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. [...]
Auditors are told to get tough with banks on loss provisions May 28, 2014 AUDITORS for British banks and building societies are not scrutinising the firms’ books closely enough, despite repeated warnings that auditors should have caught some of the warning signs ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, a watchdog said yesterday. The Financial Reporting Council flagged up poor testing of loan impairment models and a widespread reluctance among [...]
Watchdog call for clawbacks April 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S reporting watchdog wants all listed companies to claw back bonuses from top staff who fail to perform. Clawback rules, which have been adopted by the banks, would be extended to all FTSE firms under the Financial Reporting Council’s plans. The FRC also said firms should explain more clearly what they will do when investors [...]
Retiring Lloyds chairman to join the Financial Reporting Council January 23, 2014 THE OUTGOING chairman of Lloyds Banking Group has been picked to chair the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the accounting regulator said yesterday. Sir Win Bischoff, who retires from Lloyds in April, will replace Baroness Hogg at the FRC on 1 May. He was chosen for the job after an eight-month search for Hogg’s replacement, conducted [...]