KPMG encourages whistleblowing to avoid media leaks after CEO’s exit August 26, 2021 KPMG are reportedly urging staff to use its whistleblowing system to report concerns instead of the media, after a leaked meeting recording led to its former head Bill Michael stepping down, first reported by Financial News. The ex KPMG boss, who left the firm in February, made comments around “unconscious bias” during an online town [...]
FRC to ‘strengthen’ audit governance code to tackle Big Four accounting scandals August 26, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today announced proposals to update and “strengthen” its Audit Firm Governance Code and establish “operational separation” at the Big Four firms. The proposed changes are aimed at clarifying the role of partnership boards in holding management to account, said the UK accounting watchdog in a statement. A key proposal [...]
Car production tumbles afresh amid supply and labour shortages August 26, 2021 Car production tumbled in the UK for the first time since February as the combination of global chip shortages, workers being forced to isolate, and summer shutdowns jammed up factory lines. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 53,438 cars were made in July, down 37.6 per cent on the year [...]
EY handed fine for botched Stagecoach audit August 25, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has landed EY and its Audit Engagement Partner, Mark Harvey with £2.3m in fines. The FRC said that an EY audit of StageCoach, an international travel company, “did not satisfy the audit reporting requirements” for the 2016-2017 financial year. Claudia Mortimore, the Deputy Executive Counsel to the FRC said: “the [...]
Exclusive: The City’s IPO women on ‘the male-dominated, testosterone-driven culture’ August 24, 2021 When an investor attending a presentation at the RAF club asked Cath O’Neill if she could take his coat, she was bemused. A short while later the same investor apologised profusely, having realized he had mistaken the only female CEO for a member of the waiting staff. O’Neil, who was by then accustomed to being [...]
Weekend Read: Ailing business investment will dampen the economy’s post-Covid prospects August 21, 2021 The good pandemic-related news continued to emerge last week. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics shows output jumped 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year, driven by the lifting of Covid restrictions on sectors that rely on face-to-face and social contact to generate income. The services industry – which accounts [...]
UK consumer confidence inches down in August August 20, 2021 Consumer confidence among Brits edged down over the last month driven by concerns over the possible economic implications of future surges in Covid cases, according to fresh data published today. Research from GfK shows consumer confidence dropped one point over the last month to -8 points in August 2021. The marginal decline is likely to [...]
Government borrowing smashes expectations but debt-to-GDP highest since 1960s August 20, 2021 Government borrowing smashed official forecasts last month as the deficit narrowed by nearly half its levels registered at the height of the Covid crisis, official figures released today reveal. Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows in July of this year, public sector borrowing reached £10.4bn, the second highest figure for the month [...]
Government borrowing smashes expectations but debt-to-GDP highest since 1960s – CityAM : CityAM August 20, 2021 Government borrowing smashed official forecasts last month as the deficit narrowed by nearly half its levels registered at the height of the Covid crisis, official figures released today reveal. Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows in July of this year, public sector borrowing reached £10.4bn, the second highest figure for the month [...]
UK inflation drops to two per cent in July August 18, 2021 Inflation in the UK dropped in July, driven by sharp falls in prices for clothing and footwear as retailers sought to stimulate demand by slashing prices amid the traditional summer sale season, according to official figures released today. The Office for National Statistics said prices rose two per cent over the last year, down from [...]