Ban auditors from immediately selling new services to outgoing clients, says sector body November 6, 2018 Accountancy firms should be banned from immediately selling other services to lapsing audit clients, an industry body has said. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has told regulators they should consider introducing a “cooling off” period of two years, in which auditors are banned from the lucrative practice of selling additional products to firms [...]
Bosses should take blame for bad corporate reports, says Big Four’s EY November 4, 2018 One of the UK’s biggest audit firms has said top bosses and directors should take individual responsibility if their companies make errors in financial reports. EY, one of the Big Four audit firms, said regulators should adapt the US system of corporate responsibility, which stipulates C-level executives must personally confirm the integrity of their companies’ [...]
Stephen Haddrill steps down as FRC audit watchdog boss amid probe November 2, 2018 Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), is stepping down amid a government probe into the watchdog’s operations. Haddrill has led the FRC, which monitors and regulates the audit sector, since 2009. The news comes in the wake of mounting pressure on the FRC, which has come under examination following several recent scandals within the UK’s [...]
Mark Kleinman: Financial Reporting Council must offer clarity on Haddrill’s future November 2, 2018 The 900 UK partners at PwC were unable to deduce much from a voicemail left for them this week by their boss, Kevin Ellis, about its plans for the future of the UK audit market. His message was “very top-level”, according to one person who heard it: the details of its blueprint, submitted to the [...]
Big Four accountant EY admits need for improved audit standards as UK revenues rise October 29, 2018 Accounting giant EY has said that standards must improve in the audit sector and welcomed an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into the scrutinised sector, as it reported increased UK revenue today. The figures EY’s fee income, equivalent to revenue, grew 2.7 per cent to £2.41bn for the financial year ending June. EY’s partners will [...]
Audit watchdog boss Stephen Haddrill set to step down amid probe October 28, 2018 The chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Stephen Haddrill, is reportedly preparing to step down amid a government probe into the watchdog’s operations. Haddrill is planning to leave within months, Sky News reported. He has led the FRC, which monitors and regulates the audit sector, since 2009. Citing an anonymous source, Sky said [...]
Audit re-appointments waved through by shareholders despite year of failures in sector October 25, 2018 Shareholders overwhelmingly vote to back the re-appointment of company auditors despite widespread controversies in the sector, new research shows. Analysis of annual general meeting votes in 2018 by outsourcing firm Equiniti has found that the average votes in favour of re-appointing an auditor ranged from 97.6 per cent to 99.5 per cent across the FTSE [...]
No-deal Brexit would hit house prices – but not as hard as the financial crisis, says Moody’s October 24, 2018 UK house prices could tumble in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but would not fall as far they did during the financial crisis a decade ago, rating agency Moody’s said. There would be “outright declines in house prices nationally” if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal next March, analysts said. [...]
FRC calls on firms to account for Brexit impact in annual reports October 24, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has told listed companies to lay out how leaving the EU could impact their business in their financial reports due shortly after Brexit. In an open letter to the UK’s finance directors and audit committee chairs, the FRC said they must clearly identify specific Brexit challenges such as changes in import [...]
Firms told to improve corporate reporting standards October 24, 2018 Businesses have been told to up their game in key elements of corporate governance and reporting, after a review found a multitude of basic errors and misapplications of the UK corporate governance code in reports. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), a watchdog and regulator which aims to promote transparency and integrity in business, made the findings [...]