The unbridled lack of measured regulation at every level is highlighted by the recent Quindell accounting fiasco which is now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office which is now taking the lead in the probe into accounting irregularities, says Emile Woolf FCA
Legislators and bureaucrats seem incapable of distinguishing idealism from what is achievable in the real world. We saw a couple of months ago that Greece was granted a third bailout after promising its creditors a primary surplus of tax receipts over government spending for the foreseeable future. As expected, its economy then plunged straight back into recession, effectively breaching the terms of the deal even before it was signed.
Another example of mismatch between idealistic dreaming and economic reality is the populist notion of ‘fairness’ that imposes a national minimum wage on employers regardless of what their company’s economic structure will bear.
Even the remit of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) obliges it to ensure that its recommended wage rates have no significant impact on employment levels.
