Deloitte weighs up contenders in hunt for chief executive April 20, 2010 DELOITTE is on the hunt for a new chief executive, as chief executive and senior partner John Connolly is set to step down next spring after a decade in the role. Connolly will leave the post after serving three terms, and he will be leading the campaign to fill the role within the coming months. [...]
Big Four set to face the Lords October 17, 2010 THE HEADS of the Big Four auditors are likely to face an influential House of Lords committee next month, in a probe into the lack of competition in the audit market and the role the firms played in the financial crisis. Watchdogs including the Financial Services Council (FRC) have submitted papers to the Lords’ Economic [...]
Why 2011 won’t be too bad after all January 3, 2011 FORECASTING may be a mug’s game but it is unavoidable at this time of the year. So here are a few of my predictions for 2011, together with some key themes to look out for and some lessons from last year. I was right to be sanguine about 2010’s UK growth prospects; the daily warnings [...]
City business still booming November 29, 2010 BIG four accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has maintained its lead as the firm with the highest number of FTSE clients in the third quarter ended 4 November, according to the latest research from business data firm Hemscott. The Hemscott Corporate Advisers Rankings Guide, which is published quarterly, also revealed yesterday that public relations agency Brunswick had [...]
Snow losers for traders looking for volatility January 16, 2011 THE Christmas trading results branded companies as either winners or “snow losers” last week. Tesco shocked the market by offering figures that analysts felt paled in comparison to Sainsbury’s. Thanks to 12,000 tonnes of grit, the supermarket deserved to take the title of winner of the festive race. Toy, clothing and leisure retailers also offered [...]
KPMG joins rivals on new hiring spree October 4, 2010 BIG FOUR accounting firm KPMG has joined the ranks of its accountancy rivals as it plans to recruit 8,000 new staff across Europe within the next three years. The hiring spree, as reported in the Financial Times, will see the firm’s British arm grow by 3,000 new staff over the period. Once the recruitment drive [...]
Brewing up a storm in SW11 November 24, 2010 AMID the gloom afflicting the pub industry right now, one chink of light has been the relative success of real ale. Perhaps due to the way its homely, hearty image seems more attractive in recessionary times, ale has increased its share of the beer market and grown its drinker base in the past year, according [...]
Lords query lack of audit competition November 1, 2010 THE House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee will today question industry representatives on whether lack of competition among auditors could have contributed to the financial crisis. Representatives from RSM Tenon, Grant Thornton, Mazars and BDO will face questions in the afternoon on whether the dominance of the “big four” auditing firms – Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]