Hargreaves Lansdown execs to defer bonuses amid Woodford fund troubles June 23, 2019 Two senior executives at Hargreaves Lansdown have echoed the actions of the firm’s boss after volunteering to defer their bonuses in the wake of an investment scandal involving Neil Woodford. Research director Mark Dampier and chief investment officer Lee Gardhouse have shelved their annual bonuses as their investment platform faces growing pressure over its backing [...]
PwC fined £4.5m for ‘lack of competence’ in Redcentric audit June 13, 2019 The audit watchdog has fined PwC more than £4.5m for a “serious lack of competence” in its audit of IT services firm Redcentric. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) slammed the auditors’ failure to exercise professional scepticism following an investigation after a £20m black hole was found in Redcentric’s accounts in 2016. Read more: PwC invests [...]
Digital tech sector now accounts for a fifth of all UK job vacancies June 12, 2019 Jobs in the digital sector now account for 20 per cent of all vacancies in the UK as the boom in the tech economy shows no signs of slowing down. There were 1.7m digital tech job openings across the country last year, with tech now a major employer across sectors in some of the UK’s [...]
Outsourcer Interserve went into administration owing more than £100m to creditors June 10, 2019 Interserve owed more than £100m to firms including accountants, local authorities and IT suppliers when it went into administration in March. The outsourcer owed its unsecured creditors £50.5m, while its secured creditors were due £55.4m, according to documents filed with Companies House. Read more: Interserve kicked off government’s late payments scheme Among the biggest losers [...]
City Moves for 5 June – Who’s switching jobs? June 4, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Barclays, 11:FS and FXD Capital. Barclays Barclays has appointed Karen Johnson as the national head of retail, wholesale and healthcare for its Corporate Banking business. Karen has more than 25 years banking experience, working with a wide range of businesses from owner-managed through to multinationals. She joined Barclays in 2015 to [...]
Blackrock warns stewardship code could prevent UK listings May 29, 2019 Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager, has warned that proposed changes to disclosure rules could deter companies from listing in London. Responding to a Financial Reporting Council (FRC) consultation on its stewardship code the New York-headquartered firm said heightened disclosure rules could prevent private discussions that are “necessary to support effective dialogue”. Read more: Blackrock [...]
City Moves for 29 May – Who’s switching jobs at Clearstar, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management and The Office Group? May 28, 2019 Today's City Moves includes Clearstar, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management and The Office Group. Clearstar Clearstar has announced that it has appointed Jennifer Balleza as the company’s chief financial officer with immediate effect. Jennifer, who has been serving as the company’s interim chief financial officer since January 2019, is not being appointed to the board of [...]
How to cope with the confusion around social care costs May 22, 2019 Distracted by the ongoing Brexit crisis, the government appears to have shoved the not-so-small issue of social care to one side. With a growing elderly population (by 2046, a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 or over), and proportionately fewer taxpayers able to prop them up, the rising cost of social care [...]
Exiles on St Mary Axe: Turkish law firm fleeing Erdogan regime establishes itself in London May 20, 2019 After the failed July 2016 coup against Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the country’s largest law firms was closed by police amid a wider crackdown that saw journalists jailed, judges detained and generals purged. The firm had formerly been the Turkish arm of international legal giant DLA Piper, and its founding partners were [...]
With increased scrutiny of the profession, it’s time for auditing to be in the public interest May 16, 2019 Auditing in the UK is undergoing unprecedented scrutiny, and the magnifying scope is focusing on all aspects of the sector. The myriad reviews, some of which are ongoing, are being conducted by regulators, politicians and government departments, each separately looking at audit’s effectiveness, competition across the sector, and its future in general. Most notably, the [...]