FRC tells Big Four auditors to accelerate break-up plan February 27, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has told the Big Four to accelerate the ring-fencing of their audit businesses by strengthening independent governance and improving financial transparency. The regulator wrote to Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC this week to set out details of the ‘operational separation’ blueprint, according to Sky News. The FRC is reported to [...]
Mazars says joint audits and market caps are solution to audit sector woes November 4, 2018 Mazars, the professional services firm which is France’s fifth-largest auditor, has weighed in on the under-fire sector’s future, calling for market share caps and joint audits to disrupt the dominance of the Big Four firms. It is the first large audit firm to release its response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is [...]
Long awaited audit reforms could start this year, says audit watchdog boss March 5, 2020 The long-promised reform of the UK audit sector could start this year with voluntary changes by the Big Four accounting firms, the audit watchdog said today. The collapse of outsourcer Carillion in 2018 prompted three reviews of the sector and two years on there have been calls from MPs and industry figures to speed up [...]
Awards 2019 October 26, 2021 2019 Winners The tenth annual City A.M. awards promised to be the biggest yet – and it didn’t disappoint! Hundreds of the City’s movers and shakers gathered at the Leonardo Hotel in St. Paul’s to recognise the most successful, innovative and transformative companies and individuals from across the business community. From dealmakers to entrepreneurs, from [...]
Audit regulator proposes challenger firms get larger share of the work January 25, 2020 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has proposed a regime to the government that would see challenger firms outside the so-called big four auditors be given a substantial proportion of the audit work of major British companies. The accounting regulator has drawn up plans behind closed doors that would require all but the very biggest FTSE-350 [...]
Third of UK audits fail accounting watchdog’s quality tests July 14, 2020 Britain’s accounting watchdog today said that a third of audits by the UK’s seven main accounting firms failed quality tests this year, amping up pressure for widescale reform in the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said 29 of 88 audits carried out by Deloitte, PWC, EY, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars this year [...]
Coronavirus sends US markets into the red January 27, 2020 US stocks markets opened sharply lower this afternoon as investors grew fearful that the coronavirus outbreak – which has killed 81 – will damage the global economy. The S&P 500 was down 1.3 per cent shortly after the bell, while the Dow Jones was 1.2 per cent lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq had fallen 1.6 [...]
Big Four client numbers fall but FTSE 100 stranglehold remains December 2, 2019 The number of clients audited by the Big Four accountancy firms has fallen but they retain an iron grip on the FTSE 100, figures published today show. Figures from Adviser Rankings for the quarter to 6 November showed the number of stock market clients audited by PwC (353), KPMG (312) and Deloitte (225) all fell [...]
US court orders Donald Trump to hand over tax returns November 4, 2019 A US appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s accountants must hand over eight years worth of tax returns to New York prosecutors. The decision is a blow to Trump, who has been repeatedly resisted calls by political opponents to publish his financial records. Read more: Nancy Pelosi expects Donald Trump impeachment hearings to [...]
City A.M. Awards 2019: Meet the winners November 8, 2019 The great and the good of the City gathered in the heart of the Square Mile last night to toast the successes of their peers at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in St Paul’s for City A.M.’s 10th annual awards. Guests enjoyed champagne from Chapel Down at the BA London City reception as host Julia Hartley [...]