US professional services firm backs ‘engine for growth’ London as European launchpad October 9, 2018 EisnerAmper, a top-twenty US professional services firm, celebrated the launch of its London office tonight as it laid out “ambitious plans” for European growth. Its London offices, which will act a staging post for the firm’s continental expansion plans, will be led by Robert Mirsky, a former global head of hedge funds at Big Four [...]
Google preparing to appeal EU’s €4.3bn Android fine October 9, 2018 Google is expected to challenge European competition authorities tomorrow, as the deadline to appeal the EU's record-breaking €4.3bn fine against its parent firm Alphabet comes to pass. The tech giant was charged by regulators over "serious illegal behaviour" with its Android operating system in July. Brussels ruled that Google had forced smartphone makers to favour its own [...]
Competition watchdog launches review of audit sector October 9, 2018 The competition watchdog today confirmed it has launched a probe into the UK's audit sector, ending weeks of speculation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will review whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high standards. Calls to review the sector and possibly break up the "Big Four" of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY [...]
Five key takeaways from the FRC’s audit sector report October 8, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit sector’s watchdog, released its annual Developments in Audit report yesterday, outlining key challenges faced in the sector and assessing the current state of the profession. Audit is under close scrutiny at the moment, as politicians and regulators look closely at the dominance of the Big Four audit firms Deloitte, [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland name ‘under review’ as bank rebuilds its reputation after financial crisis October 8, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is reportedly considering changing its name to distance itself from the financial crisis 10 years ago. The RBS name is under review as part of a rebrand, chairman Sir Howard Davies said yesterday, as the bank claims to have fixed historical problems as it turns its attention to its [...]
BDO reveals profit boost as it raises concerns over Brexit and audit break-up October 8, 2018 One of Britain’s largest professional services firms has warned that business leaders need clarity to prepare for Brexit and sounded a cautious note over reforms to the audit sector as it revealed rising profit and revenues. BDO posted an underlying revenue of £464.1m in its 2017/18 annual results, released today, an increase of 8.5 per [...]
Frank Field slams financial regulator over delay to pension advice fee decision October 4, 2018 Influential MP Frank Field has slammed the financial regulator for delaying a decision on whether to ban a model of charging for pensions advice which is believed to have driven mis-selling to thousands of retirees. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it sought views on whether to ban contingent charging – where a pension adviser [...]
Watchdog slaps Lloyds with legal demands over PPI failures October 4, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has handed Lloyds legal directions after the lender failed to meet its obligations around managing accounts with payment protection insurance (PPI), the policy at the centre of a huge mis-selling scandal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on the lender to “put effective systems and procedures in place” after it [...]
Here’s how business groups have reacted to Theresa May’s conference speech October 3, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May used her conference speech today to attack Labour’s plans on the economy and slap down her Conservative party rivals – saying austerity was “over” and promising to fix the “broken” housing market. Business groups have been keenly awaiting May’s speech, as she fights off rebellions from her own MPs and attempts [...]
City watchdog boss rejects calls for financial services deregulation post-Brexit October 2, 2018 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority today said that the City regulator will not engage in a “race to the bottom” after Brexit in a bid to preserve the UK’s position among global financial centres. Charles Randell said calls for deregulation from some quarters of the financial sector show that “some memories are beginning [...]