HMRC is hiring significant numbers of staff and is one of 25 government departments to share in an additional £2bn of funding allocated for Brexit preparation for all scenarios, while the UK’s five main business group have released a letter expressing ‘horror’ at the lack of practical action

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is making what it calls ‘the biggest intervention in the overdraft market for a generation’ with proposals which would end banks charging higher prices for unarranged overdrafts, as part of a package of measures stemming from its high-cost credit review

ACCA is warning of future risks to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because of the potential for a no deal Brexit to clash with the introduction of HMRC’s new Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT regime, and says the government must provide more detailed guidance

Smith & Williamson has released interim results for the first six months of the year, showing a 3.6% rise in operating income and a 6.3% hike in profits, despite what the firm called ‘a degree of external turbulence’

Blippar.com Ltd, a tech startup that produces virtual reality apps for smartphones and had claimed to be one of the first UK tech ‘unicorns’, valued at more than $1bn (£790m), has gone into administration following an alleged dispute over continued funding  

The government has unveiled what it is calling ‘the biggest package of workplace reforms for over twenty years’ but has stopped short of banning zero hours contracts or developing a new approach to the payment and taxation of gig economy workers

Johnston Carmichael, Scotland’s largest independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, has posted a 4% growth in turnover to £45.5m but saw profits dip in what it described as ‘challenging marketplace’

CogitalGroup has reported annualised revenues topping £450m, up 64% since its launch two years ago as a Big Four challenger, with half generated in the Nordic markets and half from the UK, and has indicated plans to build on its technology offerings and move into the US market

A Hampshire tax fraudster has been sent back to jail for failing to repay the £190,555 he obtained by evading capital gains tax (CGT) by failing to declare earnings from property sales

The Charities Commission has issued an alert to charity trustees, employees and volunteers about the growing risk of CEO fraud through Christmas gift cards

Richard Houston is to be the next senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte North West Europe (NWE) and UK, succeeding David Sproul who has served two four-year terms, the maximum possible at the firm

As Big Four audit firms come under increasing pressure amid concerns about market dominance and conflicts of interest, Philip Smith asks how independent the Financial Reporting Council is as the regulator