Watchdog slams Grant Thornton over ‘unacceptable’ public sector audits October 30, 2020 The accounting watchdog has criticised Grant Thornton over its ‘unacceptable” record on public sector audits, after five out of six of the firm’s local audits were found to fall below the expected standard. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) singled out Grant Thornton and Mazars for criticism following a review of 15 major audits of health [...]
West Yorkshire to enter Tier 3 from midnight on Sunday October 29, 2020 The whole of West Yorkshire will enter the highest level of lockdown from midnight on Sunday following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield will all enter Tier 3 restrictions, meaning an extra 1.5m people will be placed under the toughest restrictions in the country, Leeds City council leader Judith Blake confirmed [...]
Shaun Bailey accuses Sadiq Khan of wasting nearly £10bn of TfL cash October 29, 2020 Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has today accused Mayor Sadiq Khan of wasting nearly £9.6bn in Transport for London (TfL) finances since 2016. According to Bailey, the failure to deliver the Crossrail rail link on time has cost £5.2bn, while pensions have drained £828m from TfL’s finances over the period. A freeze of Tube [...]
Exclusive: City Hall and government urged to tackle capital’s ‘jobs crisis’ October 27, 2020 The government and City Hall must work together to tackle the jobs crisis that is set to see more than 130,000 Londoners fall into long-term unemployment in 2020/21, a new report shared exclusively with City A.M. has argued. The Learning and Work Institute’s (LWI) report said Londoners had been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus [...]
Barcelona’s strategy to attract foreign tech investment, second best in Europe October 26, 2020 The number of foreign tech companies in Catalonia grew by 21% in 2020 reaching 1,369 The fDi Intelligence division of the ‘Financial Times’ group together with The Next Web – one of the leading European media and companies in the field of technology and startups – recognise Barcelona and Catalonia’s strategy to attract foreign technological [...]
KPMG considering sale of UK restructuring business October 22, 2020 KPMG is considering selling its UK restructuring business as the accounting giant looks to shore up its finances after delaying its annual results amid the disruption caused by Covid-19. The firm is exploring options for the division including a possible sale as the Big Four accountants prepare for extensive reforms of their business to comply [...]
MPs demand update on audit reform progress from business secretary October 21, 2020 An influential committee of MPs has written to business secretary Alok Sharma to demand an update on the government’s progress implementing audit reforms following a series of high-profile accounting scandals. In a letter dated yesterday, Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee chair Darren Jones asked Sharma to outline which reforms recommended by two recent [...]
Khan accuses PM of ‘blatant lie’ in tit-for-tat over TfL bailout October 21, 2020 Sadiq Khan has accused the government of “lying” and playing “party political games” during Transport for London (TfL) bailout talks, sparking a tit-for-tat with the Prime Minister over the future of the ailing transport network. The London mayor told TfL’s board meeting today that the government wrote a “blank cheque without conditions” when giving emergency [...]
Accounting watchdog floats strengthening auditors’ obligation to spot fraud October 21, 2020 The UK’s accounting regulator has proposed increasing the requirements on auditors to detect fraud in company accounts following a spate of high-profile accounting scandals. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a review into the international accounting standard outlining auditors’ responsibilities to identify fraud. The watchdog is proposing revisions to the standard to provide “increased [...]
BDO becomes largest auditor of listed UK firms October 13, 2020 Challenger firm BDO now audits the highest number of listed UK companies as attempts to reform the sector sees companies move away from the Big Four. BDO, the UK’s fifth-largest accounting firm by revenue, gained 36 listed clients in the 12 months to October, according to Adviser Rankings, which collects auditor data. It now audits [...]