OFT refers audit market to Competition Commission October 21, 2011 The Office for Fair Trading has referred the audit market to the Competition Commission. The continued dominance of the so-called Big Four accountants is at the heart of probe. The watchdog estimates that in 2010 PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young, earned 99 per cent of audit fees paid by FTSE 100 companies, while [...]
Merging national insurance with income tax will boost transparency and cut costs October 20, 2011 NEXT month George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Statement, and it will have to be a good one. With the economy stalled and high unemployment, he needs a credible plan for economic growth. The credibility of the fiscal adjustment is on the line. Spending cuts are right and necessary but they are only one part [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 18, 2011 Cushman & Wakefield The global property consultant has appointed Michael Lindsay as a partner and head of its EMEA corporate finance team in London. Lindsay was formerly a partner and UK head of corporate finance at KPMG, and director in Citigroup’s real estate and lodging investment banking team. Signia Wealth Etienne de Merlis has been appointed [...]
Russia’s Evraz to list on LSE October 17, 2011 EVRAZ, the Russian metals and mining group backed by billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich, is moving its domicile to the UK and listing in London as it seeks greater international acceptance and access to capital. Evraz, which mines coal, iron ore and valladium and makes steel industrial goods, yesterday said it wanted to list on the [...]
Mouchel set to breach its covenants October 13, 2011 British infrastructure and maintenance group Mouchel said yesterday it was in talks with its lending banks regarding expected covenant breaches caused by a profit warning last week, and named a new interim chairman after incumbent Bo Lerenius resigned. “The board is encouraged that the banks have been supportive and the discussions continue to be constructive [...]
Barnier leak may hang the Big Four out to dry October 10, 2011 RECENTLY a leaked document from the European Commission’s (EC) Michel Barnier made front pages, including that of City A.M.. The details of what could come to be concrete proposals threaten the Big Four accountancy firms – PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young. The stakes are high: one of London’s, and the UK’s, most successful [...]
SIR FRED GOODWIN SAGA RUNS AND RUNS October 4, 2011 JUST when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin, The Capitalist hears the former RBS CEO was once snubbed in favour of a company that had recently given half of Glasgow diarrhoea. The story starts in 2003, when BBC Scotland’s head of news Atholl Duncan, needing a change of [...]
Pause tax to boost jobs, say recruiters October 4, 2011 THE SLOWEST growth in job vacancies for two years was recorded in September by the KPMG/Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) monthly report on jobs, out today. For permanent staff placements the report’s index has fallen to 51.2, down from 60.6 in April. REC boss Kevin Green is calling on the chancellor to pause national insurance [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 3, 2011 Palamon Capital Partners The private equity firm has appointed Julian Carreras as a principal in its pan-European team, which comprises professionals from eight countries. The move marks a return to the company for Carreras, who previously worked at Palamon Capital Partners between 2003 and 2006, joining from Goldman Sachs. Between 2006 and 2011, Carreras held [...]
PwC revenue hits record high October 3, 2011 Strong gains in its consulting business helped PwC increase revenues by ten per cent in the past year, it has said, returning it to its position as the world’s biggest professional services firm. PwC’s global network of firms reported record revenue of $29.2bn (£18.7bn) for the year that ended June 30, up from $26.6bn in [...]