Net Zero: New oil, gas and coal development must end this year, IEA says May 18, 2021 New oil and gas field development and extraction must end this year, while no new coal-fired power stations can be built if the Earth is to stay within safe limits of global warming, the world’s leading energy organisation has said today. Halting developments is fundamental to meeting the net-zero emissions goal by 2050, to keep [...]
Watchdog gives UHY Hacker Young a slap on the wrist for shoddy audit May 13, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has given what it described as a “severe reprimand” to UHY Hacker Young for its audit of a Malaysia-based rubber manufacturer. The FRC declared UHY Hacker Young’s 2016 audit of Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber (IKKR) was unsatisfactory, and as a result told the accountancy firm to give staff involved in [...]
Ministers to start searching for new audit watchdog chair May 7, 2021 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will shortly kick off the search for the new chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). BEIS will advertise for the role in the coming weeks, Sky News first reported. The FRC’s current interim chair Keith Skeoch has reportedly had his contract extended in recent weeks [...]
Three-quarters of new FRC panel members being ex-Big Four causes interest concerns May 5, 2021 The majority of individuals recently recruited to the FRC’s advisory panel have at some point worked for a Big Four firm, raising concerns about their objectivity when it comes to making recommendations that are in the public interest. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently announced 19 new appointments to its advisory panel, a body established [...]
Recalibrating the corporate ecosystem May 4, 2021 Atapestry of reform is needed to recalibrate the corporate ecosystem. It’s not just about audit reform. It is time to recalibrate the corporate ecosystem. Prior tothe publication of the BEIS consultation, ICAS issued a paper exploring how various recommendations from the Brydon, Kingman and CMA reviews might be combined to deliver a tapestry of reform [...]
Big Four and challengers ask for leeway on difficult audits to avoid public criticism April 27, 2021 The Big Four and the challenger audit firms have asked the accountancy watchdog for more leniency when it comes to more difficult audit jobs, for fear of public criticism if they make a mistake. Audit firms have asked the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to pause quality inspections of their work for a year if they [...]
Audit sector ‘failing society and needs reform’ warns think tank April 21, 2021 The UK’s audit sector is “failing society” by coming up short when assessing firms’ finances and governance, leaving the door open to costly, Carillion-style business collapses, according to think tank IPPR. The think tank said there is an “expectation gap” between what audit currently assesses and what it needs to assess to fulfil the [...]
Regulator zeroes in on KPMG over M&C Saatchi audit April 12, 2021 KPMG faces scrutiny from the audit regulator after an accounting scandal at M&C Saatchi saw the business overstate its profits £14m in irregularities dating back to 2014. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made initial inquiries to determine whether KPMG’s auditing met the required standards, the Financial Times first reported. The inquiries are a formal [...]
Non-executive directors ‘can’t just turn up and take a fee’ says FRC March 26, 2021 Non-executive directors are responsible for running a business, and cannot simply turn up and cash in, the audit watchdog said yesterday. The comments made by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) followed the publication of a keenly-awaited report on audit reform by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). As part of the reforms, [...]
UK audit shakeup: Big Four face FTSE client caps, new watchdog and a clampdown on directors March 18, 2021 Big Four dominance in the UK audit market may be diluted under new plans announced today that would see stricter regulation of the sector and executives at major firms. The government hopes the proposals, published in a consultation today by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will lead to greater transparency in [...]