CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 14, 2012 Grant Thornton The professional services firm has appointed Andy Morgan as a partner in its London corporate finance team. Morgan is a technology expert and has over 17 years’ experience in mid-market mergers and acquisitions. He joins from PwC, where he led its UK technology, media and communications sector team. Mazars John McMahon has been [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 20, 2012 CBRE The global real estate adviser has announced that Dr Neil Blake has been appointed head of Europe, Middle East, Africa and UK research. Blake joins from Oxford Economics, the economic forecasting consultancy, where he was director of economic analysis. He is a founder director of Business Strategies, which became part of Experian in 2002. [...]
Audit watchdog to cut fees after making savings March 4, 2012 THE spending watchdog for England’s local authorities has said today it will cut audit fees by 40 per cent. The Audit Commission, which will be abolished this year, said outsourcing and internal cost-savings meant audit fees for most local public bodies will fall by £250m over five years. The savings will come in part from [...]
Insurance firms need regulators to pay attention March 4, 2012 PRUDENTIAL’S threat to quit the UK and move its headquarters to Asia isn’t a hollow one. There is a growing feeling in the City that British insurers are getting a raw deal from Solvency II, the new capital requirements that will soon govern the sector. There is wide acknowledgement that the UK regulator, the Financial [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 29, 2012 Assura The UK’s leading primary healthcare property company has announced the appointment of Graham Roberts as its new chief executive, with immediate effect. Roberts has worked in the property sector for the last sixteen years, most recently as finance director of British Land, one of the UK’s largest real estate investment trusts. Roberts replaces Nigel [...]
UK business slams Barnier audit reforms November 30, 2011 A number of business groups, including the CBI, yesterday slammed Michel Barnier’s proposals to shake up the audit market, saying they were “the latest in a long line of unnecessary distractions coming out of Brussels that would only serve to add to business costs”. Matthew Fell, director for competitive markets at the CBI, the employers’ [...]
Why the CBI was wrong to attack EC audit reforms December 6, 2011 AUDITING is at a crossroads. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, the Office of Fair Trading, the European Commission, the US audit regulator (PCAOB) and investors all have substantial concerns about the listed company audit model. John Cridland of the CBI outlined the case for resisting the EC’s new proposals in these pages last [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PLANS REVEALED FOR US-STYLE PLEA BARGAINS The UK plans to introduce US-style corporate plea bargains that could result in fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the Solicitor General. “You have to have a cost-benefit analysis. If I can produce a system which has all the benefits [of the US] and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 13, 2011 AFC Energy The fuel cells developer has appointed Ian Williamson as chief executive and a director of the company, effective from 14 November. Williamson, who will be granted an option of one million ordinary shares when he joins the board, joins AFC Energy from Air Products, where he was most recently hydrogen and bio energy [...]
Fingers will be crossed for a calmer winter as catastrophe losses mount September 21, 2011 DESPITE the record hit to revenue, the Lloyd’s performance was still better than some analysts had expected. Audit firm Mazars predicted losses of £1.5bn last week, but yesterday the results compared favourably to the rest of the sector. “Last year the average combined loss ratios of UK-listed insurers were slightly better than Lloyd’s,” said insurance [...]