Ban EY from public contract bids following professional misconduct, urges charity November 17, 2020 The government should consider banning big four auditor EY from bidding on public contracts for three years following a number of recent scandals, charity Spotlight on Corruption has said. The charity has written a 17-page letter to government that accuses EY of “grave professional misconduct” that “renders its integrity questionable”, and suggests there should be [...]
HMRC criminal actions against rich individuals jump 40% in 2019/20 November 16, 2020 The number of arrests, dawn raids or interviews carried out by HMRC in respect of corporate and high net worth individuals jumped 40% last year. Criminal actions launched by HMRC’s Offshore Corporate and Wealth (OCW) unit increased to 70 in the 2019/20 tax year, up from 50 in 2018/19, according to a freedom of information [...]
Exclusive: Coronavirus stalls nearly a third of promotions November 16, 2020 Some 28% of full time workers were due a promotion in 2020 that has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, exclusive research has revealed. The research found more than a third (36%) of full-time workers felt their professional development had regressed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among 18 to 34 year-olds the [...]
Auditor independence rules prompt PwC to sell data software to private equity house November 16, 2020 Big four auditor PwC has sold its in-house data capture software to private equity house Souter Investments as auditor independent rules mean the firm cannot effectively grow the business. The software enables PwC to digitalise and search large volumes of complex legal derivative contracts for clients. It takes contracts from clients and converts them into [...]
Restrictions confusion and lockdown fears stunt white collar job openings November 16, 2020 Regional tiered restrictions confusion and rumours of a national lockdown stalled white collar hiring in October, with contract vacancies dropping -1%, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The latest data found that while month-on-month vacancy numbers saw little to no change, the year-on-year percentage drop slightly increased for October following several months [...]
Snitches get riches: HMRC payments to tax evasion whistleblowers up 63% in 2019/20 November 15, 2020 HMRC reported a 63% increase in payments to whistleblowers for reporting tax evasion in the 2019/2020 tax year, paying £473,000 to informants during the period. In the previous tax year HMRC paid £290,250 to informants – around £182,000 less than in 2019/20. The figures were published in HMRC’s annual reports and accounts 2019 to 2020. [...]
Greggs to cut 820 jobs as Covid-19 impact bites November 13, 2020 Greggs will cut 820 shop staff jobs as it expects trading to remain below normal for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a company spokeswoman confirmed this evening. In September Greggs launched a consultation with union and employee representatives and was aiming to minimise job losses by negotiating reduced staff hours. The company [...]
Cummings to leave Downing Street with immediate effect November 13, 2020 Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings is leaving Downing Street immediately. Cummings will continue to work until mid-December, and another senior aide will serve as temporary chief of staff, Johnson’s office said on Friday. “The Prime Minister has today asked Sir Edward Lister to take on the role of chief of staff for an interim [...]
Khan: By 2022 40% of new Met recruits should come from BAME background November 13, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan is launching an action plan to address the low level of trust and confidence that many Black Londoners feel towards the Metropolitan Police Service. Writing in today’s Independent, Khan said as part of his action plan he would like to see as many as two in five new recruits to the [...]
Deliveroo adds ex-Worldpay CFO to board November 13, 2020 Former Worldpay chief financial officer Rick Medlock has joined Deliveroo’s non-executive board. The move comes as the takeaway delivery app prepares to pursue a public listing in the coming months, Sky News reported. Sources told Sky News that Deliveroo had also been approaching candidates for its chairmanship. Deliveroo is said to have appointed bankers at [...]
