Why the City of London will be better off if we leave the European Union May 31, 2016 Too much of the debate about what the European Union referendum means for the City has been frustratingly narrow and short-term, confined to the immediate financial implications of leaving. Far too little attention has been paid to the longer-term health of the City, in particular the implications of remaining inside the EU. Inside the EU, [...]
Boards are still failing to fix culture in their organisations; though financial services is leading the way May 31, 2016 Defining corporate culture is still an issue at many companies, new research has revealed. Nearly one in three (31 per cent) of boards across the public and private sectors have not established or articulated what sort of corporate culture they want, according to the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. It was also found that even when companies [...]
City Moves for 27 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 27, 2016 Payne Hicks Beach Central London law firm Payne Hicks Beach has announced that Virginia Farquharson, a chartered accountant, has been appointed to the newly created director of management role, following the retirement of Peter Black, as managing partner. Virginia has enjoyed a long career at Payne Hicks Beach for over two decades, principally as director [...]
Why long-term investors shouldn’t fear Brexit: Alarming projections have emerged about the impact of Britain leaving the EU on sterling, stocks and bonds. But there are reasons not to expect the worst May 25, 2016 You’d be forgiven for thinking the investment industry is united against Brexit. Accompanied by alarming forecasts about the impact of a Leave vote on sterling or the risk to various sectors of the UK economy, repeated reports have painted the referendum as a choice between emotion and reason, with Remain the only sensible option for [...]
Will Brexit knock house prices? Not in prime central London May 13, 2016 In a bid to sway voters, George Osborne is predicting Armageddon in every economic sector as the collateral damage of Brexit. This week he pointed the finger at property prices, predicting a significant dampening if the UK votes to leave. The chancellor is correct that the property market does stall in the face of investor uncertainty, [...]
Extended right to buy scheme could cost London councils just shy of £50m each May 4, 2016 Councils in London will need to fork out £49m a year on average to fund government’s planned extensions to the right to buy scheme, a report out today by Shelter has warned. Under the right to buy extension, local authorities will be forced to sell off a proportion of their vacant council house stock on the open [...]
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 [...]
Camra and the British Beer and Pub Association slam government’s late night levy and call for partnership schemes between councils and police April 19, 2016 Alcohol and pub industry bodies have slammed the government's late night levy on the pub sector and urged councils and police to consider partnership schemes as a "more effective" alternative. In a report released today, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) and the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) criticised the scheme's low take-up rates [...]
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 [...]