FRC begins hunt for new chair after its governance dubbed a ‘grave risk’ August 6, 2021 The government has launched its recruitment drive for a new chair and non-executive directors for the Financial Reporting Council, after its governance was criticised. Although the watchdog has started the search for a permanent chair and six new non-executive directors, it will still be without a chair when Skeoch steps down in October. Just two [...]
KPMG may rebuild restructuring arm one year after selling it for over £350m July 29, 2021 KPMG is reportedly creating a new division to advise on corporate restructurings, less than a year after it sold its UK insolvency advisory business for over £350m. The big four auditor made the move as a result of new competition laws which made achieving profits from its non-auditing services harder, according to the report in [...]
Watchdog slams KPMG for ‘unacceptable’ bank audits for third year running July 26, 2021 KPMG has been called out for failing to meet standards in its bank audits for the third year in a row, by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in a review published on Friday, that found that a third of large company audits by the biggest UK firms failed to meet standards. The industry watchdog called [...]
FRC chair says slow board appointments pose “grave risk” to the watchdog reform July 26, 2021 The interim head of the Financial Reporting Council has said there is a “grave risk” that the slow pace of appointing board members could result in delays to the watchdog’s reformation plans. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which oversees the governance of the UK’s biggest listed companies, has been without a permanent chair since May [...]
Should the regulator have the power to establish a standardised Code of Ethics for all the chartered accountancy bodies July 21, 2021 Loree Gourley, Chair of the ICAS Ethics Board, considers the BEIS consultation proposal for the regulator to have the power to establish and enforce a standardised Code of Ethics for all the chartered accountancy bodies. The BEIS consultation ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ was published on 18 March 2021, with responses being due [...]
Fees rise as Big Four still dominate FTSE 100 audits market July 14, 2021 Long-standing plans to increase competition in the auditing market appear to have been delayed slightly longer, as the Big Four accounting firms continue to dominate. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the regulator for auditors, said that KPMG, EY, Deloitte and PwC audited all FTSE 100 companies in a roughly even four-way split. Government-backed reviews had [...]
Audit reforms: IoD call for caution in plans to break Big Four dominance July 8, 2021 The government should approach its plans for an audit and corporate governance reform with greater caution, said the Institute of Directors (IoD). A government white paper aimed at breaking up the concentration of the Big Four auditing firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY has stirred criticism from the business group, who said that the [...]
EY creates independent audit board ahead of operational separation July 5, 2021 EY has appointed two independent non-executive directors to its newly created UK Audit Board, ahead of plans to operationally separate its UK audit practice from its consultancy business. Last summer the accounting watchdog asked the Big Four firms to separate their audit units from the rest of their business by 2024. Auditors have come under increased regulatory [...]
Greensill Capital: The financial scandal that just won’t go away July 5, 2021 On Friday, it was announced that Credit Suisse will pay out a further $750m to backers of its Greensill-linked supply chain finance funds. Thus far, the lender has clawed back $6.1bn of the $10bn of its funding supported by collapsed supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital, up $200m on its previous update. The news follows, [...]
Podcast: MD of the CDSB on her predictions for COP26 and what investors should look out for July 2, 2021 As the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) draws closer, Indy sat down with Mardi McBrien, the Managing Director of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), to hear her predictions for the conference, the considerations companies need to make to reach ‘net zero’, and how CAs can help save the planet. Listen now on Spotify, [...]