UK PMIs: Manufacturing growth hits 27-year high in April May 4, 2021 The UK’s manufacturing growth gathered pace in April as production increased for the 11th consecutive month. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 60.9 per cent last month, marking the highest reading since 1994. The reading also came in ahead of a flash estimate of 60.7. The growth was driven by a [...]
It’s time for business leaders to be educated about dyslexia May 4, 2021 Emily Cheyne CA, Manager, Transaction Services at KPMG, discusses having dyslexia, comparing herself to others and how it’s time to stop thinking that one way of working is appropriate for everyone. When were you diagnosed with dyslexia? I was in Primary 5 at school – so 10 years old. The reason I was tested was [...]
London-based food-tech platform Taster raises $37m in funding April 29, 2021 London-based digital restaurant platform Taster has raised $37m in series B funding, led by Cazoo-backing firm, the company confirmed today. Backed by the same firm that helped used-car platform Cazoo land its £5bn valuation, Octopus Ventures, Taster has capitalised on the growth seen within the food delivery industry over the last 18 months. “If McDonald’s [...]
Interim KPMG CEO quits after being passed over for permanent role April 29, 2021 Interim KPMG CEO Mary O’Connor, the first woman to lead the Big Four firm, has quit after she was passed up for the permanent role. O’Connor took over as chief executive of KPMG UK following the sudden departure of Bill Michael earlier this year, after he made controversial comments about unconscious bias training during a video call [...]
KPMG staff fired after rowdy ‘boys’ night out’ featuring binge drinking and strippers April 28, 2021 Staff from KPMG’s private equity division in Melbourne were fired after a wild ‘boys’ night out’ that featured heavy binge drinking and strippers. A 2015 video invitation to ‘boys’ night’, sent to 80 male employees at KPMG’s Melbourne office, with women excluded, has just recently come to light. According to the Mail Online, the video [...]
Big Four and challengers ask for leeway on difficult audits to avoid public criticism April 27, 2021 The Big Four and the challenger audit firms have asked the accountancy watchdog for more leniency when it comes to more difficult audit jobs, for fear of public criticism if they make a mistake. Audit firms have asked the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to pause quality inspections of their work for a year if they [...]
John McAfee on life in prison… and the price of Dogecoin April 26, 2021 Speaking from behind bars in a Spanish jail, computer legend John McAfee says he’s stunned by the price of Dogecoin.
The EU will sign a post-Brexit deal on financial services, PwC boss predicts, because it ‘needs London’ April 26, 2021 The EU will grant the City of London access to its capital markets and agree a post-Brexit deal on financial services because it “needs London”, PwC has predicted. The financial services sector was left out of the post-Brexit trade deal agreed between the two sides last year, but the Big Four firm is predicting the [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘Skittish’ banks need to up their game, says CEO of Ezbob April 25, 2021 Following a nightmare year that was hugely disrupted by the pandemic and three subsequent lockdowns, the City is slowly switching into recovery mode as the economy starts to re-open and many sectors are coming back to life. To discuss the way back up, City A.M. sits down with Tomer Guriel, chief executive of Marble Arch-based [...]
Public debt: Who has lent a staggering £2.1 trillion to Rishi Sunak? April 23, 2021 Government debt has hit its highest point as a portion of gross domestic product since the early 1960s when the country was still paying off what it had borrowed to fund the fight against Nazi Germany, new figures showed this morning. Last year spending skyrocketed to pay for dozens of programmes to prop up the [...]