I recreated all my favourite TV tropes, from crawling through pipes to being two kids in a trenchcoat
David Davis: May should postpone parliament’s Brexit vote again to stoke no deal fears January 3, 2019 Former Brexit secretary David Davis believes Theresa May should delay parliament’s vote on her Brexit deal for a second time in order to push Britain closer to a no-deal scenario, and to pile pressure onto MPs and the EU. Parliament was originally due to vote on May’s deal on 11 December, but the Prime Minister [...]
Patisserie Valerie takes trip to Starbucks to find new commercial director December 18, 2018 Under-pressure cake shop Patisserie Valerie has rebuilt its management team by snapping up a former Starbucks executive. Rhys Iley will try to reinvigorate the chain’s 200 stores as he takes up the role as commercial director. The appointment marks the end of new chief executive Steve Francis’s hiring spree after he brought in interim finance chief [...]
The Kingman review, digested: Five key points from today’s report December 18, 2018 Today saw the release of two big reports into the audit sector: Sir John Kingman’s review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), and the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) interim report into competition in the audit sector. The CMA – which has opened a can of worms by putting a radical split of professional services [...]
Audit sector faces huge shake-up as new reports make radical recommendations December 18, 2018 The stage has been set for a radical shake-up of the UK’s audit sector, following the release of two highly-anticipated reports. Britain’s audit watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), should be scrapped and replaced with a new statutory body, Sir John Kingman’s review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has said. Meanwhile, the Competition and Markets [...]
Mark Kleinman: Come in Houston, just as UK audit reforms bite December 14, 2018 Talk about a hospital pass. Richard Houston, Deloitte’s consulting chief, might be forgiven for feeling a bit like Theresa May this week. Houston’s is the solitary name on a ballot open to partners at the Big Four accountancy firm’s UK operation as it seeks to elect a successor to David Sproul, its chief executive for [...]
Today, we are helping to ensure that business is a force for good December 10, 2018 This week sees the launch of the UK’s first set of principles for the corporate governance of large private companies. This is a watershed moment that underlines the key contribution such companies make to the economy and society in general. Business, well done, is a force for good. Business creates the jobs, economic growth, and [...]
‘Front end’ of company reports do not meet auditing standards, says regulator December 6, 2018 Auditors’ work on non-financial information in company reports does not meet auditing standards, a new report has found. A report published today by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said auditors are often not doing enough to support statements made in the ‘other information’ section of company reports. The ‘other information’ section, also known as the [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
Patisserie Valerie appoints interim CFO as it seeks to steady the ship after accounting scandal December 5, 2018 Embattled cake shop Patisserie Valerie has appointed an interim CFO after its last one was suspended before quitting amid an accounting scandal surrounding a £40m black hole. Nick Perrin will serve in the role until the bakers can find a permanent successor to Chris Marsh, who resigned following investigations into possible fraud at the company. [...]
PwC loses FTSE 100 client crown in audit pass-the-parcel December 3, 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the UK’s biggest accountancy firm, has had its crown – holding the highest number of FTSE 100 clients – snatched by rival KPMG. It is the first time PwC has lost its position as the leading auditor of the UK’s top blue-chip firms. KPMG now audits 28 FTSE 100 firms, to PwC’s 27, [...]