Here comes Govtech: It’s time to digitise government and the public sector February 8, 2021 Boris Johnson’s first telephone call with Joe Biden in the White House reportedly included some joshing over which of them had first used the phrase ‘Build Back Better’. Whether it was the Prime Minister or the President, it is set to be the leitmotif of the global post-Covid recovery. Economies have been devastated, individuals have [...]
Deloitte China whistleblower circulates damning presentation on social media that alleges audit failures of RYB Education February 5, 2021 Big Four firm Deloitte is under pressure after one of its employees reportedly made a 55-page PowerPoint presentation that exposed the firm’s alleged accounting violations in China. The PowerPoint, which has been circulating on Weibo, a Chinese website similar to Twitter, has alleged that when Deloitte was auditing the financial data of its client RYB [...]
UK directors to face fines in major overhaul of audit rules February 5, 2021 UK directors will reportedly face fines for accounting failures at their companies as part of a major overhaul of the audit sector. Long-awaited reforms, set to be published as early as next week, will place a tough new burden on bosses in an effort to improve audit standards. Directors, rather than boards, will be held [...]
FTSE firms ‘woefully inadequate’ at climate risk disclosure, sparking greenwashing fears February 4, 2021 The overwhelming majority of top listed companies in the UK are “woefully inadequate” at disclosing in corporate reporting how climate change will affect their business – with many potentially breaching the law. More than 90 per cent of companies’ financial accounts and associated audit reports made no reference to climate-change related factors, despite UK law [...]
Challenger audit firms prep for forced audit separation January 29, 2021 Challenger audit firms are readying themselves for audit separation, a requirement not yet expected of them, but one they see as inevitable in the future. Last summer audit regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ordered the Big Four firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY – to separate their audit units from the rest of their [...]
BEIS audit reform proposals coming ‘in next couple of weeks’ January 28, 2021 The BEIS consultation on reforms to the audit sector is understood to be coming out “in the next couple of weeks”, and is expected to be extensive. The consultation will contain detail on the minimum standards for audit committees, among other things that “UK PLC will gasp at”, Scott Knight, head of audit and assurance [...]
Regulators remind auditors to pay attention to Covid measures on corporate reporting January 27, 2021 The FCA and the FRC have issued a joint statement to remind auditors of the coronavirus-led rule changes around corporate reporting for listed companies. Now is the busiest time for auditors, when, under normal circumstances, many listed companies would publish their end of year results. But 2021 is proving especially challenging for auditors, with England’s [...]
Intel to probe results hack as chip demand lifts revenue January 22, 2021 Intel is investigating reports that financially sensitive information was stolen from its website last night in a hack that forced the chipmaker to release its quarterly results early. Chief financial officer George Davis told the Financial Times that a graphic in its financial report had been stolen by a hacker. “Once we became aware of [...]
Biden announces return to global climate accord, new curbs on U.S. oil industry January 21, 2021 By Valerie Volcovici and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced America’s return to the international Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the centerpiece of a raft of day-one executive orders aimed at restoring U.S. leadership in combating global warming. The announcements also included a sweeping order to review all of [...]
Grant Thornton sued whopping £200m for Patisserie Valerie accounting failures January 8, 2021 Grant Thornton is being sued for £200m by the liquidators of Patisserie Valerie after the cake shop chain collapsed following suspected fraud. Liquidators FRP Advisory said Grant Thornton was negligent in the preparation and conduct of 2014 to 2017 financial statements. As a result the liquidator is suing the mid-tier audit firm for damages of [...]