Has the time come for healthtech? March 10, 2020 More than 110,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded worldwide and at least 3,800 patients have died. Only time will tell how devastating the effect of coronavirus will ultimately be on the human population and the global economy. Whatever happens, the Covid-19 virus could well go down in history as a moment of profound change in [...]
John McDonnell says Labour will break up Big Four ‘cartel’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell today promised to break up the “cartel” of the Big Four accounting firms if Labour wins the upcoming election. “Under Labour the Big Four companies will not be allowed to continue to act like a cartel,” McDonnell told a Westminster audience during a speech on Labour’s plans for the economy. The [...]
Britain ‘still attractive for aerospace investment’ despite Brexit uncertainty August 27, 2019 Britain is the fourth-most attractive attractive country to invest in for the aerospace and defence industries, according to research. Despite warnings from major industry players that Brexit uncertainty will hamper investment in the sector, the UK has been named the best European country to invest in, ahead of Germany, by PwC. Countries were ranked on [...]
Amey to offload two business units as Spanish owner Ferrovial works towards sale December 3, 2019 Amey, one of the UK’s biggest providers of outsourced public services, is said to be looking to hive off two of its business units as part of plans by its Spanish owner to sell the company. The firm, which employs about 17,000 people, has reportedly hired advisers to sell its environmental services and utilities divisions, [...]
Watchstone accuses Slater and Gordon of using ‘illicit back channel’ during disputed Quindell deal August 29, 2019 Insurance outsourcer Watchstone struck back in its High Court scrap with Slater & Gordon today after it was granted permission to file a counter-claim against the personal injury law firm. Watchstone said it recently discovered an “illicit back channel” Slater and Gordon’s corporate finance adviser Greenhill & Co allegedly used to access confidential information about [...]
UK financial services firms leading the way on automation October 14, 2019 Financial services firms in the UK are integrating robo-advisers into their ranks faster than their global competitors in a bid to harness the technology to retain customers – or poach new ones, new research has found. While 37 per cent of UK financial services firms surveyed have implemented robotic processing automation (RPA) – a technology [...]
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 [...]
Good vs. bad active fund management: three indicators April 21, 2020 Do you ever wonder whether your active fund is worth the management and performance fees you charge? Would passive investments have yielded similar or better outcomes for your clients? If you haven’t asked yourself these questions, you can be sure your clients have asked themselves. And they will continue to, measuring what you deliver with [...]
Billionaire boom slows down as uncertainty hits the super-wealthy November 8, 2019 The billionaire boom has grounded to a halt, as a year of political upheaval took its toll on the world’s super-wealthy. A new report has found that billionaires’ wealth dipped by $388bn in 2018, following five years of growth. Read more: Bovis Homes agrees £1.1bn deal for Galliford Try housing business While the Americas saw [...]
Big Four client numbers fall but FTSE 100 stranglehold remains December 2, 2019 The number of clients audited by the Big Four accountancy firms has fallen but they retain an iron grip on the FTSE 100, figures published today show. Figures from Adviser Rankings for the quarter to 6 November showed the number of stock market clients audited by PwC (353), KPMG (312) and Deloitte (225) all fell [...]