Watchdog orders Big Four to separate auditing units by 2024 July 6, 2020 The Big Four accounting firms — PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY — must separate their audit units from the rest of their businesses by 2024, the audit watchdog said this morning. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is asking the companies to agree to operational separation by June 2024 to ensure their audits “do not rely [...]
Eddie Stobart reports jump in losses as it recovers from difficult year July 6, 2020 Annual losses at logistics group Eddie Stobart have jumped significantly, following a £169m charge in December as a result of an accounting blunder. Losses before tax rose to £238.9m for the 12 months to the end of November 2019, up from £22.3m a year earlier. Exceptional costs were reported of £200.2m, up from £5.1m, to [...]
Accounting watchdog investigates London Capital & Finance audits June 24, 2020 The accounting watchdog has launched three investigations into audits of collapsed mini-bond seller London Capital & Finance (LCF). The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will investigate audits of the investment firm carried out by Oliver Clive & Co., PwC, and EY. LCF went into administration in January 2019, leaving 11,600 investors facing losses of up to [...]
AIM shows signs of life as it celebrates its 25th birthday June 19, 2020 As AIM prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary today, the junior market is proving remarkably resilient and adaptable. Faced with Covid turbulence, AIM has so far performed well in comparison to other markets, helping to cushion investors from the worst effects of the downturn. In the first five months of 2020, the AIM all-share index [...]
Former FRC chairman Simon Dingemans joins Carlyle June 15, 2020 The former chairman of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) who stepped down last month has taken a new role at private equity firm Carlyle. Simon Dingemans, who left the accounting watchdog in May, will join Carlyle as a managing director in charge of UK buyouts, first reported by the Financial Times. He will also reportedly [...]
Audit watchdog closes investigation into Tesco accounting scandal June 8, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the closure of its remaining investigation into accountants at Tesco, ending a six-year probe linked to an overstatement of profit by the supermarket chain. The FRC said this morning it was closing an investigation into Tesco’s announcement in 2014 that it had overstated profits by £263m, a figure [...]
PwC to reopen UK offices from 8 June following coronavirus lockdown easing June 3, 2020 Big Four accountancy firm PwC said today it would reopen offices across the UK from 8 June as the coronavirus lockdown eases. The firm said it would open its London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Reading, and Bristol offices from next Monday. Kevin Ellis, PwC UK chair and senior partner, said: “Just because we can work from [...]
FRC probes KPMG and PwC’s Eddie Stobart audits May 26, 2020 The accounting watchdog has opened investigations into audits by KPMG and PwC of haulage firm Eddie Stobart Logistics. In August, Eddie Stobart sacked its chief executive and suspended trading in its shares after an accounting investigation found its 2018 profits had been overstated by £2m. A review of the company’s accounts, undertaken by finance chief [...]
Chair of audit watchdog the FRC Simon Dingemans resigns after less than nine months May 20, 2020 Former Glaxosmithkline finance boss Simon Dingemans has stepped down as chair of audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) less than nine months after taking the role. Dingemans was appointed last July to chair the FRC and oversee its transformation to the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) after the FRC was heavily criticised for [...]
Regulator calls for early interventions in poor audits to help stop scandals May 6, 2020 The audit regulator today called for accountancy firms to flag poor quality audits sooner to help prevent corporate scandals. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said tools for spotting signs of poor quality audits should be used more effectively, following a major review of their use. Last year all of the UK’s leading accounting firms failed [...]