The EC proposals for audit reform: A costly mistake December 1, 2011 THE European Commission has pulled off some feat with its proposals for audit market reform this week. It has united businesses, investors, the Big Four (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers) and even on some points emerging and mid-sized auditors in their criticism of the proposals. How? Because the measures the Commission proposes won’t [...]
UK business slams Barnier audit reforms November 30, 2011 A number of business groups, including the CBI, yesterday slammed Michel Barnier’s proposals to shake up the audit market, saying they were “the latest in a long line of unnecessary distractions coming out of Brussels that would only serve to add to business costs”. Matthew Fell, director for competitive markets at the CBI, the employers’ [...]
DRAFT AUDIT REFORMS: KEY POINTS November 30, 2011 ● Mandatory rotation Companies will have to change audit firm after a maximum of six years, or nine years if they employ more than one auditor. Audit firms will not be allowed to tender for the same client’s business until after a four-year “cooling-off” period when the contract ends. ● Mandatory tendering The biggest companies [...]
KPMG recovers $500m in MF Global assets November 29, 2011 MF GLOBAL UK administrator KPMG said it had recovered about $500m (£320m) of client assets frozen at the defunct broker, and planned to make significant returns to customers before a March 2012 deadline. “We have so far collected about a half of the approximate $1bn outstanding but it is hard to speculate on the final [...]
LUKE JOHNSON ENDORSES LAUNCH FOR THE CITY’S BEST-CONNECTED November 28, 2011 ARE YOU fed up with receiving endless invitations to “connect” with people you have never met on digitally promiscuous social networking sites? Then Ndoorse, the new network for high-quality professionals founded by ex-Deloitte strategy consultant Jeremy Weil and JC Rathbone director Kristian Rathbone is perhaps for you. The only problem is that the City-meets-entrepreneurs network, [...]
Cash hope for British clients of MF Global November 27, 2011 CLIENTS of the British arm of collapsed US broker MF Global today move one step closer to getting back some of their money as the administrator publishes a timetable for dealing with claims. KPMG, the special administrator, said clients could submit claims from 8 December until 30 March next year. Joint administrator Richard Heis said: [...]
JP Morgan to up LME stake November 22, 2011 JP MORGAN Chase is set to become a major player in the looming takeover battle for the London Metal Exchange after it snapped up the stake owned by failed brokerage MF Global. Last night the US investment bank was on the brink of paying £25m for MF Global’s 4.7 per cent stake from UK administrator [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2011 Coutts Coutts, the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, has appointed Amir Sadr as head of the UAE market and private office in the Middle East, based in Dubai. In his new role, Sadr will develop Coutts’ ultra high net worth proposition in the Middle East, reporting to Alex Classen, chief executive of [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 21, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES REVIEW LOOKS TO TACKLE THE COST OF WORKPLACE ILLNESS Action to curb the financial and social costs of long term illness and make it easier for employers to get staff back to work was recommended yesterday, in a government-commissioned review of sickness absence which also urged ministers to review the generosity of public-sector [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 21, 2011 HSBC Private Bank Bernard Rennell has been appointed as chief executive for North Asia, subject to regulatory approvals. Rennell, who will be based in the Hong Hong office, will be responsible for all private banking activity for HSBC Private Bank in north Asia, including Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. A former securities [...]