Who’s switching jobs November 19, 2012 Smith & Nephew Julie Brown has been appointed chief financial officer at the medical technology business. She joins from AstraZeneca, where she was vice president for group finance and interim chief financial officer. Brown was at AstraZeneca for 25 years, and previously qualified as a chartered accountant at KPMG. Natixis Global Asset Management The asset [...]
More revolts over executive pay are looming November 18, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS could be waiting until 2013 or 2014 to voice dissent at companies’ executive pay packets, according to research out yesterday. While a string of high-profile investor rebellions at the likes of WPP and Aviva has caused a stir this year, shareholders have been discerning in their protests. Just 10 of the FTSE 100 companies [...]
Lawyers now expected to give commercial and legal advice November 18, 2012 LAWYERS are increasingly being called on to make commercial decisions because of the growing tide of regulations, a new study reveals. A report from KPMG, out today, shows the views of 320 in-house general counsel in 32 countries on issues including relationships with the board, the risk of regulatory challenges and managing future disputes. It [...]
City figures say homophobia is still a problem at London firms November 14, 2012 GAY employees at City firms still have to deal with homophobia in the workplace, according to leading executives. A new advocacy group named Out On The Street has been launched to combat the problem, with a range of successful gay businesspeople saying prejudice is still a problem. Lord Browne, who was forced to resign as [...]
KPMG called to fire engine firm November 13, 2012 THE COMPANY that maintains London’s fleet of fire engines called in KPMG as administrators yesterday. Premier FireServe, formerly a subsidiary of AssetCo, has faced mounting losses, and sold the fleet earlier this year. The London Fire Brigade appointed services company Babcock International to look after its fleet after what it called “a deterioration of the [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 8, 2012 Houlihan Lokey Sascha Kroissenbrunner has been appointed director in the investment bank’s industrials group. He joins from UniCredit Group in Vienna, where he was managing director and head of the general industrials group for central and eastern Europe. He has also held senior positions at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London and Frankfurt. State [...]
BDO and PKF in talks for audit merger deal November 7, 2012 BDO and PKF are in advanced talks to merge their UK operations, the accountancy and advisory firms revealed yesterday. A tie-up, which is expected to take place early next year, would give the group extra firepower to compete with Grant Thornton for mid-market audit and business advisory clients. The firms said the enlarged company would [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2012 Deloitte Michael Lee has been appointed director of Deloitte’s analytics practice. He joins from Detica NetReveal, and is a specialist in using analytics to detect and prevent fraud and financial crime. HSBC Andy Clark has been appointed chief executive at HSBC’s UK asset management branch. He has worked for the bank since 2005, most recently [...]
MPs told new banks are not short-term fix November 6, 2012 THE GROWTH of challenger banks is not a solution to the current shortage of lending to small firms, City grandee John Griffith-Jones said yesterday, arguing that only unblocking lending from big banks can help in the short run. The former KPMG boss and incoming chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority also told MPs that banks [...]
UK retail sales fizzle out after spending falls November 5, 2012 SIGNS of improved spending on the high street have proved to be something of a damp squib after retail sales in October slowed to their lowest growth in 11 months. Following strong sales the previous month, like-for-like retail sales fell 0.1 per cent in October compared with the same time last year, the British Retail [...]