Tesco faces investigation by Financial Reporting Council over profit blackhole December 22, 2014 Tesco is facing an investigation by another City regulator over its auditing practices which have come under scrutiny following the revelation of a £263m profit blackhole. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will look at the “preparation, approval and audit” of Tesco’s financial statements for the last three financial years stretching back to 2012. The investigation will [...]
Watchdog to shame worst bank auditors December 1, 2014 THREE banks and three auditors have failed a set of tests set by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which reviewed their audits, it said today. The audit watchdog fears banks are failing to consistently measure and report loan-loss provisions. Four of the seven auditors reviewed have improved the quality of their work, making sure they [...]
Tesco share price rises as it confirms Serious Fraud Office has launched a criminal investigation October 29, 2014 The Serious Fraud Office has launched a formal criminal investigation into accounting errors at Tesco which led to a £263m profit black hole. Despite that, shares rose 2.6 per cent in mid-afternoon trading. The SFO had previously said it was “following developments at Tesco with interest” after the supermarket’s profit overstatement was first revealed in [...]
Tesco sheds three more executives in wake of profit overstatement October 14, 2014 Tesco has asked three non-executive directors to leave the company, taking the total number of departures in less than a month since it revealed a £250m black hole in its profit to eight. The supermarket said in a statement: "We have asked three employees to step aside to facilitate the investigation into the potential overstatement [...]
Tesco share price continues slump as Financial Reporting Council says it’s “closely monitoring” the situation September 24, 2014 The UK’s accounting regulator is keeping an eye on Tesco’s investigation into accounting errors which has caused more than £2bn to be wiped off its shares in the past two days. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said this morning it is "monitoring the situation closely" after Tesco’s announcement on Monday that it overstated profit estimates [...]
Directors fear Financial Reporting Council future risks behaviour code: “Companies do not have crystal balls” September 16, 2014 Executives risk being punished under new guidelines for simply failing to have perfect knowledge of the future, the Institute of Directors (IoD) warned this morning. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) wants bosses to give investors a fuller account of possible risks facing their company over the years ahead. The aim is to promote long-term thinking. “This [...]
Investors come first in the new corporate governance code September 3, 2014 THE latest version of the UK Corporate Governance Code will be launched by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) this month. Setting the standards for good governance, companies with a premium listing must report on their compliance with the Code, but many others adhere to it to demonstrate to investors their commitment to best practice. The [...]
ACCA Comment: For women in business, small steps are no longer enough July 16, 2014 We must fire on all cylinders for gender equality to happen. As an analogy for the barrier women face to career progression, the glass ceiling has been around for so long that it seems unusually robust for something supposedly so fragile. Yes, more women are breaking into the higher echelons of business and [...]
We must recapture the power of long-termism to restore faith in the market July 16, 2014 Peter Lynch, the great American fund manager at Fidelity, returned an average of 29 per cent a year for his investors between 1977 and his retirement in 1990. An investment of $1,000 at the outset would have grown to $27,000 by the end of that period. That exceptional long-term record shows the huge power of [...]
Watchdog to start tribunal over Baker Tilly audit issue June 11, 2014 CHARTERED accountants Baker Tilly came under fire from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) yesterday, the latest in a series of issues the watchdog had raised over an audit of accounts conducted for 2007 and 2008. The complaint launched by the FRC concerns audits of financial statements for Tanfield, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, from 2007. [...]