UK-Canada trade deal back in focus as talks restart September 7, 2020 Hopes of securing a post-Brexit free trade deal with Canada were given a boost today after trade secretary Liz Truss announced the UK had kickstarted discussions. “Trade talks with Canada have commenced,” Truss wrote in a tweet. “The aim is to provide continuity for businesses by the end of the transition period. “Both the UK [...]
English councils face £2bn black hole from coroanvrius August 19, 2020 English councils are facing a £2bn black hole over the coming months if the government does not provide emergency funding, according to a leading think tank. The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ (IFS) new report said Covid-19 has depleted local government revenues and many “face a difficult choice between depleting their reserves to low and potentially [...]
It’s time for a fresh UK-China relationship August 14, 2020 The UK needs a fresh template for its relationship with China. Central to this should be a differentiation between strategic and non-strategic areas. This would allow UK businesses to know where the government has set its red lines. In 2015, the UK and China’s relationship was red hot—a “golden era”—with President Xi making a state [...]
Watchdog slams government for lack of pandemic economic plan July 23, 2020 Parliament’s financial watchdog has slammed the government for its failure to plan for the economic consequences of a pandemic, saying it was “astonished” that the UK was not better prepared. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Treasury waited until mid-March to design schemes to support the economy. That was despite it [...]
Social responsibility belongs in the boardroom, not the marketing suite July 23, 2020 The issues that concern young people the most today — from the climate crisis and global pandemic to new conversations on race and privilege — are ones that also belong in the boardroom. Our world is changing fast, and so too are society’s expectations of corporate Britain — not just when it comes to the [...]
KPMG set to slash jobs and pension contributions in cost-cutting drive July 22, 2020 KPMG is set to cut more than 100 jobs and slash contributions to employees’ pensions in a bid to slash costs during the pandemic. The Big Four firm is expected to cut just under 200 jobs across the UK ahead of the long-awaited reform of the audit reform. Sky News first reported that partners and [...]
Physical? Hybrid? Virtual? Companies re-imagine AGMs for 2021 and beyond July 20, 2020 Could the annual general meetings (AGMs) of 2021 and beyond look and feel very different? As companies start to consider the future format of corporate set-piece events, so the possibility arises these often sparsely attended gatherings could begin to evolve into significantly more enlightening and engaging occasions. This year’s AGM season largely coincided with lockdown, [...]
Third of UK audits fail accounting watchdog’s quality tests July 14, 2020 Britain’s accounting watchdog today said that a third of audits by the UK’s seven main accounting firms failed quality tests this year, amping up pressure for widescale reform in the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said 29 of 88 audits carried out by Deloitte, PWC, EY, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars this year [...]
Government dragging its feet on audit reform, says business committee July 14, 2020 The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has accused the government of dragging its feet on proposed audit reforms. The government has today published its response to the committee’s inquiry into the collapse of Thomas Cook last year. In the original findings from the inquiry last October, the committee expressed disappointment that the government [...]
An open letter to the PM: Britain must build Sizewell C — nuclear sits at the heart of a green recovery July 12, 2020 An open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, business secretary Alok Sharma, and chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak We are writing as engineers, nuclear experts, scientists and concerned citizens to applaud your commitment to fighting climate change through energy policy, in particular the commitment to proceed with new nuclear construction at the same time [...]