Ban EY from public contract bids following professional misconduct, urges charity November 17, 2020 The government should consider banning big four auditor EY from bidding on public contracts for three years following a number of recent scandals, charity Spotlight on Corruption has said. The charity has written a 17-page letter to government that accuses EY of “grave professional misconduct” that “renders its integrity questionable”, and suggests there should be [...]
Watchdog calls for end to tick-box approach to corporate governance January 9, 2020 Audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today said there was “significant room for improved corporate reporting” by FTSE companies. After an examination of corporate reporting last year against the 2016 UK corporate governance code and the 2018 code which has yet to take force but has been adopted by some companies, the watchdog found [...]
Moss Bros delays full-year results amid coronavirus crisis April 14, 2020 Menswear retailer Moss Bros has delayed the publication of its full year results due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced this morning that it will postpone its financial results for the year ending 25 January until late July. It had previously planned to publish its accounts in late May. Financial regulators said last month [...]
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 [...]
UK audit shakeup: Big Four face FTSE client caps, new watchdog and a clampdown on directors March 18, 2021 Big Four dominance in the UK audit market may be diluted under new plans announced today that would see stricter regulation of the sector and executives at major firms. The government hopes the proposals, published in a consultation today by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will lead to greater transparency in [...]
Coronavirus: British companies rush to mothball results after City watchdog calls for delay March 23, 2020 British companies are rushing to delay the publication of their results following an unprecedented call from the financial regulator for results to be suspended due to the coronavirus crisis. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said late on Saturday that listed firms planning to report preliminary results in the next few days should mothball them for [...]
KPMG set to slash jobs and pension contributions in cost-cutting drive July 22, 2020 KPMG is set to cut more than 100 jobs and slash contributions to employees’ pensions in a bid to slash costs during the pandemic. The Big Four firm is expected to cut just under 200 jobs across the UK ahead of the long-awaited reform of the audit reform. Sky News first reported that partners and [...]
Accounting watchdog ‘plots sweeping rule changes’ for company executives December 15, 2019 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is lining up significant changes to corporate governance rules after a string of scandals at Patisserie Valerie, M&C Saatchi and Ted Baker. It is understood the accounting regulator is writing a British version of an American law passed in 2002 after Worldcom and Enron collapsed. Read more: FRC watchdog probes [...]
Coronavirus: FCA urges companies to delay publication of preliminary results March 22, 2020 The City watchdog today urged listed companies to suspend the publication of their interim results for at least two weeks. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said: “The unprecedented events of the last couple of weeks mean that the basis on which companies are reporting and planning is changing rapidly.” It said companies needed to give [...]
Accountancy firm Grant Thornton and one of its partners hit with fines for audit failures December 10, 2019 Accountancy firm Grant Thornton was today fined £650,000 and one of its partners £20,000 for failures in the auditing of a publicly listed company. Regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it had sanctioned the firm with a £650,000 fine (discounted to £422,500) and one of its partners £20,000 (discounted to £13,000). It has also [...]