UK launches probe into “big four” auditors May 17, 2011 Competition authorities are to probe the stranglehold of the world’s biggest accountancy firms on British blue-chip company audits after finding evidence of anti-competitive behaviour. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said dominance of the sector by the so-called “Big Four” threw up barriers for rivals and made it hard for firms to switch auditors. The [...]
Southern Cross to consider selling up May 15, 2011 STRUGGLING care home provider Southern Cross will consider putting the business up for sale once its battle to cut costs with landlords is over, City A.M. can confirm. Southern Cross last week appointed Greenhill as joint adviser to run discussions with landlords alongside KPMG and turnaround specialist Bolt Partners, but the investment bank is also [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 12, 2011 KPMG International Michael Andrew has been elected chairman of KPMG International to lead the firm’s global network for a four-year term, effective from 1 October. He succeeds Timothy P Flynn, who will retire at the end of September after 32 years with the company. Andrew, who will be based in Hong Kong, is currently chairman [...]
Private sector drives greater demand for permanent jobs May 10, 2011 DEMAND for permanent staff is accelerating faster than the growth in temporary jobs, research showed today. The number of permanent roles in the UK expanded at the second fastest rate in the last six months in April, the KPMG report on jobs found. “In many areas of the private sector employers feel confident to hire [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SAMOA TO MOVE BACK TO THE FUTURE Samoa, the tiny Pacific Ocean island state, is travelling through time to improve its economic prospects. In a vote of confidence for the Asian century, the country has decided to shift the jagged International Date Line to its east at the end of this year, which [...]
Delays hit new insurer rules May 3, 2011 TIME is running out for the implementation of Solvency II, the new regulatory capital regime for insurance companies, according to accounting firm KPMG. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is required to supply proposals for the technical details of the regime by the end of this year, but has been repeatedly pushing back [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 2, 2011 Brookland Partners The investment bank has appointed Griff Winkler as a director, where he will focus on expanding the firm through identifying investment opportunities from capital providers and other JV partners. Winkler joins from Hatfield Philips, where he was vice president of the non-performing commercial real estate loan group. He also brings five years of [...]
A green tax that risks economic sustainability May 2, 2011 FROM 2013, a tax on carbon producers will be unilaterally implemented by the UK upon carbon intensive industries. Costs to UK based businesses are estimated to be in the region of £9.3bn, undermining their competitiveness, damaging energy producers and users, and ultimately hitting the wallet of consumers. Presently, about half of Europe’s emissions are covered [...]
Amdega enters administration April 27, 2011 Darlington-based conservatory and greenhouse company Amdega has gone into administration. Mark Firmin and Brian Green from KPMG’s restructuring practice have been appointed as joint administrators to Amdega, which is being wound down by administrators as there is no prospect for a sale of the business. Most of the 197 local employees have been made redundant.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 27, 2011 AZ Electronic Materials Mike Powell will join the board of AZ Electronic Minerals on 1 September as chief financial officer. Powell succeeds the company’s current CFO Ken Greatbatch, who will retire on 31 August after reporting the firm’s half-year results. Powell joins from Nippon Sheet Glass, where he has been group finance director for the [...]