Red-faced KPMG says sorry for internal payments error
ACCOUNTANT KPMG has been forced into an embarrassing apology to staff after the company failed to pay its staff on time.
In an ironic twist, KPMG – which is accustomed to dishing out advice to firms on how to manage their own accounting systems – has been caught out itself after an administrative blunder left staff fuming.
The company, one of the UK’s so-called Big Four accountants, pays its 10,000 staff on the 29th of each month but if that falls on the weekend then the money is paid the Friday before.
However, this month that did not happen after human error left some workers facing unpaid direct debits and other financial headaches.
One London staff member told The Capitalist: “We are supposed to be an accountancy firm giving out advice to people. This does not look good.
“People have mortgages to pay and direct debits come out of their accounts, which has caused problems for some people. We are not happy about this.”
The official KPMG apology issued on Friday said: “As you may already be aware by now employees have not been paid as expected today (Friday). An error has been made and the transaction has been submitted today and will reach individual accounts by Monday.”
A KPMG spokesman told the Capitalist that any employee facing difficulty because of the error should contact the firm’s finance department.
He added: “We have apologised and this was down to human error.”
The company says in a promotional blurb on its website: “Our innovative spirit inspires what we do and how we do it, providing valuable benefits for clients, employees and stakeholders.”
Perhaps staff would settle for less innovation and more being paid on time instead.
■ Odds have shortened dramatically on Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill (pictured) becoming the next governor of the Bank of England, according to bookmakers Paddy Power.
O’Neill, who is known for giving the acronym BRICS to the emerging countries, including Brazil, Russia and China, was at 20/1 before a weekend newspaper report led to a flurry of bets being put on him. Paddy Power has since slashed the odds to 5/1.
The favourite remains the current Bank deputy governor Paul Tucker, whose odds are 3/1.
Former Barclays chief executive John Varley is second favourite at 7/2, followed by FSA chairman Adair Turner.
Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands is steady at 20/1, even though he ruled himself out of the running to City A.M. The thinking must be that if he won the race, he would ultimately find it a job too tempting to turn down.
Harry Redknapp, who appears to have failed to land the England manager’s job is at 500/1. Fred Goodwin, meanwhile, is at 300/1.