UK house prices see fastest growth in four years but monthly rate slows November 6, 2020 UK house prices grew at their fastest annual rate since 2016 in October, new figures have shown, although month-on-month price growth slowed considerably. House prices jumped 7.5 per cent in October, according to the Halifax house price index, compared to 7.3 per cent in September. Yet growth slowed to just 0.3 per cent when looked [...]
Deloitte fined for pension scheme audit failures November 6, 2020 Big Four firm Deloitte has been fined £362,500 for failures relating to the audit of a former client’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme and the carrying value of the company’s intangible assets. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) described the former client as one of the largest local and regional multimedia organisations in the UK responsible [...]
Building business resilience for a better future November 5, 2020 The standout figure from EY’s latest profit warning analysis is the 34% of companies that have issued a profit warning in the first nine months of 2020. That’s over a third of companies that have materially downgraded their earnings forecasts at least once, compared with 23% in the whole of 2001 and 18% in 2008. [...]
Four things to watch as the Bank of England sets interest rates November 4, 2020 The Bank of England’s group of interest rate-setters will announce their latest monetary policy decision tomorrow, albeit virtually. Since the last meeting in September, the government has announced a new month-long lockdown for England amid soaring coronavirus cases. Most analysts expect the Bank to launch more stimulus to support the economy during the winter. Here [...]
Watchdog slams Grant Thornton over ‘unacceptable’ public sector audits October 30, 2020 The accounting watchdog has criticised Grant Thornton over its ‘unacceptable” record on public sector audits, after five out of six of the firm’s local audits were found to fall below the expected standard. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) singled out Grant Thornton and Mazars for criticism following a review of 15 major audits of health [...]
UK economy: Experts cut forecast as coronavirus cases surge October 29, 2020 Analysts have become significantly more pessimistic about the UK economy, saying the surge in coronavirus cases and new restrictions will weigh on the recovery as the year runs into 2021. Economists say chancellor Rishi Sunak’s more generous employment support scheme will help limit some damage in the jobs market. But they warn that new lockdowns [...]
MPs demand update on audit reform progress from business secretary October 21, 2020 An influential committee of MPs has written to business secretary Alok Sharma to demand an update on the government’s progress implementing audit reforms following a series of high-profile accounting scandals. In a letter dated yesterday, Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee chair Darren Jones asked Sharma to outline which reforms recommended by two recent [...]
Paypoint signs deal to sell Romanian division for £47m October 21, 2020 Paypoint has inked a deal to sell its Romanian division to Innova Capital for £47m, as the payments operator seeks to streamline its UK business in the wake of the pandemic. In a notice to the stock exchange, the London-listed firm said it had reached an agreement with Innova to offload Paypoint Services and Payzone, [...]
Boohoo takes £775m hit as auditor stands down October 20, 2020 Boohoo saw almost £775m wiped off its market value yesterday after the beleaguered fast fashion retailer said PwC was stepping down as auditor. Boohoo’s announcement that it was running a tender for a new auditor and that PwC would not take part in the process spooked investors, sending shares down 20 per cent to 254p [...]
Flybe to fly again next year after administrators agree sale to Cyrus Capital October 19, 2020 Collapsed regional airline Flybe will take to the skies again next year after its administrators agreed for it to be sold to a firm controlled by hedge fund Cyrus Capital. Administrators from EY said they had agreed to a sale of Flybe’s business and assets, including the brand, intellectual property, stock and equipment, to Thyme [...]