Patisserie Valerie finance director arrested and released on bail as fraud probe launched October 12, 2018 Suspended Patisserie Valerie company finance director Chris Marsh has been arrested and released on bail, the company announced this morning, as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened a criminal investigation into potential fraud at the company. Marsh was suspended on Wednesday after the high street cake shop revealed it had been notified of "significant and [...]
Outrage-induced regulation will not fix the broken audit market October 12, 2018 The audit market is broken. Don’t take my word for it – ask Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP who chairs the BEIS select committee, or Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, or even the Conservative business secretary Greg Clark, who last month ordered an inquiry into competition in the sector. With such cross-party concerns, it should not [...]
Action on productivity must take centre stage as calls for action grow louder October 12, 2018 The British economy has surprised experts time and time again in recent years, as unemployment has continually hit new lows. Yet the flipside of this miraculous fall in jobless numbers has been a truly dire slump in productivity growth – a slowdown which threatens the UK’s place at the top table among the world’s big [...]
Competition watchdog launches review of audit sector October 9, 2018 The competition watchdog today confirmed it has launched a probe into the UK's audit sector, ending weeks of speculation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will review whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high standards. Calls to review the sector and possibly break up the "Big Four" of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY [...]
Five key takeaways from the FRC’s audit sector report October 8, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the audit sector’s watchdog, released its annual Developments in Audit report yesterday, outlining key challenges faced in the sector and assessing the current state of the profession. Audit is under close scrutiny at the moment, as politicians and regulators look closely at the dominance of the Big Four audit firms Deloitte, [...]
High-profile failures have eroded trust in audit sector, says watchdog October 8, 2018 The UK’s audit watchdog has announced a new strategic plan to address “falling trust in business and the effectiveness of audit”, after a series of scandals in the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) released its ‘Developments in Audit’ report today, raising concerns over public trust in the profession, and constricted competition at the top [...]
BDO reveals profit boost as it raises concerns over Brexit and audit break-up October 8, 2018 One of Britain’s largest professional services firms has warned that business leaders need clarity to prepare for Brexit and sounded a cautious note over reforms to the audit sector as it revealed rising profit and revenues. BDO posted an underlying revenue of £464.1m in its 2017/18 annual results, released today, an increase of 8.5 per [...]
Kensington and Chelsea councillor calls for new powers to take over ‘ghost homes’ October 6, 2018 Kensington and Chelsea council have reportedly signed off on a request for ministers to give them the mandate to take over so-called ghost homes, left empty by overseas buyers waiting for their value to increase. Deputy council leader Kim Taylor-Smith has written to housing minister Kit Malthouse to call for a change in legislation, according [...]
Plan to keep all of UK in EU customs union after Brexit welcomed by Dublin in Irish backstop row October 4, 2018 A radical plan to keep the whole of the UK in a customs union with the EU after Brexit has been welcomed by Dublin, it has been reported. The proposal, seen as a way of stopping a hard border being created on the island of Ireland, would be the 'backstop' arrangement if no other deal [...]
Theresa May declares ‘austerity is over’ as she lifts cap on how much councils can borrow for housebuilding October 3, 2018 Theresa May declared the end of austerity is in sight as she unveiled plans to let councils borrow more cash to tackle the housing crisis. In her speech to the Conservative conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister hinted at a financial boost for the UK's public services after Brexit, in a bid to show the [...]