An open letter to the chancellor: What the accountancy profession want from the Autumn Statement November 16, 2016 Dear chancellor, I am writing to outline ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)’s priorities for the Autumn Statement and Spending Review. ACCA has recently concluded a wide-ranging consultation with our members operating at senior levels across all parts of the public sector. Our consultation focused on the priorities of public sector decision-makers ahead of [...]
Deloitte fined a record £4m by accountancy watchdog over audit of Aero Inventory November 10, 2016 Deloitte has been fined a record £4m by the accountancy watchdog for misconduct in its audit of AIM listed Aero Inventory in the run up to its administration in 2009. In particular, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) claims the accountancy giant, along with partner John Clennett, fell short of the standard expected when auditing the company in [...]
Bank shares tanked on Donald Trump’s triumph November 9, 2016 Banks' shareholders were clearly less than thrilled about who won the race to the White House this morning, but are learning to live with it this afternoon. After dipping initially this morning, shares for the big banks listed in London have now recovered. Shares in HSBC are currently up 0.1 per cent at 620.6p, Lloyds Banking Group [...]
Standard Chartered gets a tongue-lashing from its boss as share price plummets November 1, 2016 Shares in emerging markets lender Standard Chartered plummeted over six per cent this morning after its chief exec called his company out for a performance that was "not yet acceptable". The figures Third quarter revenues were slightly down at $3.5bn from $3.6bn in the year before and identical to the second quarter. Operating profits were [...]
Former Co-operative Bank boss admits misconduct October 28, 2016 A former boss of the Co-operative Bank has admitted misconduct and agreed to pay out £20,000 to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Barry Tootell, the chief financial officer and chief executive of the Co-Operative Bank between 2009 and 2013, was accused of not exercising due skill, care and diligence in managing the firm for which he [...]
Press regulation: Newspapers warn government against move that “could destroy our free press” October 24, 2016 Tomorrow could mark a significant day for British newspapers. Or, in the words of today’s Sun editorial: “Tomorrow the government faces a decision that could destroy our free press and fundamentally undermine the principle of natural justice in Britain.” What is going on? Around four years ago, after conducting a High Court inquiry into the [...]
How gambling and betting companies have taken over the Premier League’s shirts October 8, 2016 Football fans might have noticed a recurring theme on this year's Premier League shirts — gambling. More Premier League teams are sponsored by gambling companies than ever before this season, with exactly half of the division's teams displaying logos for online casinos or bookmakers on their shirts. England's top tier was 10 years old before Fulham became the [...]
This is London First’s new chief executive October 3, 2016 London First has today announced former Save the Children International boss Jasmine Whitbread will be joining as its new chief executive. Whitbread, who has also held management positions at Thomson Financial and Rio Tinto and is a non-executive director of BT and Standard Chartered, will succeed Baroness Jo Valentine when she steps down at the end of the year. "Jasmine brings an [...]
Bank of England confirms plans for additional stress tests for UK banks October 3, 2016 The Bank of England will push ahead with plans for an extra set of stress tests next year in order to assess the ability of the UK’s top lenders to weather a financial storm. The Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) confirmed today it will put the UK’s seven biggest banks and building societies through an [...]
Liberty owner teams up with Jack Wills founder to buyout fashion chain October 2, 2016 The owner of the Liberty department store in London has joined forces with the founder of Jack Wills as part of a multi-million pound buyout of the clothing empire. The fashion chain's joint shareholders are now the private equity firm which owns Liberty, BlueGem Capital Partners, alongside Jack Wills' founder and chief executive, Peter Williams. Read more: Liberty [...]