Gousto taps City bigwig Garrett-Cox as chair ahead of stock market float May 7, 2021 Recipe box firm Gousto has tapped one of Britain’s most prominent businesswomen as its next chair as it gears up for a potential stock market float. The meal kit company, which was founded in 2012, has agreed the appointment of Katherine Garrett-Cox to lead the company through a listing. The appointment is expected to be [...]
Ministers to start searching for new audit watchdog chair May 7, 2021 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will shortly kick off the search for the new chair of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). BEIS will advertise for the role in the coming weeks, Sky News first reported. The FRC’s current interim chair Keith Skeoch has reportedly had his contract extended in recent weeks [...]
Three-quarters of new FRC panel members being ex-Big Four causes interest concerns May 5, 2021 The majority of individuals recently recruited to the FRC’s advisory panel have at some point worked for a Big Four firm, raising concerns about their objectivity when it comes to making recommendations that are in the public interest. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently announced 19 new appointments to its advisory panel, a body established [...]
Big Four and challengers ask for leeway on difficult audits to avoid public criticism April 27, 2021 The Big Four and the challenger audit firms have asked the accountancy watchdog for more leniency when it comes to more difficult audit jobs, for fear of public criticism if they make a mistake. Audit firms have asked the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to pause quality inspections of their work for a year if they [...]
Audit sector ‘failing society and needs reform’ warns think tank April 21, 2021 The UK’s audit sector is “failing society” by coming up short when assessing firms’ finances and governance, leaving the door open to costly, Carillion-style business collapses, according to think tank IPPR. The think tank said there is an “expectation gap” between what audit currently assesses and what it needs to assess to fulfil the [...]
Blacklist audit firms for fraud failures, urges Pirc April 19, 2021 Large audit firms that are deemed not to be working hard enough to root out corporate fraud will be blacklisted in this year’s annual shareholder meetings by Pirc. Pirc has urged investors have not to reappoint PwC, KPMG, EY or Grant Thornton because it believes they have not done enough to improve their fraud detection [...]
Public-private partnership must be at the heart of tackling climate change ahead of COP26 April 19, 2021 Later this year, representatives of over 190 governments will gather at COP26 to voice their commitments to tackling the climate crisis, confirm a “landing zone” on net zero and negotiate the intricacies of the Paris Agreement rulebook. But it’s an illusion to think that government commitments are enough to kick-start climate recovery. Since the global [...]
Bitcoin consolidates, Ethereum sets new all-time high, XRP more than doubles April 12, 2021 Bitcoin consolidates, Ethereum sets new all-time high and XRP more than doubles as crypto rides high.
Regulator zeroes in on KPMG over M&C Saatchi audit April 12, 2021 KPMG faces scrutiny from the audit regulator after an accounting scandal at M&C Saatchi saw the business overstate its profits £14m in irregularities dating back to 2014. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made initial inquiries to determine whether KPMG’s auditing met the required standards, the Financial Times first reported. The inquiries are a formal [...]
Prince William calls on finance bosses to ‘invest in nature’ April 8, 2021 Prince William has urged global finance leaders to “invest in nature” in order to combat climate change and benefit “our children and grandchildren”. The Duke of Cambridge’s comments were made in a speech during a session of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s virtual Spring Meetings event. The duke launched his ambitious £50m Earthshot [...]