes failed to treat BT’s management with sufficient professional scepticism following the discovery of a [...]
Law firm mergers drop to decade lows as legal sector boom slows M&A activity August 8, 2022 The past two years’ boom in demand for legal services has seen M&A activity in the UK’s legal sector drop to decade lows, research from accountancy firm Hazelwoods shows. The number of mergers between UK law firms has fallen to its lowest levels in a decade, in plummeting from highs of 278 in 2011 to [...]
Norton Rose Fulbright hikes NQ salaries after upping pay for rank-and-file staff August 4, 2022 City law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today said it would hand out up to 10 per cent pay rises to its rank-and-file staff after the firm upped pay for its newly-qualified lawyers to heights of £105,000 a year. The law firm today said it would give out pay rises of at least 5 per cent [...]
UK government bans Bain & Co from competing for contracts over role in South African corruption scandal August 3, 2022 US consulting firm Bain & Co has been banned from competing for UK government contracts, after a review by the Cabinet Office determined the Boston consultancy “guilty of grave professional misconduct” over its role in alleged “state capture and corruption by the South African government”. As first reported by the Financial Times, Cabinet Minister Jacob [...]
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright awarded just £1 in damages after winning libel lawsuit August 2, 2022 A High Court judge has awarded an Australian cryptographer, Craig Wright –who claims to have invented Bitcoin – just £1 in damages, after the academic secured victory in a libel lawsuit against a YouTuber, who said he was lying about having invented the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. The award comes after the academic – who claims [...]
UK’s FCA to create 100 jobs through launch of new Leeds offices August 2, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog today set out plans to hire 100 new staff at its newly opening Leeds office as it looks to bolster its headcount this year and meet the demands of an expanding regulatory remit. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it has signed a lease for premises on 6 Queen Street, [...]
Insolvencies surge to highest rates since financial crash as voluntary bankruptcies hit record levels August 2, 2022 The UK government’s Insolvency Service today said it recorded a higher number of insolvencies over the past three months than at any other point in more than a decade, after the numbers of companies declaring voluntary bankruptcies hit their highest levels since records began. The past three months saw a total of 5,629 English and [...]
UK launches register of overseas property owners in clampdown on ‘corrupt elites’ August 1, 2022 Individuals that own UK properties via chains of “secretive” shell companies will from today be forced to reveal their true identities, after the UK government launched a new register of UK property owners today. The first-of-its-kind register will require those seeking to buy or own UK property via offshore entities to list the identities of [...]
Number of law firms fined by SRA increases following anti-money laundering compliance crackdown August 1, 2022 The number of fines against law firms, handed out by the UK’s solicitors’ watchdog, has increased six-fold over the past five years following an anti-money laundering compliance crackdown, according to data obtained by City A.M. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which regulates more than 11,000 law firms in England and Wales, gave out just six [...]
‘The Great Resignation could be followed by a Great Redundancy,’ DWF chief says July 29, 2022 A downturn in the legal market could see widespread layoffs in the City’s top-ranking law firms, the head of London listed law firm DWF told City A.M. The lawyers that jumped ship in “big numbers” in pursuit of six-figure salaries in London’s most prestigious firms could soon be laid off, as the top firms make [...]