With increasing regulatory pressure and intense scrutiny over governance and transparency, annual reports provide an essential tool for businesses to communicate effectively. Cutting the clutter and focusing on the key issues for stake holders is absolutely critical, explains Mala Shah-Coulon, executive director, EY’s assurance practice

Grant Thornton UK LLP has reported a 2.5% increase in revenue to £534m as the tax service line reports strong growth in a year where the mid-tier firm invested heavily in IT and technology to support its client base, reports Sara White

Christmas is soon approaching and both employers and employees are getting into the festive spirit with the exchanging of gifts and throwing of parties, but these activities could leave businesses with a higher tax bill, says Blick Rothenberg 

HMRC has signed a contract with personalised customer communication services provider Communisis to handle outbound taxpayer letters, as part of a move to streamline operation ahead of the move to digital working

Tax directors and CFOs at multinational companies are facing increasing numbers of tax audits, and are becoming concerned about the impact of public perception of their tax planning on their company’s reputation, according to research by Taxand

Chair of PAC, Meg Hillier, has expressed her annoyance at Treasury for failing to provide analysis of the Garden Bridge business case with regards to how the project will be funded but instead providing a statement of the facts and a commentary

KPMG has boosted its revenues over the £2bn mark, a 6% rise, but profits are down 2% and average partner pay has also dropped as a result of what the firm is calling ‘substantial investment’ to adapt to the market including set up costs for new technology-led services

The Charity Commission has published a report of its inquiry into Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), which found former trustees had invested £5m of the charity’s money on the promise of a 55% return, and had made a £3.9m loss when the former trustee responsible for the investments was declared bankrupt

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has severed its 16-year relationship with PwC and has appointed Deloitte as its new external auditor for its £20m-plus audit after a competitive tender process which did not include the incumbent firm

Rohit Talwar, CEO and Steve Wells, operations director of Fast Future Publishing discuss the increasing use of automation in accounting firms from the impact of blockchain to accounting for artificial intelligence

KPMG has published detailed workforce data outlining the socio-economic make-up of the firm, saying it is the first business in the UK to publish such comprehensive data, which measures employees’ parental occupation and education and the type of school employees attended, in a bid to analyse social mobility trends

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has set out the areas where it will undertake thematic reviews of certain aspects of companies’ corporate reports and audits over the course of 2017, focusing on those where it believes there is scope for improvement and particular shareholder interest, which include the risks related to Brexit and the use of alternative performance measures