Consumer confidence improved at the end of last year but spending is still cautious April 23, 2018 Consumer confidence ticked up at the beginning of 2018, but non-essential spending was flat. The agreement of a Brexit transition deal boosted overall confidence during the first three months of the year, according to Deloitte. But spending was still heavily weighted towards utilities bills, transport and food and drink. Discretionary spending meanwhile was flat compared [...]
Irish retail family agrees last-minute rescue for some Poundworld stores August 9, 2018 A glimmer of hope has appeared for Poundworld after an Irish retail family swooped in to buy the business on its last day of trading. The Henderson family said today that its offer to buy as many as 50 of the best remaining stores for an undisclosed sum had been accepted by administrators Deloitte. Although [...]
Carillion collapse: Fail to learn and ‘I don’t think we’ll have a profession in 20 years time’, says accounting chief May 16, 2018 Big Four giants Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG face extinction if they fail to learn the lessons from the failure of contracting giant Carillion, the head of Britain’s leading accountancy institution warned this morning. Carillion’s mid-January collapse is a “watershed moment” for accountants both big and small, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales [...]
New homes: Our pick of the new builds going on sale in London this weekend October 5, 2018 11 Fitzjohn’s Avenue, Hampstead From £695,000 Live in a Victorian mansion designed in the Arts and Crafts style that has been converted into 12 apartments with two new build townhouses at the back. Developer Godfrey London has re-introduced period features, along with heritage timber wall-panelling and limestone fireplaces. Call joint agents Goldschmidt & Howland (020 [...]
TSB forced to delay switch from Visa to Mastercard after bank’s computer collapse August 27, 2018 High street lender TSB has been forced to delay a switch to Mastercard for its card payments as it focuses on getting its computer systems back to health following the IT collapse it suffered earlier this year. TSB had planned to leave Visa Europe for its card operations by the end of this year, but [...]
Competition watchdog launches review of audit sector October 9, 2018 The competition watchdog today confirmed it has launched a probe into the UK's audit sector, ending weeks of speculation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will review whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high standards. Calls to review the sector and possibly break up the "Big Four" of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY [...]
BDO reveals profit boost as it raises concerns over Brexit and audit break-up October 8, 2018 One of Britain’s largest professional services firms has warned that business leaders need clarity to prepare for Brexit and sounded a cautious note over reforms to the audit sector as it revealed rising profit and revenues. BDO posted an underlying revenue of £464.1m in its 2017/18 annual results, released today, an increase of 8.5 per [...]
High-profile failures have eroded trust in audit sector, says watchdog October 8, 2018 The UK’s audit watchdog has announced a new strategic plan to address “falling trust in business and the effectiveness of audit”, after a series of scandals in the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) released its ‘Developments in Audit’ report today, raising concerns over public trust in the profession, and constricted competition at the top [...]
Weak growth overtakes Brexit as biggest headache for UK firms after Brexit transition deal April 9, 2018 Brexit is no longer the biggest concern of big businesses in the UK, who now believe that weak growth is the biggest threat facing UK corporations, according to a poll published today. The survey conducted by Deloitte of 106 chief financial officers (CFOs) from some of the UK’s biggest firms showed that the Brexit transition [...]
The future is now, but we’ll miss it if we don’t solve tech’s talent crisis October 19, 2018 The time has come for us to change the narrative. Too often, company executives talk about a future where artificial intelligence will transform the employment landscape or the strategies they are developing to adapt to the fourth industrial revolution. But that time is here – and companies need to be taking action now. Read more: London's [...]