John McDonnell says Labour will break up Big Four ‘cartel’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell today promised to break up the “cartel” of the Big Four accounting firms if Labour wins the upcoming election. “Under Labour the Big Four companies will not be allowed to continue to act like a cartel,” McDonnell told a Westminster audience during a speech on Labour’s plans for the economy. The [...]
Softbank in talks to take over KPMG’s private members’ club November 19, 2019 Softbank is reportedly in talks to take over the KPMG’s controversial private members’ club in Mayfair, after regulators expressed concerns the auditor was giving memberships to its clients as perks. KPMG put the five-storey club, called Number Twenty, on the market in September as part of a cost-cutting drive but stepped up efforts to offload [...]
Corporate sponsors review links to Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace scheme after disastrous interview November 18, 2019 FIRMS are under scrutiny over their support for Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace initiative, as the fallout from the Duke of York’s weekend interview regarding his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues. Founding partner of the entrepreneurs’ mentoring scheme KPMG is said to have decided not to renew its sponsorship, which expired at the end of last month. It [...]
Audit watchdog could push for clawback of audit partners’ bonuses after poor quality work November 17, 2019 The audit watchdog could push for powers to clawback bonuses from audit partners if an audit fell below a certain level of quality. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is thinking of asking the government for powers to set remuneration standards for auditors, The Sunday Times reported. The idea follows scandals at department store BHS, outsourcer [...]
Business leaders join forces to push competitiveness agenda for UK November 15, 2019 Business leaders from companies such as John Lewis, Lloyds Banking Group, Deloitte and BAE Systems will meet today to promote the importance of business competitiveness. A business group pushing the competitiveness agenda called Be the Business will today launch Business Leadership for a Better Decade campaign to try and demonstrate the importance of competitiveness to [...]
More than 200,000 UK workers get Christmas pay rise in line with real living wage November 11, 2019 More than 200,000 employees from major UK companies are set for a pre-Christmas pay rise thanks to the “real living wage” campaign. Businesses signed up to the campaign will raise its London employees’ hourly wages by 20p to £10.75. Read more: Sajid Javid promises to increase nationa living wage to £10.50 Meanwhile, the hourly rate [...]
Four charts that explain the UK economy’s latest slowdown November 11, 2019 Annual growth in the UK economy fell to its slowest pace in nine years in the third quarter, data showed today, although the country avoided slipping into a recession. Read more: UK avoids recession but annual growth hits slowest pace in a decade “This slowdown follows not only Brexit uncertainty at home, but a weaker [...]
UK job growth slows as Bank of England entertains interest rate cut November 8, 2019 The demand for staff from UK employers grew at its slowest rate for almost eight years in October, according to a survey revealed on Friday, appearing to justify two Bank of England rate-setters backing an interest rate cut yesterday. A monthly index of job vacancies from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG fell [...]
Hiring remains subdued amid uncertainty November 8, 2019 Hiring activity remained subdued last month as employers held tight amid the current Brexit uncertainty, according to a new report. Permanent staff appointments fell solidly at the start of the fourth quarter, with many employers choosing to cancel or postpone hiring until there was greater clarity over the outlook. Read more: Can business models like [...]
City Moves for 5 November – Who’s switching jobs at AKA Group, Shop Direct and KPMG? November 5, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes AKA Group, Shop Direct and KPMG AKA Group Specialist lifestyle and leisure advertising agency AKA Group has announced the appointment of Nick Hurrell as chairman. Nick currently serves as chairman at London ad agency George and Dragon and was previously chairman of the Europe arm of M&C Saatchi, as well as being [...]