Companies

Image for economic trends jobs growth hides productivity collapse

Business | Economic trends: jobs growth hides productivity collapse

Despite Brexit uncertainty, the UK economy continues to grow, creating record levels of employment and no let-up in consumer spending, but poor productivity could lead to an economic hangover, argues George Buckley, chief UK economist at Nomura

25 Apr 2019

Image for draft rules directors remuneration policy changes published

Finance | Draft rules on directors’ remuneration policy changes published

The government has published draft regulations about directors’ remuneration policy and reports, which extend the scope of renumeration reporting to unquoted traded companies and introduce new requirements

24 Apr 2019

Image for deloitte qualifies swiss miners accounts over potential charity misappropriation

Finance | Deloitte qualifies Swiss miner’s accounts over potential charity ‘misappropriation’

Auditors from Deloitte have issued a qualified opinion on the annual results from Ferrexpo, a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine, over concerns about possible ‘misappropriation’ of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds

24 Apr 2019

Business | Warnings for pensions trustees over chair’s statement

Pensions trustees have been warned to produce a chair's statement which is compliant with the law, after fines against two schemes were upheld in court

24 Apr 2019

Pensions

Image for eu agrees gig economy minimum rights

Business | EU agrees gig economy minimum rights

The EU has agreed minimum rights for workers in casual or short-term employment in the gig economy, with requirements for working conditions to be made clear to workers on the first day on the job, and probationary periods limited to six months

23 Apr 2019

Image for complaints against financial services firms decline

Business | Complaints against financial services firms decline

The number of complaints against regulated financial services firms fell in the last six months of last year, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

23 Apr 2019

Accountancy Firms

Image for cmas joint audit proposals divide opinion

Finance | CMA’s joint audit proposals divide opinion

Plans to introduce joint audits for listed companies have been criticised by Big Four firms as potentially further damaging the quality of audits, while challenger firms argue that this would increase access to the audit market

23 Apr 2019

Business | Business confidence wilts under Brexit pressure

UK economic confidence improved a little at the start of the year, but remains lower than many other countries worldwide, according to research from ACCA and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA)

18 Apr 2019

Accountancy Firms

Image for baldwins expands scottish reach scott moncrieff merger

Business | Baldwins expands Scottish reach with Scott-Moncrieff merger

Scott-Moncrieff, Scotland’s longest established accountancy firm, is to join Baldwins, part of the fast-growing challenger audit services firm CogitalGroup, which now has a significant Scottish presence via both acquisition and organic expansion

18 Apr 2019

Image for cma wants big four operational split and mandatory joint audits

Finance | CMA wants Big Four operational split and mandatory joint audits

The Big Four firms face an operational split between audit and consulting services, and mandatory joint audits of large listed companies, as a result of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) final report on the UK audit market

18 Apr 2019

Image for brexit dominates fca priorities year ahead

Business | Brexit dominates FCA priorities for year ahead

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its business plan for 2019/20, outlining the key priorities for the coming year, but says the immediate priority will remain supporting an orderly transition as the UK leaves the EU

18 Apr 2019

Accountancy Firms

Image for big four consulting projects overshoot costs

Business | Big Four consulting projects overshoot on costs

Around 70% of all Big Four audit firm consulting projects end up costing more than the client’s initial estimate, with 18% of projects costing significantly more and only 2% coming in under budget

17 Apr 2019

Business | Brexit worries weigh on CFOs

As the Easter recess brings a temporary halt to parliamentary discussion about the UK’s plans for leaving the EU, long term levels of concern about Brexit among CFOs has hit an all-time high

17 Apr 2019

Image for businesses warned winding perils over unpaid tax

Tax | Businesses warned on winding up perils over unpaid tax

HMRC applied to shut down 4,160 businesses because they had fallen behind on their tax payments in 2018 with financial problems being exacerbated by a late payment culture

15 Apr 2019

Business | People in the news: Wilson Wright, RSM, KPMG, Wright Hassall

In this week's career moves, Wilson Wright and KPMG announce partner promotions, Wright Hassall scoops tax consultant from HMRC, RSM names national head of accounting and FR, and Grant Thornton names five partners in audit and tax practices

12 Apr 2019