The City View: The future of capital markets, with William Wright – founder of New Financial June 9, 2020 In this episode Christian is joined by William Wright, founder of the capital markets think-tank, New Financial, which works to promote bigger and better capital markets. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS It also strives to explain the role and purpose of capital markets, and to focus the industry on how it can best serve [...]
Audit watchdog closes investigation into Tesco accounting scandal June 8, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the closure of its remaining investigation into accountants at Tesco, ending a six-year probe linked to an overstatement of profit by the supermarket chain. The FRC said this morning it was closing an investigation into Tesco’s announcement in 2014 that it had overstated profits by £263m, a figure [...]
Neil Woodford one year on: How the star stock picker fell from grace May 28, 2020 Former star stock picker Woodford suffered a very public fall from grace last year after his flagship Equity Income fund was suspended following a spike in investor redemptions. One year on, we look at what caused Woodford’s demise, where he is now and what it means for the investment industry going forward. Who is Neil [...]
FRC probes KPMG and PwC’s Eddie Stobart audits May 26, 2020 The accounting watchdog has opened investigations into audits by KPMG and PwC of haulage firm Eddie Stobart Logistics. In August, Eddie Stobart sacked its chief executive and suspended trading in its shares after an accounting investigation found its 2018 profits had been overstated by £2m. A review of the company’s accounts, undertaken by finance chief [...]
Chair of audit watchdog the FRC Simon Dingemans resigns after less than nine months May 20, 2020 Former Glaxosmithkline finance boss Simon Dingemans has stepped down as chair of audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) less than nine months after taking the role. Dingemans was appointed last July to chair the FRC and oversee its transformation to the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA) after the FRC was heavily criticised for [...]
Regulator calls for early interventions in poor audits to help stop scandals May 6, 2020 The audit regulator today called for accountancy firms to flag poor quality audits sooner to help prevent corporate scandals. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said tools for spotting signs of poor quality audits should be used more effectively, following a major review of their use. Last year all of the UK’s leading accounting firms failed [...]
EY investigated over audit of scandal-hit NMC Health May 4, 2020 Regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said today it had opened an investigation into Big Four firm EY’s audit of scandal-ridden NMC Health. The audit watchdog said it was probing EY’s audit of NMC for the year ended 2018. It said the investigation, which launched on 15 April, is being carried out by its enforcement [...]
Moss Bros delays full-year results amid coronavirus crisis April 14, 2020 Menswear retailer Moss Bros has delayed the publication of its full year results due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced this morning that it will postpone its financial results for the year ending 25 January until late July. It had previously planned to publish its accounts in late May. Financial regulators said last month [...]
EU vs Swiss Policies Compared April 7, 2020 In a major move last year, The European Parliament and the European Council took new strides towards EU anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations with the Fifth AML Directive. The Fifth AML Directive popularly known as MLD5 which entered into force on 9 July 2018 expanded the scope to cover [...]
Watchdog eases cash call cap to help firms raise cash amid coronavirus outbreak April 1, 2020 The Pre-Emption Group (PEG) has said existing investors in UK-listed companies should be allowed to buy a bigger share of rights issues, in a move that could make it easier for firms to raise cash amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the Pre-Emption Group (PEG) of listed companies, investors and intermediaries [...]