UK audit chief in the running for HS2 top job May 2, 2022 The head of the UK’s accounting watchdog is reportedly in the running to lead the High Speed 2 rail construction project, raising further questions about the future of the country’s audit regime. Sir John Thompson, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), is in the frame for becoming the new chair of the project, [...]
Boris Johnson mulls a new Right to Buy scheme as housebuilding hits the curb May 2, 2022 Prime minister Boris Johnson is reportedly mullinh plans to bring in a new Right to Buy scheme, inspired by Margaret Thatcher, amid reports housebuilding has hit the curb. The plans seek to target “generation rent”, those whose hopes of owning a home have fallen increasingly out of reach despite being ‘of age’ to buy. [...]
UK government drops audit reform from Queen’s Speech agenda April 30, 2022 The UK government is expected to announce further delays to its shakeup of the audit sector, after dropping a draft bill on audit reform from the Queen’s Speech. A draft bill to introduce a raft of measures aimed at reforming the UK’s audit industry, including by replacing the UK’s audit watchdog with a new more [...]
Universities braced for £250m funding hit due to Northern Ireland Brexit row April 25, 2022 Universities are set to weather a £250m hit to research funding if political leaders cannot settle the row over Northern Ireland, which is blocking the UK’s admission to a key European research body.
One in ten big UK firms failing in legal requirement to have modern slavery statement April 25, 2022 A tenth of big British firms are failing to meet the legal requirement of having a statement on modern slavery. A recent sampling of 100 companies by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) found a tenth didn’t address the scourge, which generates £126bn annually. The FRC looked at 100 annual reports for firms which are regulated [...]
Activist investors look to block Deloitte audit appointment over climate failings April 24, 2022 A group of investors including Aviva and Legal & General are readying to move against accountancy giant Deloitte this week in a bid to bar its reappointment as the auditor of FTSE 100 building supply firm CRH. Climate Action 100+, a shareholder activist group of 700 investors with a combined $68tn assets under management, will [...]
UK watchdog fines Deloitte £2m over failures in audit of Mitie’s accounts April 21, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog has fined Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte and audit partner John Charlton over a raft of failures in its audit of the accounts of outsourcing company Mitie. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined Deloitte £2m and Charlton a furth £65,000 after discovering a number of “deficiencies” in the audit of [...]
RioTinto leaves lobby group amid environmental concerns April 14, 2022 Rio Tinto has left its state mining lobby group, after raising concerns that its coal expansion policy on did not align with the Paris agreement.
The City View: Victoria Scholar on rising prices, unemployment and retail sales data; and XR cause Lloyd’s of London HQ shutdown April 12, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor. They go through some of the week’s economics data on GDP, unemployment, retail sales, and talk trading updates. They discuss the latest from ASOS, Deliveroo, and EasyJet: ASOS is facing a raft of headwinds, as investors lose confidence in the online retailer; [...]
Accounting watchdog launches probe into Deloitte’s auditing of Go-Ahead April 12, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog today launched an investigation into Deloitte’s audit of public transport company Go-Ahead Group, after the UK government fined the firm £23.5m for its failures in running Southeastern rail service. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said its investigation will focus on Deloitte’s audits of Go-Ahead’s accounts over a six-year period covering the [...]