UK directors to face fines in major overhaul of audit rules February 5, 2021 UK directors will reportedly face fines for accounting failures at their companies as part of a major overhaul of the audit sector. Long-awaited reforms, set to be published as early as next week, will place a tough new burden on bosses in an effort to improve audit standards. Directors, rather than boards, will be held [...]
EY to buy Frank Hirth’s UK business, leaving some staff in limbo February 3, 2021 Big Four firm EY will acquire the UK business of tax advisory and compliance business Frank Hirth for an undisclosed fee. Around 200 employees and more than 5,000 clients of Frank Hirth will move across to EY. Four Frank Hirth employees currently working out of New Zealand have been left in limbo as a result [...]
KPMG partners take 11 per cent pay cut as Covid-19 eats into profits February 3, 2021 Partners at KPMG have had their pay cut by an average of 11 per cent, from some £640,000 to £572,000, as Covid-19 hit profits and revenue at the firm. KPMG’s chairman was paid £1.7m for the year, a decrease of 14 per cent on 2019. Partners across Big Four firms saw pay cuts in [...]
Green tariffs alone not enough to prompt UK energy consumers to switch supplier February 2, 2021 Over three-fifths (62%) of UK energy consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service that is sustainable, with over 40% of under 35s willing to pay a premium for sustainable energy, a new EY survey reveals today. The survey, which canvassed the views of 2,000 UK energy consumers to explore their attitudes towards [...]
Challenger audit firms prep for forced audit separation January 29, 2021 Challenger audit firms are readying themselves for audit separation, a requirement not yet expected of them, but one they see as inevitable in the future. Last summer audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ordered the Big Four firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY – to separate their audit units from the rest of their [...]
UK could avoid double-dip recession after resilient November January 28, 2021 The UK economy looks likely to avoid a double-dip recession thanks to a better-than-predicted performance in November 2020, according to the EY Item Club. The economy contracted just 2.6 per cent in November, despite the impact of a month-long England-wide lockdown and other restrictions across the UK. As a result, it is expected the [...]
White prevalence in senior roles drives ethnicity and gender gap at PwC January 27, 2021 PwC has for the first time published its Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnic background pay gaps, with the gap being driven by under representation of ethnic minorities in senior roles. PwC’s overall median ethnicity pay gap, including partners, decreased from 6.3 per cent in 2019 to 3.5 per cent in 2020. The firm’s median gender [...]
City Moves for 27 January: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? January 27, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Lombard Odier IM bolsters institutional sales team Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has bolstered its UK and Ireland institutional sales team with two new hires. Chris Vogtherr and Claudia Ziebart joined the investment [...]
EY to slash business travel to hit net zero target by 2025 January 25, 2021 EY would like to be “carbon negative” in 2021, and hopes to achieve net zero at the firm by 2025, in a push to play a role in tackling climate change. The Big Four firm said its ambition to become carbon neutral underscored its commitment to the environment and to tackling “one of the most [...]
EY staff told to work 16 hour days, weekends, and berated for getting food poisoning January 19, 2021 It’s all work and no play for EY staff in the Hong Kong office, as employees were pressured to work until 11:30pm each week night and at the weekend during the busiest period. An email from one manager at the Big Four firm in Hong Kong told staff they should be working 16-hour days during [...]