The Big Four, along with other accounting firms, professional bodies and training providers, have come together to develop a new apprenticeship standard for the audit, accountancy and tax professions, designed to provide school leavers with an additional route into the profession from April 2016

Southeast accounting firms Kreston Reeves and Spofforths are to merge, creating a merged practice with a projected combined revenue of £30.9m, placing it among the top 25 firms in the UK on completion of the merger in June

ICAEW is to take over elements of the regulation of solcitors who act as insolvency practitioners as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) withdraws from regulation of this sector in a bid to improve consumer protection

In the latest career moves, KPMG bolsters restructuring team, Kreston Reeves director joins ATT council, partner promotions at Squire Patton Boggs and pensions hire at Spence & Partners

The Charity Commission has issued an alert to trustees, charity professionals and volunteers to be vigilant about the possibility of falling victim to a wave of online extortion or ‘ransom’ demands which it says are currently affecting UK businesses and are now targeting the charity sector

Higher earners are at risk of breaking new rules on pension contributions, following the reduction in the annual allowance from the current £40,000, as employers are shifting the responsibility for ensuring compliance onto staff

Almost nine in 10 (87%) organisations have faced a disruptive incident involving third parties in the last three years, such as loss of data or failure to deliver a service or product in time, according to research by Deloitte which suggests many businesses are failing to manage the risks involved in using external suppliers for essential services 

The Big Four accounting firms all feature in a top ten table of thought leadership rankings, with Deloitte narrowly missing out to IBM as number one for providing high quality research in the global consulting industry during the second half of 2015, with particular recognition for the work of Deloitte University Press

Corporate restructuring specialist FRP Advisory has joined international accounting association, PrimeGlobal in a bid to grow its overseas client base

Tony Manwaring, executive director of external affairs at CIMA, examines  outs how Shell creates a culture of leadership and provides tips and insight on how to make informed, risk aware decisions at the highest level of organisations 

Top executives at banks and financial institutions, including CEOs and chairs of audit committees, are to face much stricter levels of accountability with the introduction of a new Senior Managers Regime governed by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which introduces a criminal offence for senior managers in the event of the failure of a major institution

PwC International has named Robert E Moritz, senior and partner and chairman of PwC US as chairman of the global accounting network, to succeed Dennis Nally