M&C Saatchi board ‘blocked investigation’ into accounting crisis December 15, 2019 The board of M&C Saatchi has reportedly been accused of backtracking on its promise to hold an investigation into the firm’s £11.6m accounting crisis. The advertising stalwart was plunged into chaos last week when founder Lord Maurice Saatchi and three other directors resigned following a fierce row over the scandal. Read more: M&C Saatchi shares [...]
Freshfields partner exits after investigation in latest #MeToo case December 12, 2019 A Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner left the firm this week after an investigation into a suspected #MeToo case. Disputes and investigations partner Nick Williams left the firm on Wednesday following an investigation into his conduct. Website Legal Week reported that his exit was related to #MeToo concerns. A spokesperson for Freshfields said: “We can confirm [...]
KPMG partner pay slides after challenging year December 11, 2019 Partner pay at KPMG UK fell seven per cent in 2018-19 after a year when the firm strove to deal with the fallout from a series of scandals. In the year to 30 September, KPMG average partner pay fell to £640,000 from £690,000 the previous year. Profit before taxation and members’ profit shares fell nearly [...]
Accountancy firm Grant Thornton and one of its partners hit with fines for audit failures December 10, 2019 Accountancy firm Grant Thornton was today fined £650,000 and one of its partners £20,000 for failures in the auditing of a publicly listed company. Regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it had sanctioned the firm with a £650,000 fine (discounted to £422,500) and one of its partners £20,000 (discounted to £13,000). It has also [...]
General Election 2019: Conservative Party to ditch central tenet of Big Four audit reform plans November 25, 2019 The Conservatives will throw out a proposal to impose mandatory joint auditors on large companies if they win the General Election. Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) have in recent weeks indicated that the system is unlikely to be introduced as part of wider reform of the auditing sector, Sky [...]
FTSE 100 jumps on US-China trade war optimism as Tory polling boosts pound November 25, 2019 The FTSE 100 rose more than almost half a per cent higher today as China signalled it is willing to bring an end to its prolonged trade war with the US. Meanwhile sterling jumped 0.3 per cent higher as the latest election polls put the Tories on track to win a majority in December’s election. [...]
KPMG to slash partner bonuses by up to 40 per cent November 24, 2019 Partners at KPMG are facing steep cuts to their bonuses as the accounting giant cuts costs in a bid to prepare for tighter regulation of its audit work. Partners’ bonuses – which can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds – are set to fall by as much as 40 per cent this year, according to [...]
IoD: Governance overhaul needed to restore trust in business November 20, 2019 The next government and business must work together to restore trust in corporate Britain, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said in a “manifesto” that lays out a number of proposals to improve the running of companies. One of the IoD’s key proposals is a new form of company for the outsourcing industry, “the Public [...]
Softbank in talks to take over KPMG’s private members’ club November 19, 2019 Softbank is reportedly in talks to take over the KPMG’s controversial private members’ club in Mayfair, after regulators expressed concerns the auditor was giving memberships to its clients as perks. KPMG put the five-storey club, called Number Twenty, on the market in September as part of a cost-cutting drive but stepped up efforts to offload [...]
EY partners set to take pay cut after growth slows November 19, 2019 EY UK partners are set to take a pay cut this year after the audit firm today announced anaemic revenue growth of 1.5 per cent. Average partner pay for the year ended 30 June slipped to £679,000 from £693,000 the previous year. The firm said investments in tech and audit quality and an increase in [...]