Institute of Directors boss slams Arcadia chairman over BHS collapse in open letter to MPs June 3, 2016 A day after its collapse, the boss of one of the UK's largest business lobbying organisations has said he "can't defend" the running of BHS – and added that "serious questions need to be asked of almost everybody concerned". In an open letter to MPs Frank Field and Iain Wright, chairs of the Commons Select [...]
MP demands FRC investigates BHS directors April 29, 2016 An MP has written to the head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), calling for an investigation into the directors of BHS. Richard Fuller, MP for Bedford, urged Stephen Haddrill to probe the “conduct of directors and advisers, and other relevant interested parties” relating to the sale of BHS by Sir Philip Green to Retail [...]
Watchdog issues new rules ahead of auditor merry-go-round April 27, 2016 The accountancy watchdog has today issued its final draft of guidance for auditors ahead of a significant piece of EU legislation coming into force this summer. The final drafts of updates to the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) UK Corporate Governance Code, Guidance on Audit Committees, and Auditing and Ethical Standards are designed to better secure the independence [...]
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issues new guidance on company solvency and going concern basis April 18, 2016 The accountancy watchdog has today issued new guidance for companies on how to make it clear in their accounts whether their business can afford to keep running for the foreseeable future. The report published by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) aims to help directors to understand the going concern basis in accounting alongside the relevant disclosure requirements. The [...]
Round two of shareholder spring? Centrica, Anglo American and HSBC Holdings all set for annual general meetings this week against background of grumbles from investors April 17, 2016 Three major household names are all set to test the sentiment of shareholders as they gather for their annual general meetings (AGM) this week. British Gas parent company Centrica will meet tomorrow, while miner Anglo American will host its AGM on Thursday. Bank HSBC will meet on Friday. Last Thursday, an unprecedented 59.29 per cent of [...]
City Moves for 4 April 2016 | Who’s switching jobs April 4, 2016 Bryan Cave International law firm Bryan Cave has announced that Remy Blain has become managing partner of the firm’s Paris office. An M&A and private equity specialist, Remy is recognised by Chambers & Partners and other league tables in the areas of mid-cap mergers and acquisitions, private equity and distribution. His past experience includes senior [...]
The Investment Association reveals productivity plan aimed at bolstering the UK economy through long-term investment March 22, 2016 The Investment Association has today unveiled its plans to boost the UK's productivity through long-term investment. Among the Productivity Action Plan's key areas of focus for removing barriers to long-term investment are improving investor engagement, enhancing company reporting to better show to what extent firms are contributing to the economy and contributing more to the debate on tax [...]
City Moves for 22 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 22, 2016 RPC Consulting RPC Consulting – the insurance consultancy arm of RPC – has appointed four senior insurance actuarial professionals to its team in London and Cambridge. Pete Lee, James Norman and Tony Lovick all worked at EMB (now Willis Towers Watson). Natasha Regan joins from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Pete has over 25 years’ [...]
UK pensions freedoms: Number of defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension transfers lower than expected, finds Financial Reporting Council report March 21, 2016 We hope you didn't bet your pension pot on there being a big switchover from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes when the pension freedoms came into force last year – research published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) discovered that there has been relatively low levels of scheme swapping. The study by [...]
Audit watchdog’s new powers signal shift February 15, 2016 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is still dealing with the fallout from the financial crisis. The accountancy regulator has attracted criticism recently for its decision not to investigate KPMG over its role in the collapse of banking giant HBOS in 2008. Chief executive Stephen Haddrill is in the middle of drafting a response to the chairman [...]