Former KPMG partner fined £150,000 for misleading regulator January 19, 2022 Britain’s accounting watchdog has fined former KPMG partner Stuart Smith £150,000, after he admitted misleading the regulator during a spot inspection. Smith and KPMG admitted misleading the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) during its inspection of an audit of data management firm Regenersis’ financial statements. Smith will also be banned from the Institute of Chartered [...]
Lloyd’s of London weighs up leaving iconic headquarters January 19, 2022 Lloyd’s of London is considering leaving its iconic headquarters as it seeks out ways to adapt to shifts in working habits brought about by digitalisation of its business and Covid-19. In an email to Morning Wire, a Lloyd’s of London spokesperson said: “As we adapt to new structures and flexible ways of working, we are [...]
Ex-KPMG partner blames junior colleagues for fabricated documents January 18, 2022 A former partner at KPMG, who led the audit of Carillion, has blamed junior colleagues for fabricating documents given to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), during an industry tribunal into claims that papers were forged to deceive the industry regulator. Former KPMG partner, Peter Meehan, who left the KPMG on “agreement” in January 2021 after [...]
Government doubles Magistrates’ sentencing powers to cut Crown Court backlog January 18, 2022 Magistrates will be given new powers to jail people for up to a year, therefore doubling magistrates sentencing powers, in a bid to reduce the backlog faced by Crown Courts. Under current rules, magistrates have the power to hand down six-month jail sentences, meaning any cases that warrant a longer sentence must be passed [...]
The University of Law offers jobless grads a refund January 18, 2022 Britain’s biggest law school has said it will give graduates their money back if they fail to get a job. The University of Law said it will give its former students a 50 per cent cash refund and 50 per cent credit towards the fees of another course, if they do not get a job [...]
Criminal barristers threaten nationwide strike if government fails to up their pay January 18, 2022 Criminal barristers have said they will go on strike if the government does not substantially increase their pay. In a survey put out by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), 96.5 per cent of criminal barristers said they favour taking strike action if the Government does not agree “to a substantial increase in criminal legal [...]
EU regulators dish out record €1.1bn in fines for GDPR breaches in 2021 January 18, 2022 The total value of fines dished out by EU authorities for breaches of GDPR has risen to record highs of almost €1.1bn (£0.9bn), after jumping sevenfold between 2020 and 2021. EU authorities dished out a record €1.087bn worth of fines last year – a sevenfold increase on the € 158.5m worth of fines handed out [...]
‘PwC has questions to answers’: analyst firm warned years ago about audit failures at Babcock January 17, 2022 Audit giant PwC ignored warnings over irregularities in the accounts of British defence contractor Babcock International for years, even after they were flagged by analysts, according to sources speaking to Morning Wire. In an email to this paper, analyst firm Boatman Capital Research said: “The Boatman and others were warning about accounting issues at Babcock from 2018 [...]
Criminal barristers consider strike over government’s legal aid deal January 17, 2022 Criminal barristers are considering taking strike action, after claiming government plans to inject £35m per year into the criminal justice system would not be enough to “ensure the long-term viability of the Criminal Bar.” Last week, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) asked its 2,600 members to vote on the prospect of launching a strike, [...]
Record waiting time: Brexit triggers tsunami of trade mark applications as UK firms rush to protect intellectual property January 17, 2022 Brexit has triggered a record number of applications for trade marks in the UK, with 195,000 registered in the past year, up 54 per cent from 127,000 the year before, according to data shared with Morning Wire today. Waiting times for trade mark applications reached three to four months in the early part of 2021, [...]