KPMG gave ‘untruthful defence’ in tribunal over £13m Silentnight fine October 13, 2021 The UK accounting watchdog has today denounced KPMG for knowingly giving an “untruthful” defence over its conflict of interest in the 2011 sale of Silentnight, for which it was fined £13m. The verdict of the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) disciplinary tribunal marks the first time ever that the body has found an accountancy to have [...]
Audit reform: FRC asks for power to cap Big Four’s audit clients October 12, 2021 The chief executive of the UK’s accounting watchdog has asked ministers for the authority to enforce a cap on the number of large companies that any one accountancy firm can audit, in an attempt to break up the dominance of the Big Four firms. Sir Jon Thompson went on to question the likelihood of the [...]
Accounting watchdog FRC launches probe into French Connection audit by Mazars October 6, 2021 The accounting watchdog said this morning it has launched an investigation into retailer French Connection’s audit by Mazars. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was probing the chain’s accounts for the year ending January 31 of last year. It said the decision to investigate the audit was made at a meeting of its conduct [...]
‘Severe reprimand’ for Patisserie Valerie audit: Grant Thornton failed and was incompetent, says watchdog September 27, 2021 Red flags were missed while auditing the collapsed cake chain Patisserie Valerie, and auditors failed to question management properly. Overall, it showed a serious lack of competence, according to regulators this morning. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) made its findings against accounting giant Grant Thornton and auditor David Newstead, handing them fines of £2.3m and [...]
The ICAS public voice – the corporate ecosystem post-covid September 23, 2021 As we begin to emerge from Covid-19, a key strand in the public policy work undertaken by ICAS relates to reforming the corporate ecosystem. From a public interest perspective, our role is to share insights, shaped and informed by the views of ICAS Members, into the many complex issues and decisions involved in developing high-quality [...]
FRC calls for businesses to better report longer-term viability for investors September 22, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has called for businesses to better report their longer-term viability and liquidity to investors – particularly during times of economic uncertainty. It forms part of the financial watchdog’s findings in a review of companies’ viability and concern disclosures amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has pushed heightened levels of market [...]
BDO hires record number of new trainees to its audit team September 15, 2021 Accounting firm BDO has announced that it has hired over 450 new trainees into its audit team this year, as the so-called ‘challenger’ firm bolsters its auditing arm. BDO said it had brought on more than 600 new trainees across departments since the start of 2021 – more than it has ever done before. Most [...]
EY to spend $2bn on improving audits after Wirecard scandal September 9, 2021 EY will invest around $2bn (£1.4bn) over three years to improve the quality of its audits after the high-profile collapse of payments company Wirecard, according to the Financial Times who first reported the news. The funding is part of a larger, and record, $10bn investment plan, announced by EY yesterday, to finance staff training and [...]
KPMG boss intervenes in dispute with FRC over poor auditing standards September 7, 2021 The global head of KPMG has written to the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over the its threats to publish further criticism of the auditor’s repeated failings, the Financial Times first reported. Bill Thomas, KPMG’s global chair and chief executive, entered the increasingly public dispute between the big four auditor and the FRC, after executives [...]
Dozens of UK’s biggest investment houses fall short of new ESG standard September 6, 2021 Some of the UK’s biggest names in investment have failed to meet a new ESG standard for investing for savers and pensioners, including Schroders, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild. In a new list published by The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today, asset managers, pension schemes and insurers who successfully met a revised UK stewardship code were [...]