Give shareholders more say over audit, watchdog urged November 5, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has been encouraged to drive shareholder involvement in picking and overseeing company auditors, as it looks for ways to shake up the sector. In their responses to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review of the audit sector, two shareholder bodies – the UK Shareholders’ Association (UKSA) and UK Individual Shareholders’ [...]
More than 350 jobs lost as Crawshaw Group enters administration and shutters 35 stores November 5, 2018 More than 350 jobs will be lost after Crawshaw Group shutters 35 stores and a distribution centre, it was revealed this morning, as the butchers announced it has appointed administrators. Administrators from EY have been hired to sell off the listed firm’s assets over the next few weeks, and a total of 354 workers have been made [...]
Investors positive about investing in UK post-Brexit November 5, 2018 Investors are more positive about investing in the UK post-Brexit this year than they were last year, according to a survey released today. The research shows that 62 per cent of investors are more likely to invest in the UK post-Brexit, up from 31 per cent last year. Overall 88 per cent of investors said [...]
Bosses should take blame for bad corporate reports, says Big Four’s EY November 4, 2018 One of the UK’s biggest audit firms has said top bosses and directors should take individual responsibility if their companies make errors in financial reports. EY, one of the Big Four audit firms, said regulators should adapt the US system of corporate responsibility, which stipulates C-level executives must personally confirm the integrity of their companies’ [...]
Mazars says joint audits and market caps are solution to audit sector woes November 4, 2018 Mazars, the professional services firm which is France’s fifth-largest auditor, has weighed in on the under-fire sector’s future, calling for market share caps and joint audits to disrupt the dominance of the Big Four firms. It is the first large audit firm to release its response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is [...]
Pointless meetings? There’s no such thing – the peacock explains why November 2, 2018 IT’S A good rule of thumb that you can learn more by looking at what people do than listening to what they say. Everyone in the corporate world, for example, likes to talk about how much they hate meetings. But for something they profess to despise, they seem to have an awful lot of them. [...]
UK house price growth slumps to five-year low in October November 1, 2018 House prices grew at their slowest annual rate for five years in October, Nationwide data revealed today. House price growth slumped to 1.6 per cent last month, with prices flat month on month as the latest figures paint a miserable picture for housing activity across the UK. October’s 1.6 per cent growth rate fell from [...]
End Big Four dominance using French-style joint audits, watchdog told November 1, 2018 Regulators should consider introducing a French-style joint audit system to break the Big Four’s stranglehold on the top end of the market, the industry body said yesterday. Responding to a fast-moving review of Britain’s audit sector, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) warned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Budget contained tricks and treats for your personal finances October 31, 2018 The move of this year’s Autumn Budget to Monday this week rather than its traditional Wednesday slot was ostensibly to give MPs more time to debate the chancellor’s proposals before the House of Commons rises for recess on 6 November. But presumably Philip Hammond also hoped to avoid some Halloween-themed headlines, which he himself alluded to [...]
National living wage to rise almost five per cent next year October 29, 2018 The national living wage is set to rise nearly five per cent from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour, chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in today's Budget. To be implemented in April next year, the government estimated that this will increase the annual pay of a person in full-time employment by £690 per year. Additionally, Hammond said the [...]