Senior official for Brexit planning and head of the Border Delivery Group set to quit September 28, 2019 The director general for EU exit implementation is set to quit his role just weeks before the UK is due to leave the European Union. Matthew Coats will step down from his post as one of the UK’s most senior ranking officials for Brexit planning in the latest upheaval of the civil service, according to [...]
Thomas Cook: Travel giant ‘collapsed with a £3.1bn balance sheet deficit’ September 25, 2019 Thomas Cook would have run out of cash by early October had it not gone into liquidation on Monday, such was the calamitous state of the travel giant’s finances, according to reports. In a High Court witness statement, now-former chief executive Peter Fankhauser said the firm had a balance sheet deficit of more than £3bn. [...]
Thomas Cook collapse: Regulators and business groups clamour for answers September 24, 2019 Regulators and business groups today lined up to demand answers over the collapse of holiday giant Thomas Cook. Accounting watchdog the Financial Reporting Council said it is mulling a full-scale probe into whether it breached accounting standards. A spokesman said it is considering the case “as a matter of urgency”. Read more: Thomas Cook collapse [...]
Thomas Cook: CBI backs probe into executive pay after collapse September 24, 2019 Influential business lobby group the CBI has thrown its weight behind a full-scale inquiry into executive pay at collapsed holiday giant Thomas Cook. Nearly 15,000 people returned to Britain yesterday on specially-chartered flights after the firm collapsed under the weight of a £1.7bn debt pile. More than 100,000 people are still awaiting repatriation by the [...]
Thomas Cook: Watchdog mulls whether to probe collapsed airline’s accounts September 24, 2019 Britain’s accounting watchdog is looking into investigating whether Thomas Cook breached accounting standards, after the travel giant collapsed yesterday. Nearly 15,000 people returned to Britain yesterday on specially-chartered flights after the firm collapsed under the weight of a £1.7bn debt pile. Read more: Was the collapse of Thomas Cook inevitable? The Financial Reporting Council said [...]
PwC partner profits jump to £765,000 despite criticism for poor quality of audit work September 16, 2019 Partner profits at PwC UK increased 7.4 per cent to £765,000 this year, despite the firm receiving a dressing down from the regulator for the decline in the quality of its audit work. Profit for the year to 30 June increased to £1.016bn, up from £935m the previous year. Revenue leapt 12 per cent to [...]
Local Government Pension Scheme under pressure to drop active fund managers September 14, 2019 The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has said it is under pressure from government officials to switch to passive management after the suspension of the Woodford Equity Income fund in June. LGPS, which is the largest public-sector pension scheme in the UK with almost 6m members, has 60 per cent of its holdings in active [...]
Barnier rejects Brexit extension without ‘concrete’ proposals September 12, 2019 A number of leading European figures have said there is “no reason” to extend the Brexit process, with little sign of any change to the UK’s position. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier held a closed-door meeting with members of the European Parliament today. Ahead of that meeting, Barnier told reporters: “We are still ready [...]
Audit bigwigs say lack of timetable for reform of troubled regulator is ‘a concern’ September 11, 2019 The heads of two leading audit bodies have expressed concern about perceived government inaction on the reform of the troubled accountancy regulator. Chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Michael Izza, said slow progress on the reform of the Financial Regulatory Council (FRC) “is something of a concern”. Ian Peters, [...]
Sports Direct pleads with big four auditors to check its books September 10, 2019 Sports Direct, the retailer founded by Mike Ashley, is pleading with the big four accountancy firms to audit its books as it worries smaller accountants would not be up to the task. Over the last fortnight the company has sent overtures to the auditors ahead of its annual general meeting tomorrow, Sky News reported. Grant [...]