City Moves for 14 November – who’s switching jobs at KPMG, Iwoca and NCP? November 14, 2018 Who’s on the move today? KPMG KPMG has hired Jennifer Cooper as International Tax Director for the firm’s growing international tax team in London. Jennifer previously worked at professional services firm EY. In recent years she was based in both the UK and Silicon Valley, specialising in helping US-headquartered multinationals understand the changing UK tax [...]
The six big ideas that could fix auditing November 13, 2018 With nearly all the major expected responses to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) probe into the audit sector released or leaked, consensus on how to fix the scandal-hit sector is scattered – and there’s no silver bullet. Here are six suggestions the CMA has been sent by auditors, industry bodies, stakeholder groups and academics [...]
Productivity is still a problem: Five takeaways from today’s economic data November 13, 2018 Wages are up even as unemployment grew in the three months to the end of September, according to the latest statistics released today. If you missed our news story earlier today, here are the biggest takeaways from the latest tranche of economic data. Productivity is still problematic UK productivity dropped in the third quarter as [...]
Grant Thornton breaks ranks with call for independent audit appointment body, as BDO backs market caps November 13, 2018 Grant Thornton, the UK’s fifth-largest audit firm, has broken ranks with other mid-tier accountants by calling for the introduction of an independent body to appoint auditors to top listed firms. The firm told the competition watchdog that caps on market share would not work, putting it at odds with close competitors such as BDO, which [...]
New chief takes the wheel at bus provider First Group as losses increase November 13, 2018 Rail and bus provider First Group has named Matthew Gregory as its new chief executive, as losses before tax increased to £4.6m. The former finance chief and interim chief operating officer steps into the job six months after boss Tim O’Toole left the company when it posted a £327m loss for the financial year. Shares grew nine [...]
Interview: Rachel Reeves drags audit into the light November 13, 2018 Rachel Reeves doesn’t fit the typical mould of a select committee chair. Where her counterparts leverage their positions of parliamentary power to try to forcibly move their party’s position (see Nicky Morgan), or to launch populist crusades to fix society’s ills (see Damian Collins), Reeves has taken a less attention-seeking approach to the chair, and [...]
MPs launch inquiry into future of ‘broken’ audit sector November 12, 2018 A powerful parliamentary committee will launch an inquiry into the “broken” audit market today, aimed at ensuring an ongoing competition probe ends the “overwhelming market domination” of the Big Four. Labour MP Rachel Reeves will announce the inquiry – by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee which she chairs – during a [...]
Deloitte calls for audit market cap and ban on selling extra services to audit clients November 8, 2018 Two of the world’s biggest accountancy firms have backed a ban on UK auditors selling extra services to their audit clients, setting the stage for a huge shift in the embattled sector. Deloitte and KPMG – two members of audit’s Big Four – have backed the move, which would potentially put hundreds of millions in fee income [...]
KPMG will halt non-audit work on FTSE 350 clients in wake of Carillion November 8, 2018 KPMG is set to become the first of the so-called Big Four to cease all non-audit work for FTSE 350 clients in the wake of Carillion. The auditor will stop providing all but some essential non-audit services for the 90 FTSE 350 customers whose accounts it audits, it has told 625 UK partners in a [...]
Pepsico’s Pipers deal adds to record year for US acquisitions of UK firms November 6, 2018 Pepsico swooped on premium British crisp brand Pipers today adding to a bumper year for US acquisitions of UK firms, with deals already hitting a record $87bn (£66.4bn). The value of acquisitions has surged by a whopping $57bn since last year, according to figures compiled by Dealogic. The record figure does not include the undisclosed value [...]