KPMG considering sale of UK restructuring business October 22, 2020 KPMG is considering selling its UK restructuring business as the accounting giant looks to shore up its finances after delaying its annual results amid the disruption caused by Covid-19. The firm is exploring options for the division including a possible sale as the Big Four accountants prepare for extensive reforms of their business to comply [...]
MPs demand update on audit reform progress from business secretary October 21, 2020 An influential committee of MPs has written to business secretary Alok Sharma to demand an update on the government’s progress implementing audit reforms following a series of high-profile accounting scandals. In a letter dated yesterday, Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee chair Darren Jones asked Sharma to outline which reforms recommended by two recent [...]
Accounting watchdog floats strengthening auditors’ obligation to spot fraud October 21, 2020 The UK’s accounting regulator has proposed increasing the requirements on auditors to detect fraud in company accounts following a spate of high-profile accounting scandals. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a review into the international accounting standard outlining auditors’ responsibilities to identify fraud. The watchdog is proposing revisions to the standard to provide “increased [...]
Eddie Stobart drives logistics group GWSA back to profitability October 12, 2020 The holding group behind logistics firm Eddie Stobart today said it had swung back to profitability in the first half of the year as it cashed in on higher demand for transport services during the Covid-19 crisis. Green White Start Acquisitions (GWSA), which also controls iForce, The Pallet Network and The Logistics People, reported revenue [...]
Get ahead with a NED? How non-executive directors have evolved October 9, 2020 ‘You cannot rely on others to seek you out – you must put in a concerted effort to obtaining a directorship. So network, wear out the shoe leather and be prepared to drink a lot of coffee’: so advises a guide for senior professionals seeking to become a non-executive director (NED). Spencer Stuart, the executive search and [...]
FRC delays appointment of Keith Skeoch as interim chair October 1, 2020 The appointment of City veteran Keith Skeoch as chair of the audit watchdog has reportedly been delayed despite having been signed off by the business secretary. The plan to name Skeoch as interim chair of the Financial Reporting Council has been delayed due to a failure in Whitehall to rubber-stamp the appointment, according to Sky [...]
UK watchdog to accuse KPMG of breaches in Carillion audit September 21, 2020 The UK’s accountancy watchdog has said it has delivered an initial report of KPMG’s audit of collapsed outsourcer Carillion, indicating it found a number of breaches made by the firm. After a preliminary investigation, the Financial Reporting Council would either close the enforcement case or, if breaches have been found, deliver an initial investigation report. [...]
Deloitte hit with record £15m fine over Autonomy audit September 17, 2020 The FRC has announced sanctions against Deloitte and two audit partners following an investigation into its audit of software firm Autonomy. The Big Four accounting firm, and two of its now former partners, Richard Knights and Nigel Mercer, were investigated in relation to their audit of Autonomy’s financial statements for 2009 and 2010. Autonomy was [...]
Deloitte starts audit split – the first of the Big Four to do so September 11, 2020 Deloitte will set up an audit governance board, making it the first of the Big Four accounting firms to make headway with demands from the UK regulator. The audit governance board will be effective from 1 January 2021. It will be chaired by Baroness Margaret Ford, who currently chairs Scottish media group STV and real [...]
KPMG set to slash jobs and pension contributions in cost-cutting drive July 22, 2020 KPMG is set to cut more than 100 jobs and slash contributions to employees’ pensions in a bid to slash costs during the pandemic. The Big Four firm is expected to cut just under 200 jobs across the UK ahead of the long-awaited reform of the audit reform. Sky News first reported that partners and [...]