Business &amp; Accountancy Daily

Image for gold bullion remuneration schemes abnormal says gaar advisory panel

Tax | Gold bullion remuneration schemes ‘abnormal’, says GAAR Advisory Panel

Arrangements where workers are paid using gold bullion have been described as ‘abnormal’ by the GAAR Advisory Panel in its first publication since its formation in 2013

4 Aug 2017

Business | Called to account: August 2017

The latest scandals and penalties including an ex-HMRC employee sentenced over tax credits fraud, tax adviser jailed for £1.5m tax scam and £109m tax fraud fugitive ringleader deported to the UK

4 Aug 2017

Image for tax avoidance marketing directors banned

Business | Tax avoidance marketing directors banned

A husband and wife who were directors of a company which marketed tax avoidance schemes have been disqualified for a combined nine years for moving assets out of the reach of creditors, including more than £130,000 owing to HMRC

4 Aug 2017

Restructuring & Insolvency

Image for people news bdo smith cooper companies house

HR | People in the news: BDO, Smith Cooper, Companies House

This week’s news of professional moves in the sector includes three senior promotions at BDO, Smith Cooper gains a specialist advisory consultant, Companies House appoints a chief executive

4 Aug 2017

Careers

Image for us regulator sanctions crowe horwath hk

Finance | US regulator sanctions Crowe Horwath HK

Crowe Horwath’s Hong Kong firm has been sanctioned and its registration revoked by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) for refusing to cooperate with the US regulator’s investigation of the firm's audits of a China-based issuer

4 Aug 2017

Audit Regulations

Image for hmrc challenged over childcare website failures

Tax | HMRC challenged over childcare website failures

HMRC has come under fire over problems with its new childcare service website, amidst claims that IT glitches and other problems have prevented some parents from making claims

4 Aug 2017

Business | £400k hole in pocket for clothing fraudster

A Rochdale businessman, who pocketed nearly £1.25m from two VAT frauds, has been ordered to repay almost £400,000 or face another four years in jail following an investigation by HMRC

4 Aug 2017

Finance | EY takes on Tate & Lyle audit from PwC

Food producer Tate & Lyle is to switch auditors to EY, ending a 28-year relationship with PwC, following a competitive tender process earlier this year

4 Aug 2017

Image for rangers loses ebt final tax decision decade

Tax | Rangers loses EBT final: tax decision of the decade

In a groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court ruling in the long-running Murray Group holdings case - the Rangers case - about the validity of the use of employment benefit trusts (EBT) to pay footballers has hit the wall as the judges rule that they are unacceptable. Peter Rayney FCA, CTA examines the decision and the consequences

3 Aug 2017

Finance | $1m fine for PwC over Merrill Lynch broker audit failure

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has censured PwC and imposed a $1m (£760,000) penalty for audit violations related to the firm’s failure to observe the customer protection rules required by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its examination and audit of the broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

3 Aug 2017

Image for 17 drop ftse 100 ceo pay rates

Business | 17% drop in FTSE 100 CEO pay rates

Pay rates for top level CEOs in the UK have fallen by 17%, but it would still take the average employee 160 years to earn the equivalent annual remuneration, according to figures from the High Pay Centre

3 Aug 2017

Leadership & Management

Image for woolf ethics should be paramount

Finance | Woolf: ethics should be paramount

A shortfall in ethics in the lastest round of Audit Quality Inspections (AQIs) from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and endless conflicts of interest are bad for the audit profession. Emile Woolf FCA takes aim at auditors and standards

3 Aug 2017

Audit Regulations

Image for call courageous extended audit reports

Finance | Call for ‘courageous’ extended audit reports

ICAEW is calling for more support for extended audit reports, warning that the response to audit scandals such as Tesco and Rolls Royce has the potential to affect the development of audit

3 Aug 2017

Image for draft toolkit taxing offshore indirect transfers

Tax | Draft toolkit for taxing offshore indirect transfers

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax – a joint initiative of the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank Group – is consulting on a draft toolkit designed to help developing countries tackle the complexities of taxing offshore indirect transfers (OITs) of assets, after concerns were raised that some multinational corporations use this practice to try to minimise their tax liability

3 Aug 2017

Tax | UK accounting and legal sector generates £15.5bn of tax receipts

Accountancy firms and legal practices generated an estimated £15.5bn in tax in 2015/16, according to research by PwC for TheCityUK, the representative body for the UK-based financial and related professional services industry

3 Aug 2017

Tax | Limitations to BEPS when tackling corporate tax evasion

Although the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project is viewed by many as the best tool to tackle corporate tax evasion, global tax experts say it comes with limitations with regards to tax avoidance in developing countries and it could even encourage competition on tax rates

2 Aug 2017

Business | Dublin in running to host European Banking Authority post-Brexit

Eight European cities, including Dublin, are vying to host the European Banking Authority (EBA) which will leave London once the UK completes Brexit, the European Council has revealed

2 Aug 2017

Accountancy Firms

Image for trio directors debt management company disqualified

Business | Trio of directors at debt management company disqualified

A third director of Manchester-based debt management company Debt Connect (UK) Ltd has been disqualified as a result of an Insolvency Service investigation following the company’s collapse into liquidation owing some £150,000 to creditors

2 Aug 2017

Restructuring & Insolvency

Image for iasb urged streamline standards setting

Finance | IASB urged to streamline standards-setting

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) should work to simplify standards and ensure they are released more quickly, according to independent research

2 Aug 2017

Finance | Changes to pension age for women yield £5bn annually

Changes in the state pension age for women have given a £5.1bn annual boost to public finances, but there has been a sharp rise in income poverty amongst women aged 60 to 62, according to research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)

2 Aug 2017

Pensions

Careers

Image for pwc expands research services uk acquisition

Business | PwC expands research services with UK acquisition

PwC has acquired UK business Optimisa Research, which will merge with the firm’s existing global research to insight consulting business, in a move designed to expand its qualitative and consumer-led research capabilities

2 Aug 2017

Accountancy Firms

Image for aa sacks executive chairman over gross misconduct

Business | AA sacks executive chairman over ‘gross misconduct’

The AA has summarily sacked executive chairman Bob Mackenzie, who originally trained as an accountant with KPMG, over what the roadside recovery specialist described as ‘gross misconduct’

2 Aug 2017