PwC back with a vengeance at top of audit client rankings March 3, 2019 Accountancy giant PwC has become the leading auditor of listed UK clients for the first time since 2013, retaking its FTSE 100 client crown in the process. PwC, Britain’s biggest professional services firm by revenues, leapfrogged fourth-placed KPMG to take pole position. The smaller firm lost 12 clients between November last year and February, while [...]
Accountant pleads guilty to stealing £280,000 from pension scheme he administered February 27, 2019 An accountant who acted as an administrator and a trustee to pension schemes has admitted to embezzling £280,000 from a pension fund he oversaw. Roger William Bessent, 66, took the money from Focusplay Retirement Benefit Scheme by converting the transfers into loans and making official minutes listing other trustees as present at meetings they did not attend. He [...]
Barclays and Bank of Ireland sued over film finance tax evasion scheme February 26, 2019 Barclays and Bank of Ireland are being sued as part of a £180m lawsuit brought by investors in a film finance scheme the pair were involved in. Investors in the Eclipse film financing scheme lost out after tax authorities ruled the vehicle, which purported to invest in Disney films, was actually a tax avoidance scheme. [...]
Financial Reporting Council extends probe into Carillion’s accounts February 26, 2019 Britain’s accounting watchdog will look even further into the past in its investigation of the audit of failed outsourcing giant Carillion. For the first time the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) probe will stretch to work done in 2013 – but a spokesperson declined to say why this was. Read more: KPMG boss confident in Carillion [...]
Diabetic barrister barred from court because of can of drink February 25, 2019 A diabetic barrister said today he was refused entry to court because of a can of drink. Max Schofield, a tax barrister at 3PB chambers, tweeted: “I am currently being refused entry to Milton Keynes County Court because I have a 150ml can of drink which I keep in my bag as a diabetic just [...]
Backlog of employment tribunal cases balloons 77 per cent February 24, 2019 The backlog of cases at employment tribunals has risen 77 per cent in a year after the number of cases rocketed following the scrapping of fees in July 2017. In the three months ended September 2018 outstanding cases hit 23,700, up from 13,360 in the same period in 2017. There were 36,900 single claims in the year to [...]
Pearson to unveil £500m pension insurance deal with Legal & General February 21, 2019 Publishing giant Pearson is set to announce a £500m deal with Legal & General (L&G) in a bid to shore up its pensions liabilities, Sky News reported. The FTSE 100 firm, which specialises in education, will announce the deal tomorrow alongside its annual results, according to the report. Read more: Pearson sells US school textbook [...]
Investors afraid German economic slowdown will hit recruiter Hays Group February 21, 2019 Recruitment firm Hays Group shares fell 6.9 per cent this morning amid fears of a German slowdown, despite announcing rising profits and revenues. The company also admitted it was battling “economic uncertainties” in the UK, but that other global markets were strong in its interim results The figures Operating profit for the six months to [...]
HSBC sued for £150m in relation to Disney tax avoidance scheme February 18, 2019 HSBC Private Bank is being sued for £150m by over 400 investors in connection with a film financing scheme that purported to invest money in Disney blockbusters for tax benefits. Investors, including ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-England managers Sven-Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle, lost out after tax authorities ruled that the film [...]
Disgruntled ex-Linklaters exec agrees not to disclose information alleging Magic Circle firm’s ‘struggle’ with women February 18, 2019 An aggrieved former senior executive at Magic Circle law firm Linklaters has agreed to destroy a set of documents related to a case about the firm’s alleged “ongoing struggle" with women. Former chief marketing officer Frank Mellish had threatened to disclose information about the firm's culture and the way it dealt with three incidents internally after losing [...]