UK’s accountancy sector turnovers soar to record highs May 12, 2022 The UK’s accountancy firms generated more cash in March than in any other month on record, new Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show. Turnover in Britain’s accountancy sector jumped 14 per cent from February to March to record highs of £4.13bn. The multi-billion sum comes as a new high for the UK’s accountancy industry, [...]
Audit giant Mazars ups size of London offices with new City premises next to Old Bailey court May 9, 2022 French auditor Mazars is set to move into new City of London premises after setting out plans to expand the size of its office space by 10 per cent. The accountancy firm is set to move from its current offices in Tower Bridge House to new, larger City of London premises at 30 Old Bailey. [...]
UK watchdog launches probe into tiny accountancy firm King & King over Sanjeev Gupta audits May 4, 2022 The UK’s accounting watchdog has launched an investigation into four audits carried out by little-known accountancy firm King & King, of firms linked to embattled steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it would be probing King & King’s audits of financial results posted by four of separate companies linked to Sanjeev [...]
EY faces $2.5bn lawsuit over NMC Health audit April 30, 2022 Big Four accountancy firm EY faces a $2.5bn (£2bn) lawsuit over its audit of collapsed healthcare company NMC Health, after bankruptcy administrators yesterday said they had filed a claim against the auditor. The lawsuit comes after Abu Dhabi firm NMC Health went into administration in 2020, after the firm was accused of understating more than [...]
UK government drops audit reform from Queen’s Speech agenda April 30, 2022 The UK government is expected to announce further delays to its shakeup of the audit sector, after dropping a draft bill on audit reform from the Queen’s Speech. A draft bill to introduce a raft of measures aimed at reforming the UK’s audit industry, including by replacing the UK’s audit watchdog with a new more [...]
Accountancy firm RSM consolidates power after buying out former partners April 28, 2022 The board of accountancy firm RSM has made a push to consolidate its power, by taking control of almost all shares in the firm through a buyout of its former partners. The shareholder buyout comes after RSM shareholders launched a coup against the accountancy firm’s ex-board in 2020, following the discovery an almost £10m hole [...]
UK’s audit watchdog set to reclaim control over licensing of major accountancy firms April 12, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog is preparing to strengthen its powers to sanction Britain’s major accountancy firms. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is readying itself to take back control over the registration of the UK’s auditing firms, sources told the Financial Times. In doing so, the FRC would be given new powers to strip licenses from [...]
Randox delays release of audited results amid concerns over Covid procurement process March 30, 2022 Covid test maker Randox has delayed release of its audited results amid mounting scrutiny over the government’s decision to award it contracts worth almost £777m. The delay to publication comes after the UK’s public spending watchdog said the government failed to document the procurement process that led to Randox being awarded 22 government contracts for [...]
UK government appoints four new directors to FRC in shakeup of audit regulator February 8, 2022 The UK government has put four new directors on the board of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), amid a shakeup of the UK’s audit regulator. The appointments come after former Rio Tinto chairman Sir Jan du Plessis – the government’s pick to head the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) – said the watchdog is in a [...]
Audit watchdog is ‘in poor state’, says FRC candidate for chair: ‘This is really not the way to run a regulator’ January 25, 2022 Sir Jan du Plessis, the government’s preferred candidate to head the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), has said the independent regulator is now in a “pretty poor state” due to the failures of its top level managers. Du Plessis, who has previously chaired some of Britain’s major companies including BT and Lloyds TSB, vowed to “address [...]