EY agrees record $100m settlement with US regulator over ethics exam cheating scandal June 28, 2022 EY has reached $100m (£82m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over claims the Big Four firm’s auditors cheated on accounting exams and later misled the watchdog’s investigators. The US financial watchdog said in a statement that EY had agreed to pay the highest penalty ever imposed on an audit firm by [...]
Grant Thornton settles £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators June 27, 2022 Grant Thornton has settled a £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s bankruptcy administrators over its role in the café chain’s collapse. The London headquartered accountancy giant has reached agreement to settle its case with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators out of court, according to the Sunday Telegraph who broke the news. In a statement sent to Morning Wire, [...]
UK’s audit watchdog says it ‘strongly supports’ global ESG reporting standards June 27, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog has said it “strongly supports” the development of high-quality, global standards for reporting on climate and sustainability data. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it backs plans put forward by the International Sustainability Standard Board’s (ISSB’s) for new worldwide ESG reporting rules. The comments come after the International Financial Reporting [...]
PwC to give 11,000 workers their biggest pay rise in a decade June 26, 2022 PwC is set to give around half of its UK workforce their biggest pay rise in a decade, in hiking around 11,000 of its workers base salaries. The accountancy firm is set to give a nine per cent pay rise to around half of its more than 22,000 staff – at a cost to [...]
Tory MP warns of ‘conflicts of interest’ in UK’s accounting watchdog after FRC hired EY to advise on plans June 26, 2022 A Tory MP has warned of potential conflicts of interest inside the UK’s accounting watchdog, following reports that Britain’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) brought in consultants from EY to advise on one of its plans. Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake hit out at the FRC for hiring advisors from the Big Four auditor, as the watchdog [...]
KPMG strikes deal with Cambridge University to study workplace wellbeing June 21, 2022 KPMG has struck a deal with Cambridge University to let researchers come into the Big Four firm to study the impacts of its mental wellbeing initiatives. The Big Four accountancy firm’s partnership will see Cambridge University researchers allowed into the company to study workplace wellbeing – with a view to developing strategies to boost productivity, [...]
EY partners could get $8m in shares each following Big Four firm’s split June 21, 2022 Partners at EY could be in line to receive windfalls worth $8m (£6.5m) each, if the accountancy firm pushes forwards with plans to split out its audit and advisory operations into two separate firms. Thousands of the Big Four firm’s partners could receive millions in windfall payments each, as part of EY’s plans to break [...]
New audit watchdog chair pledges tougher rules for company executives June 16, 2022 The new chair of the UK’s audit watchdog has vowed to make company directors accountable for corporate accounting scandals, in his first public speech as head of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). FRC chair Sir Jan du Plessis said the government’s decision to water down plans for a British version of the USA’s “Sarbanes-Oxley [...]
Deloitte denies claims it is set to follow EY by splitting its business in two June 9, 2022 Deloitte has said claims it is considering splitting itself up, and spinning off its consulting business, are “categorically untrue”. The Big Four accountancy firm denied claims it is mulling over a split, after the Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that Deloitte is exploring the options of separating out its global audit and consulting practices. Instead, [...]
UK’s audit sector trade bodies would not object to giving Big Four fines to the government May 19, 2022 Two of the UK’s biggest audit industry trade bodies have said they would welcome any plans to see money raised through fines against auditors given over to the UK government, in order to fund Britain’s regulatory bodies. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) both [...]