KPMG fined £3.5m for BNY Mellon report misconduct August 1, 2019 Big Four firm KPMG has been fined £3.5m and one of its directors £52,000 for misconduct related to a client asset report for Bank of New York Mellon in 2011. Watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) levied a fine of £5m against KPMG which was discounted by 30 per cent for admissions of misconduct. It [...]
Grant Thornton due to quit Sports Direct after €674m Belgian tax bill July 30, 2019 Grant Thornton is reportedly set to quit as Sports Direct’s auditor following unprecedented delays to the publication of the retailer’s annual results on Friday. The auditor will abandon billionaire Mike Ashley after only learning shortly before it was set to sign off on his company’s accounts that Sports Direct owed Belgian tax authorities €674m (£605m), [...]
Lloyds’ away win piles pressure on Skeoch July 26, 2019 A score draw? For Standard Life Aberdeen, that’s probably an overly generous classified check after the final whistle on its £109bn fund management dispute with Lloyds Banking Group. It’s hard not to look at the result as anything other than a come-from-behind victory for Britain’s biggest high street lender instead. The £140m cash sum it [...]
MPs call for audit watchdog to reform after endorsing new chair Simon Dingemans July 22, 2019 An influential committee of MPs has called for radical reforms from Britain’s accountancy watchdog after endorsing the appointment of its proposed new chair. Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (Beis) has given its approval for Simon Dingemans to take over as chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), but has urged the group to [...]
Sports Direct’s share price plunges as it delays results amid House of Fraser uncertainty July 15, 2019 Shares in Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct dived this morning after the firm pushed back the publication of its financial results. The retailer blamed the delay on troubles in its recently-acquired House of Fraser business along with increased regulatory scrutiny over auditor Grant Thornton’s inspection of its books. Read more: Sports Direct expected to post 20 [...]
Deloitte fined £6.5m for role in Serco tagging scandal July 4, 2019 Big-Four auditor Deloitte was today fined £6.5m and “severely reprimanded” for its role in Serco’s electronic tag scandal. The Financial Reporting Council fine was reduced to £4.2m after the auditor admitted misconduct in connection to the scandal Serco yesterday agreed a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office over three offences of fraud and [...]
PwC fined £4.5m for ‘lack of competence’ in Redcentric audit June 13, 2019 The audit watchdog has fined PwC more than £4.5m for a “serious lack of competence” in its audit of IT services firm Redcentric. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) slammed the auditors’ failure to exercise professional scepticism following an investigation after a £20m black hole was found in Redcentric’s accounts in 2016. Read more: PwC invests [...]
Blackrock warns stewardship code could prevent UK listings May 29, 2019 Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, has warned that proposed changes to disclosure rules could deter companies from listing in London. Responding to a Financial Reporting Council (FRC) consultation on its stewardship code the New York-headquartered firm said heightened disclosure rules could prevent private discussions that are “necessary to support effective dialogue”. Read more: Blackrock [...]
Watchdog hits accountancy firm with £825,000 fine over failings in Laura Ashley audit May 9, 2019 Accountancy watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined Moore Stephens successor firm MSR Partners for failings in its audit of Laura Ashley. MSR Partners is a successor business of Moore Stephens – which merged with BDO in February. Read more: KPMG stung with £5m fine for Co-op Bank audit failures The FRC fined MSR [...]
KPMG stung with £5m fine for Co-op Bank audit failures as breakup talks roll on May 8, 2019 KPMG has been hit with a £5m fine for misconduct relating to an audit of Co-op Bank. Audit partner Andrew Walker was also fined £125,000, with both “severely reprimanded” by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Read more: Watchdog slaps KPMG with £6m fine over insurance audit The Big Four audit giant and Walker admitted their [...]