KPMG set to slash jobs and pension contributions in cost-cutting drive July 22, 2020 KPMG is set to cut more than 100 jobs and slash contributions to employees’ pensions in a bid to slash costs during the pandemic. The Big Four firm is expected to cut just under 200 jobs across the UK ahead of the long-awaited reform of the audit reform. Sky News first reported that partners and [...]
Klarna restricts lending rules during lockdown July 20, 2020 Fintech lender Klarna said it has tightened its lending criteria during the coronavirus pandemic. Its vice president Luke Griffiths said Klarna is only accepting new customers that it believes will repay on time, and is increasing the frequency with which it reviews its acceptance criteria. “[Klarna’s] default rate is less than one per cent and [...]
EY told Wirecard that KPMG audit ‘risked misinterpretation’ July 20, 2020 EY reportedly told Wirecard that a draft of an independent audit lacked “context” and could lead to wrong conclusions about the firm. EY, which has been the German payments firm’s auditor for over a decade, intervened a day before the publication of the KPMG report in April, which cast doubt over Wirecard, according to the [...]
Grant Thornton faces legal action over Patisserie Valerie audit July 19, 2020 Grant Thornton is reportedly facing legal action over its auditing of cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, which collapsed last year following allegations of suspected fraud. Liquidator FRP Advisory has hired law firm Mishcon de Reya to explore a claim, potentially worth tens of millions of pounds, against Grant Thornton, which audited the cake shop’s accounts for [...]
‘Calm before the storm’: Rate of redundancies slows but worst is yet to come July 16, 2020 Fewer British employees were made redundant in June but economists warn unemployment is on course to rise. Around 650,000 people lost their jobs between March and June but the pace of decline slowed in June, with the bulk of job losses occurring around the onset of lockdown restrictions. June’s drop of just over 74,000 was [...]
Supermarket sector tops customer service list for pandemic performance July 15, 2020 The supermarket sector topped the list for customer service during the coronavirus crisis, according to the latest research, as grocers stepped up to the challenge to serve shoppers throughout the lockdown. The sector’s score increased four per cent compared to last year, according to analysis by KPMG. Financial services, which was the next best performing [...]
Third of UK audits fail accounting watchdog’s quality tests July 14, 2020 Britain’s accounting watchdog today said that a third of audits by the UK’s seven main accounting firms failed quality tests this year, amping up pressure for widescale reform in the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said 29 of 88 audits carried out by Deloitte, PWC, EY, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars this year [...]
Consumer spending surges as lockdown restrictions end July 14, 2020 Brits rushed back to the shops in June after lockdown restrictions ended, prompting the biggest jump in sales since May 2018 as consumers indulged in some much-needed retail therapy. According to new data from the British Retail Consortium, total sales rose 3.4 per cent in June in the first month of growth since lockdown measures [...]
New job retention bonus at heart of Rishi Sunak’s £30bn spending spree July 8, 2020 UK chancellor Rishi Sunak today put a new “job retention bonus” programme to encourage companies to bring back furloughed workers at the centre of a £30bn package aimed at kickstarting the economy. In his summer statement, Sunak said employers who take back furloughed workers until the end of January will receive a £1,000 payment for [...]
City reckons more ‘enormous’ stimulus to come from Rishi Sunak in autumn July 8, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today unveiled a package worth up to £30bn to boost the UK economy as the coronavirus lockdown is gradually eased, and promised it “will not be the last action”. At the centre of the stimulus is a “job retention bonus” worth up to £9bn that will pay companies to take back furloughed [...]