Patisserie Valerie enters administration after bank talks fail January 22, 2019 Patisserie Valerie collapsed into administration this evening after discussions with its lenders fell apart following the shock revelation of “significant fraud” at the high street cafe chain. Chairman Luke Johnson had been scrambling to come to an agreement with creditors to secure a cash lifeline after posting an update to the market last week admitting [...]
Watchdog investigation into KPMG’s Carillion audit at ‘critical stage’ January 22, 2019 The UK’s audit watchdog said its investigation into KPMG’s audit work for collapsed construction giant Carillion is at a “critical stage”. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued an update this morning on its probe into the Big Four firm following “significant public interest” in the case. Carillion’s collapse in January last year has become a [...]
Patisserie Valerie reveals balance sheet was significantly manipulated in ‘devastating’ fraud January 16, 2019 Patisserie Valerie posted a bombshell update to the market this afternoon, admitting that its balance sheet was “significantly” manipulated and thousands of false entries were made into the high street baker’s books before a shock £40m black hole was discovered last year. The troubled firm has appointed RSM as auditors and KPMG has been hired to [...]
Experts pour cold water on CMA’s proposals for joint audits in first Beis committee hearing January 15, 2019 Audit academics and investment managers have called for caution over recommendations by the competition regulator to shake-up the audit sector. During the first in a series of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee hearings, held today, witnesses warned that the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendation could risk unintended consequences for auditing. Led by [...]
The Kingman review, digested: Five key points from today’s report December 18, 2018 Today saw the release of two big reports into the audit sector: Sir John Kingman’s review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), and the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) interim report into competition in the audit sector. The CMA – which has opened a can of worms by putting a radical split of professional services [...]
Audit sector faces huge shake-up as new reports make radical recommendations December 18, 2018 The stage has been set for a radical shake-up of the UK’s audit sector, following the release of two highly-anticipated reports. Britain’s audit watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), should be scrapped and replaced with a new statutory body, Sir John Kingman’s review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has said. Meanwhile, the Competition and Markets [...]
‘Front end’ of company reports do not meet auditing standards, says regulator December 6, 2018 Auditors’ work on non-financial information in company reports does not meet auditing standards, a new report has found. A report published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said auditors are often not doing enough to support statements made in the ‘other information’ section of company reports. The ‘other information’ section, also known as the [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
City Moves for 30 November – who’s switching jobs at DWF, Legal & General and Relendex? November 30, 2018 DWF DWF has appointed regulatory specialist Richard Burger as a partner in its regulatory, compliance and investigations team in London. Richard joins from corporate and insurance firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC). Richard has 20 years’ experience in UK and international regulatory enforcement, criminal and internal corporate investigations. A former regulatory enforcement lawyer with the FSA [...]
Patisserie Valerie searching for new auditor November 27, 2018 Patisserie Holdings, the parent firm of embattled cafe company Patisserie Valerie, has begun hunting for a new auditor to replace its under-fire accountant Grant Thornton. The bakery chain is in talks to find a successor to Grant Thornton, according to Sky News, days after the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was probing the beancounter over [...]