It’s time for investors to engage with some accounting philosophy June 28, 2013 PEOPLE in accounting rarely talk philosophy. They tend to discuss technical detail, so it’s no wonder that financial reporting – the reports and accounts of major companies – has become ever more complex. But over the next few months, we have a once-in-a-generation chance to do something about this. And it’s up to chairmen, chief [...]
The audit market wasn’t working: here’s how to fix it February 24, 2013 IN A wide-ranging set of findings, the Competition Commission has concluded that there are significant flaws and a lack of competition at the large company end of the UK audit market. The Big Four group of accountancy firms now acts as auditors for 90 per cent of Britain’s listed big companies. The problem, as diagnosed [...]
Plans to force firms to switch auditors don’t go far enough February 21, 2013 BANKS, ratings agencies, now auditors: the firing line of financial sub-industries being dragged kicking and screaming into a post-crisis world continues to lengthen. As soon as tomorrow, the Competition Commission will pave the way for an overhaul of the Big Four accountants with a proposal to enforce mandatory rotation of their major audit clients at [...]
Anti-trust body to rule on audit work this week February 18, 2013 THE Big Four accounting firms will learn this week whether the UK Competition Commission plans to shake up the industry to give smaller challengers a better shot at winning audit work. KPMG, PwC, Ernst & Young and Deloitte, which together audit all but a handful of Britain’s biggest firms, have told the commission that the [...]
Watchdog will probe accounts for Autonomy February 11, 2013 THE ACCOUNTING watchdog has opened a probe into former FTSE 100 software firm Autonomy’s accounts for the years leading up to its controversial takeover by Hewlett-Packard. The Financial Reporting Council said yesterday it will look at Autonomy’s reporting between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2011, shortly before the $11.1bn (£7bn) offer from HP was [...]
Auditor Ernst & Young cleared over Lehman January 29, 2013 ERNST and Young will not face any action relating to its work with Lehman Brothers in the year before the bank’s collapse, the Financial Reporting Council ruled yesterday. The Big Four auditor had faced claims it had been too lenient on the bank, signing off their reports into its European arm despite Lehman breaking the [...]
Watchdog says boards should look for risks on the horizon January 29, 2013 COMPANY boards and auditors need to be more vigilant about long-term risks to financial health, according to tighter rules from the Financial Reporting Council written in the wake of the credit crisis. The FRC said today it wants directors to consider threats to their business models and capital levels at least a year into the [...]
Watchdog says local councils will struggle to balance budget January 29, 2013 LOCAL government faces a funding crisis and many authorities could be forced to make substantial cuts to core services, according to a report released today by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO estimates that local authorities are planning to reduce spending by £4.6bn by April 2013 but councils still need to identify about half [...]
Audit watchdog hikes business levy by 8.5pc January 22, 2013 THE UK’S audit watchdog has announced plans to hike levy rates by 8.5 per cent. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC)’s move was criticised by firms yesterday but the regulator said the increase was necessary as it attempts to clear a backlog of cases and deals with extra regulation. The FRC is upping its budget by 10 [...]
Why Dodd-Frank is pushing the US towards impending financial crisis January 17, 2013 IT’S been more than two years since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by Barack Obama. Passed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and involving some of the most significant changes to regulation since the Great Depression, regulators have been writing rules at an astonishing pace ever [...]