The City View: Victoria Scholar on rising prices, unemployment and retail sales data; and XR cause Lloyd’s of London HQ shutdown April 12, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor. They go through some of the week’s economics data on GDP, unemployment, retail sales, and talk trading updates. They discuss the latest from ASOS, Deliveroo, and EasyJet: ASOS is facing a raft of headwinds, as investors lose confidence in the online retailer; [...]
Audit watchdog could push for clawback of audit partners’ bonuses after poor quality work November 17, 2019 The audit watchdog could push for powers to clawback bonuses from audit partners if an audit fell below a certain level of quality. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is thinking of asking the government for powers to set remuneration standards for auditors, The Sunday Times reported. The idea follows scandals at department store BHS, outsourcer [...]
Don’t let corporate governance turn into a box-ticking exercise January 16, 2020 Last week, some of the UK’s biggest businesses received a rap on the knuckles, as the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published its annual review of how well companies lived up to the Corporate Governance Code. Some FTSE firms, the accounting and governance regulator argued, were simply “paying lip service to the spirit of the Code”, [...]
Watchdog says accountancy firms failing to challenge management of firms they audit November 5, 2019 Audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today warned that the top firms were failing to be robust enough in challenging management of the companies they audit. The audit sector is in the political and regulatory spotlight following company failures such as the collapse of travel agent Thomas Cook and outsourcer Carillion. The FRC today [...]
Audit watchdog calls on firms to improve reporting on climate change issues October 22, 2019 Businesses are falling short of investors’ expectations for clearer reporting on climate-related issues, according to a report published today by the audit watchdog. A report from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said that “while reporting on climate change is an evolving practice, expectations are changing rapidly”. Read more: Eco-friendly product sales surge on climate change [...]
FRC calls on firms to account for Brexit impact in annual reports October 24, 2018 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has told listed companies to lay out how leaving the EU could impact their business in their financial reports due shortly after Brexit. In an open letter to the UK’s finance directors and audit committee chairs, the FRC said they must clearly identify specific Brexit challenges such as changes in import [...]
Audit resignations jump as sector faces regulatory pressure February 3, 2020 The number of audit firms to resign from jobs jumped last year as the sector comes under increasing regulatory pressure. Resignations have risen 21 per cent to 229 in 2018/19, up from 190 the previous year, according to the latest research by Thomson Reuters. The spike in resignations comes as audit companies are increasingly in [...]
Brydon review finds UK audit industry in need of ‘urgent reform’ December 18, 2019 The UK’s audit industry is in need of “urgent reform”, according to the findings of a year-long review into the sector. The review, which was led by Sir Donald Brydon, a former chair of the London Stock Exchange Group, calls for the creation of “a standalone and transparent audit profession” split off from the accounting [...]
PwC to reopen UK offices from 8 June following coronavirus lockdown easing June 3, 2020 Big Four accountancy firm PwC said today it would reopen offices across the UK from 8 June as the coronavirus lockdown eases. The firm said it would open its London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Reading, and Bristol offices from next Monday. Kevin Ellis, PwC UK chair and senior partner, said: “Just because we can work from [...]
Audit watchdog beefs up standards in response to corporate failures September 30, 2019 Accountancy regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today announced it was beefing up audit standards in response to a string of major corporate failures. The FRC said it was introducing a new standard related to going concern status, where auditors judge a company’s financial position. Outsourcer Carillion and department store chain BHS both received clean [...]