PwC faces Guernsey probe over audit of failed claims funder October 7, 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is being investigated following a shareholder complaint over an audit it conducted into an investment body based in Guernsey, the Sunday Times reported. The accountancy giant was approached by the the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the paper said, over concerns raised about an audit conducted for Juridica Investments, an [...]
Spring Statement: Hammond warns against no deal as UK slashes 2019 growth forecast March 13, 2019 The UK chancellor Philip Hammond slashed the 2019 growth forecast in his Spring Statement and said future spending and economic wellbeing are dependent on an orderly Brexit. Hammond announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had cut the country’s 2019 growth forecast to 1.2 per cent, down from the 1.6 per cent predicted in [...]
Audit’s perfect storm: How bean counters found themselves at the centre of a public uproar October 21, 2018 On the the surface, there is little reason for audit to get the blood pumping. The reality, however, is quite different, and threatens to present the sector’s biggest players – sprawling multi-nationals used to finding that all news is good news when you count the beans – with the toughest challenge they have seen in [...]
Watchdog investigation into KPMG’s Carillion audit at ‘critical stage’ January 22, 2019 The UK’s audit watchdog said its investigation into KPMG’s audit work for collapsed construction giant Carillion is at a “critical stage”. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued an update this morning on its probe into the Big Four firm following “significant public interest” in the case. Carillion’s collapse in January last year has become a [...]
New rules to improve standards of master trust pensions forces 30 schemes out of market October 1, 2018 New rules which have come into force today aimed at improving standards with master trust pensions have led to 30 schemes leaving the market. From today, master trusts, schemes which bring pensions held by multiple employers under the same board of trustees, will need authorisation from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to ensure they meet new standards [...]
Business secretary Greg Clark orders competition watchdog to carry out review of audit sector September 29, 2018 Business secretary Greg Clark has ordered the competition watchdog to carry out a sweeping review of the UK's audit sector. In a year when the Big Four audit firms have been hit by numerous scandals, Clark has told Andrew Tyrie, head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to carry out the review into competition in [...]
RBS announces interim chief financial officer as Ewen Stevenson prepares to depart August 17, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said today it is to appoint deputy chief financial officer Katie Murray as interim CFO in October, replacing outgoing CFO Ewen Stevenson, who is set to join HSBC. Stevenson will step down after four years in the role on 30 September and will be placed on gardening leave until the end of November. Stevenson [...]
The future of news: could tax breaks make online news sustainable? March 3, 2019 Sarah Cartwright’s news kiosk is as much a fixture in Sloane Square as the high-end boutiques that have surrounded it since her grandfather began selling newspapers from a wooden box there in 1892. But the kiosk may do well to survive another decade, let alone a century. “Print is dead,” she says. The Cairncross Review [...]
City watchdog the FCA refers investment consultants for a CMA competition investigation in the first decision of its kind September 14, 2017 The spotlight is about to turn on the investment consultancy and fiduciary management services industry, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today announced that it will refer the sector to the competition authority. This is the first time the FCA will have ever made a Market Investigation Reference to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland name ‘under review’ as bank rebuilds its reputation after financial crisis October 8, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is reportedly considering changing its name to distance itself from the financial crisis 10 years ago. The RBS name is under review as part of a rebrand, chairman Sir Howard Davies said yesterday, as the bank claims to have fixed historical problems as it turns its attention to its [...]