South Korea launches raid on Samsung subsidiary amid fraud probe December 13, 2018 South Korean prosecutors investigating alleged accounting fraud yesterday raided the offices of Samsung’s biopharma unit and its two auditors, KPMG and Deloitte. The Financial Services Commission, which last month suspended trading in Samsung Biologics shares, claims the company intentionally breached accounting rules before listing in 2016. Biologics, which denies wrongdoing, said today that investigators had [...]
City Moves for 13 December – who’s switching jobs at AK Jensen, City of London Group and Eversheds Sutherland? December 13, 2018 Who’s switching jobs? AK Jensen AK Jensen Group (AKJ), the financial services specialist serving institutional and hedge fund clients globally, today named Sher Malhi as its new Chief Financial Officer Sher joins AKJ at an exciting time, as the group expands from its hedge fund origins into the digital assets domain. Sher brings a wealth [...]
EY and PwC reveal that both dismissed five partners over inappropriate behaviour December 11, 2018 The final two Big Four financial services firms have disclosed the number of partners that have left the companies following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. PwC fired five partners for inappropriate behaviour including harassment or bullying over the last three years. EY revealed that five partners had left the company over a four year period, becoming [...]
Decade-long £413bn national infrastructure plan needs more private sector investment, says KPMG December 11, 2018 The government’s 10-year infrastructure plan which commits £413bn of spending over the coming decade needs to do more to drive private sector investment, according to KPMG. The National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline, announced last month, “looks to be gaining ground”, the accounting firm said, but still lagged behind targets set by the United Nations. The [...]
And BDO makes five? Don’t count on it, says firm’s global chief December 11, 2018 The global boss of professional services firm BDO had said it has no ambitions to join the ranks of the Big Four, as it aims for dominance of the mid-market across its operations. The firm, Britain’s sixth-largest auditor, revealed its global fee income hit $8.99bn (£7.16bn) for the past year – a 10.7 per cent [...]
Seven KPMG partners left the firm over inappropriate behaviour including bullying and sexual harassment within four-year period December 10, 2018 A total of seven KPMG partners have left the financial services firm over the last four years following accusations of inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment and bullying. The revelation comes after it was reported that fellow ‘Big Four’ firm Deloitte fired 20 partners for similar behaviour over the same period and as workplace culture faces [...]
Crossrail crisis escalates as TfL confirms up to £2bn cost overrun and possible delay to 2020 December 10, 2018 The crisis facing Crossrail deepened today after Transport for London (TfL) admitted that the delayed project could need an extra £2bn in rescue funding to stay afloat. The Elizabeth Line, which will stretch from Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood in the east, was projected to cost £15.4bn and to open by 9 December [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
KPMG’s South African wing will donate fees from scandal-tied Gupta family December 3, 2018 The South African branch of accountancy firm KPMG said it will redistribute the fees it earned for the country’s scandal-hit Gupta family. KPMG will repay 47 million rand (£2.7m) to several civil society organisations aimed at promoting ethical leadership and accountable governance, and some education non-profits, it announced today. The firm has suffered a series [...]
PwC loses FTSE 100 client crown in audit pass-the-parcel December 3, 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the UK’s biggest accountancy firm, has had its crown – holding the highest number of FTSE 100 clients – snatched by rival KPMG. It is the first time PwC has lost its position as the leading auditor of the UK’s top blue-chip firms. KPMG now audits 28 FTSE 100 firms, to PwC’s 27, [...]