Buy Now Pay Later regulation imminent: ‘FCA very keen to be on front foot’ October 20, 2021 Government proposals to regulate the interest free Buy Now, Pay Later market are expected by the end of October, according to industry insiders. Buy now, Pay Later products have boomed in popularity in the UK over the past five years, The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry was recently estimated to have financed £3billion in [...]
FCA fines Credit Suisse over £147m for ‘tuna bond’ loan failures in Mozambique October 19, 2021 Credit Suisse has been fined over £147 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The investment bank has been punished for serious due diligence failings involving two loans worth over $1.3bn and a bond exchange arranged for the Republic of Mozambique. The fine settles a long-running US probe into Credit Suisse’s role in the Mozambique [...]
Raab sets out plans to end European judges ‘dictating’ UK on human rights October 17, 2021 The new Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has revealed new details about how he plans to prevent interference from Strasbourg in British matters as part of his overhaul of the Human Rights Act. At the Conservative Party conference earlier this month, the Justice Secretary said Boris Johnson had given him the task of rewriting the law [...]
Post-Brexit accounting body to face first major test over insurance sector October 14, 2021 The UK Endorsement Board, which oversees accounting rules, is preparing to come to heads with insurers in the first major test of the new body, according to reports. The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) was formed in direct response to Britain’s exit from the European Union, which forced the country to manage and endorse international accounting [...]
Seven Mishcon de Reya lawyers jump ship to rival Greenberg Traurig ahead of IPO October 13, 2021 Seven senior Mishcon de Reya lawyers are defecting to rival global law firm Greenberg Traurig, in advance of Mishcon’s plans to float on the London Stock Exchange. The exodus of leavers includes Kathryn Garbett, Jo Rickards, Claire Broadbelt, Annabel Thomas, Martin Shobbrook, Hannah Blom-Cooper, and Matt Hancock who will join Greenberg Traurig as shareholders, the [...]
KPMG gave ‘untruthful defence’ in tribunal over £13m Silentnight fine October 13, 2021 The UK accounting watchdog has today denounced KPMG for knowingly giving an “untruthful” defence over its conflict of interest in the 2011 sale of Silentnight, for which it was fined £13m. The verdict of the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) disciplinary tribunal marks the first time ever that the body has found an accountancy to have [...]
Audit reform: FRC asks for power to cap Big Four’s audit clients October 12, 2021 The chief executive of the UK’s accounting watchdog has asked ministers for the authority to enforce a cap on the number of large companies that any one accountancy firm can audit, in an attempt to break up the dominance of the Big Four firms. Sir Jon Thompson went on to question the likelihood of the [...]
Jenny Watson: New chair of UK accounting regulatory board wants to be a driver of change October 11, 2021 Jenny Watson CBE, newly appointed as the chair to the regulatory board of the UK body of chartered accountants, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), is a woman on a mission: the former chair of the Electoral Commission wants to be a driver of change. “We already know that there is much [...]
Mike Lynch extradition decision over $5bn fraud trial delayed October 10, 2021 The decision to extradite British entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been pushed to the end of the year after a judge delayed his decision in the separate $5bn (£3.7bn) case against Lynch by Hewlett-Packard. A draft decision, spanning over 1,000 pages, had been expected to be distributed to both Hewlett-Packard and Lynch by 24 September, according [...]