EY continues expansion into law with Thomson Reuters managed legal services acquisition April 4, 2019 EY has announced the acquisition of a 1,000 strong managed legal services business from Thomson Reuters, marking another step forward in the Big Four audit firm’s push into the legal sector. The deal follows EY’s acquisition of tech-heavy alternative legal provider Riverside Law in August which was widely seen in the sector as underlining EY’s [...]
Big Four must face up to the realities of reform or risk having no choice April 3, 2019 A couple of MPs managed to tear themselves away from Westminster's slow motion car crash yesterday to deliver a kicking to another scandal-hit sector of the British establishment. Labour chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee Rachel Reeves and Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach addressed a packed auditorium at the Chartered Accountants’ Hall near [...]
Institute of Directors concerned over future of UK corporate governance under new audit regulator March 21, 2019 The Institute of Directors has expressed concern over the future of corporate governance in the UK following the establishment of a new audit regulator. The influential business organisation said the proposed regulator that is set to replace the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which is being abolished in the wake of a string of corporate scandals, [...]
Sir Philip Green sells former BHS headquarters for £44m March 10, 2019 Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sold a former BHS headquarters in London as his fashion empire Arcadia faces challenges on the high street. Green, who has been under fire over allegations of racial abuse and sexual harassment – which he denies – has sold Marylebone House to property investment company Aprirose for £44m. Read more: [...]
Technology can save the high street and future-proof the entire retail ecosystem March 8, 2019 Ever since the first online transaction over a quarter of a century ago, we’ve been bombarded with a growing number of claims that the high street is dead and online is king. The recent downfall of former offline strongholds such as BHS, Toys R Us, and House of Fraser are often cited as evidence that [...]
A market cap is the quickest way to inject some competition into audit March 7, 2019 As you read this, the Kingman review, the Competition and Markets Authority review, the Brydon review, and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee are all scrutinising the audit profession following a series of high-profile scandals. Failures such as Carillion, BHS, and Patisserie Valerie present very different problems, but each case rightly led to [...]
Former minister criticises Amber Rudd’s plan to jail bosses who mismanage pension schemes February 10, 2019 A former pensions minister has criticised Amber Rudd’s plan to toughen up laws governing those in charge of employee pensions in the wake of recent mismanagement scandals at BHS and Carillion. Company bosses could be locked up for as long as seven years if they don’t manage employee pension schemes properly, according to Work and [...]
Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell fined for breaching pensions law December 14, 2018 Dominic Chappell, the former owner of collapsed retailer British Home Stores, has been fined almost £124,000 for breaking pensions law after the troubled department store fell into administration. Judge Christine Henson QC, who presided over today's re-sentencing at Hove Crown Court, criticised Chappell for showing a "complete lack of remorse". He was ordered to pay [...]
Report into audit sector commissioned by John McDonnell calls for break-up of Big Four December 14, 2018 A report into the audit sector commissioned by shadow chancellor John McDonnell has called for the break-up of the Big Four audit firms. The report, published today, recommended that the audit business of accounting firms must be legally separate from everything else and says it should be a criminal offence for auditors to perform non-audit [...]
Competition and Markets Authority to recommend market share cap for Big Four audit firms December 13, 2018 The UK's top four audit firms are facing a market share cap to encourage competition from smaller companies as the sector comes under increased scrutiny following a number of high profile corporate collapses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to recommend a limit on the number of large listed companies that the so-called Big [...]