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, [...]
Consumers warned of Christmas cons as fake goods cases continue to rise December 3, 2018 Shoppers have been warned to be on the alert this Christmas as the number of court cases involving high value fake goods continues to rise. There have been 39 cases involving counterfeit goods worth more than £116m in the last two years, according to new data from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer. The research found that more [...]
Kleinman: Brutal winter could ground Flybe despite buyer interest, Truell’s trump card and wheel turns for auditors November 30, 2018 If only achieving take-off for Flybe’s profits was as easy as it seems to be for its share price. Not content with a 70 per cent uplift after I reported that Virgin Atlantic was in talks to buy the regional airline, the stock soared again on Monday as investors boarded on hopes of a bidding war [...]
KPMG South Africa appoints new boss as it tries to put scandals behind it November 28, 2018 The troubled South African arm of audit giant KPMG today announced a new chief executive from outside the firm. It appointed the deputy chief executive of PwC’s South African arm, Ignatius Sehoole, as its new boss, taking over from Nhlamulo Dlomu, who is stepping down after a year. KPMG has been rocked by a series [...]
BDO’s Paul Eagland on why his firm is Aim-ing for the top November 27, 2018 It’s a bold time to make a merger in the audit sector, but with market reforms and Brexit on the horizon, BDO’s Paul Eagland sees that there can be strength in numbers. Yesterday, the professional services group – currently the sixth-largest in the UK – confirmed it is in “advanced talks” to merge with ninth-place [...]
BDO and Moore Stephens merger will create Britain’s fifth-largest accountancy firm November 25, 2018 BDO is preparing to merge with smaller accountancy rival Moore Stephens, in a move that will create a new fifth-largest auditor in the UK, bumping Grant Thornton off the spot. Partners at BDO, which currently holds the number six position, has approved a merger with Moore Stephens, currently the ninth-largest professional services firm in Britain, [...]
Big Four investigate their own clients on behalf of software giants November 23, 2018 The UK's top four accounting firms have been accused of a conflict of interest by investigating their own clients' use of software on behalf of technology firms. The so-called Big Four – PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte – carry out software audits on their clients on behalf of vendors such as Microsoft, SAP and IBM to see if firms [...]
KPMG faces tribunal for its work for mattress firm Silentnight November 22, 2018 Audit firm KPMG and one of its partners face a tribunal over work for mattress firm Silentnight, the accountancy watchdog said today. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today delivered a formal complaint against the firm and restructuring partner David Costley-Wood. The FRC alleged that KPMG and Costley-Wood acted for Silentnight “in circumstances where their professional judgment [...]
Sadiq Khan raises ‘serious concerns’ over Crossrail’s transparency and governance in letter to spending watchdog November 21, 2018 London mayor Sadiq Khan has said he has "serious concerns" about the "transparency and effectiveness of Crossrail's governance" following the fallout from the delay to the £15.4bn project. In a letter to the National Audit Office (NAO), seen by City A.M., Khan said that while joint sponsors Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) [...]
Workers feel they are in the dark on impact of Brexit, says survey November 20, 2018 Only a minority of UK employees have been kept informed about the ramifications of Brexit in the workplace, according to KPMG research. In a survey of 4,000 workers commissioned by the professional services firm, 38 per cent of employees said bosses had explained the implications of Brexit at work, while only 39 per cent said their employer [...]