| Big Four’s non-audit fees for clients fall 20%

Audit income at the Big Four firms rose sharply last year, but was accompanied by a marked drop in fees from non-audit work for audit clients, ahead of the requirement for formal separation of activities, according to the latest Financial Reporting Council (FRC) analysis

19 Oct 2020

Auditing

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

| KPMG to replace Deloitte at petrol forecourt giant

Deloitte has resigned as auditor to EG Group, the company set up by the billionaire Issa brothers who have also recently acquired supermarket giant Asda, and is to be replaced by KPMG

15 Oct 2020

Auditing

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

| AIM bounces back to pre-Covid highs

The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) all-share index has returned to its 2020 pre-Covid highs, outperforming the FTSE all-share index, according to BDO

12 Oct 2020

Auditing

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | Woolf: public audit office only independent answer

In the wake of Deloitte’s £15m fine over its work at Autonomy, Emile Woolf puts forward the case for a new public audit office to resolve the auditor independence argument once and for all

5 Oct 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Finance | Almost two-thirds of FTSE 350 compliant with new corporate governance code

UK companies are largely meeting new corporate reporting requirements arising from the Financial Reporting Council’s changes in 2018, but need to demonstrate the link between intention and action more explicitly, research by EY has found

23 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | FRC seeks KPMG response to Carillion probe

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has completed its initial report in connection with its extensive investigation into KPMG’s audit of the financial statements of Carillion, the outsourcing company which collapsed in January 2018

22 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

| MHA picks up FTSE 250 miner audit

MHA MacIntyre Hudson (MHA) has been appointed as external auditor to FTSE 250-listed Petropavlovsk, the Russian gold mining company which had previously lined up PwC for the role only for the Big Four firm to decline

22 Sep 2020

Auditing

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | Call for Treasury to ensure cash access

The National Audit Office (NAO) is calling on the Treasury to launch a coordinated effort to safeguard access to cash, as Covid-19 has accelerated the move to online transactions, and there is a risk that vulnerable people who rely on paying money will be excluded

18 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | IAASB to examine going concern ‘expectation gap’

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has opened a consultation on fraud and going concern in audits, in response to concerns raised by high-profile corporate failures in recent years

17 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Accounting Consultations

Finance | Audit firms report split progress

As Deloitte reveals plans to implement FRC audit firm split, Accountancy Daily reviews progress ahead of October deadline

17 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Finance | Half of internal audit functions affected by coronavirus redeployment

Chartered IIA study raises concerns for corporate governance during coronavirus crisis, and reveals the extent of disruption to internal audit teams, as 46% of internal audit teams have been affected by redeployment during coronavirus lockdown

16 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Business

Companies

Finance | Deloitte first to confirm audit split

Deloitte is to set up an independent audit governance structure, becoming the first of the Big Four to respond to demands from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for an operational separation of audit from the rest of the firm’s business

11 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Finance | Call for new public sector audit body

An independent inquiry into public sector auditing has recommended a shake-up of the sector, with a new regulatory body to oversee local authority audit and the introduction of a standardised statement of services and costs

9 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Finance | Grant Thornton loses appeal over £22.6m damages

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an attempt by Grant Thornton to overturn a record £22.6m claim for damages brought by former client AssetCo over the firm’s failure to spot a fraud at the AIM-listed company, which nearly collapsed as a result of an accounting scandal

1 Sep 2020

Auditing

Audit Regulations

Finance | Internal audit leader makes case for regulator with real power

As the BEIS select committee’s audit reform review draws to a close, John Wood, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, argues that now is the time for the government to deliver on its promise of a powerful regulator

1 Sep 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance