Audit sector ‘failing society and needs reform’ warns think tank April 21, 2021 The UK’s audit sector is “failing society” by coming up short when assessing firms’ finances and governance, leaving the door open to costly, Carillion-style business collapses, according to think tank IPPR. The think tank said there is an “expectation gap” between what audit currently assesses and what it needs to assess to fulfil the [...]
Deutsche Bank board member investigated over alleged insider trading April 19, 2021 Germany’s financial regulator has reportedly filed a criminal complaint against a Deutsche Bank board member over alleged insider trading of Wirecard shares. BaFin has filed a complaint against Alexander Schutz over suspicions he used insider information in 2019 and 2020 when trading Wirecard shares, the Financial Times reported. Munich prosecutors told the newspaper they had [...]
Blacklist audit firms for fraud failures, urges Pirc April 19, 2021 Large audit firms that are deemed not to be working hard enough to root out corporate fraud will be blacklisted in this year’s annual shareholder meetings by Pirc. Pirc has urged investors have not to reappoint PwC, KPMG, EY or Grant Thornton because it believes they have not done enough to improve their fraud detection [...]
ReSolve launches £100 million SME-focused investment fund April 15, 2021 ReSolve has partnered with investment firm RoundShield to launch a new £100m SME-focussed investment fund that will invest in Covid-hit businesses. ReSolve said the extra cash will allow it to work with more businesses, including those that may be struggling since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. ReSolve is a London boutique advisory and investment [...]
Pandemic pushes corporates’ legal spend higher April 15, 2021 Law firms are one of the few winners in the pandemic with corporates planning to increase legal spend this year, new research shows. Some 38 per cent of UK companies polled by Thomson Reuters are planning to increase their legal spend, almost twice as many planning to make cuts. It is partly driven by demand [...]
Judge to decide if PwC US lawfully sacked whistleblower April 14, 2021 Following a nine-day trial, a judge will decide if PwC US broke the law by firing a senior manager for blowing the whistle on the Big Four firm’s allegedly cosy relationship with two tech companies it audited. Former PwC senior manager Mauro Botta accused audit giant of firing him because he submitted complaints to the [...]
Enforcement of judgments: Brussels opposes UK entry to the Lugano Convention legal pact April 13, 2021 Brussels is pushing for the UK to not be able to join the Lugano Convention, an international legal pact, after officials held a crunch meeting yesterday. The EU is reportedly against allowing the UK to join the convention on the grounds that it is not a member of the European Economic Area or the European [...]
Jon Holt elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive April 12, 2021 Following a partnership vote Jon Holt has been elected KPMG UK’s new chief executive, marking a transitionary moment for the Big Four firm after a bumpy start to the new year. Holt, formerly head of audit at the firm, will begin his new role immediately and serve as chief executive until the end of September [...]
Regulator zeroes in on KPMG over M&C Saatchi audit April 12, 2021 KPMG faces scrutiny from the audit regulator after an accounting scandal at M&C Saatchi saw the business overstate its profits £14m in irregularities dating back to 2014. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has made initial inquiries to determine whether KPMG’s auditing met the required standards, the Financial Times first reported. The inquiries are a formal [...]
Welcome to paradise: The most expensive island homes revealed April 8, 2021 A visit to a tropical island may seem like a far-fetched dream for many Londoners, especially after a year spent lockdown. While we may not be able to leave the UK for a jetsetting adventure any time soon, some people are lucky enough to call these exclusive island properties home. From a £109.6m Fijian private [...]