Regulatory

Scottish accountancy firms and financial regulatory bodies have responded to Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement announced yesterday. The Chancellor cut fuel duty by 5p per litre, which came into force from 6pm last night and will last until March next year. He also announced that the income t

The number of reports to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of alleged cryptocurrency scams has more than doubled in the last year. According to a Freedom of Information request, the FCA received 6,372 alerts about suspected crypto frauds in 2021, an increase from the 3,143 reported in 2020.

HMRC is warning Self Assessment customers to be on their guard following the Self Assessment deadline after more than 570,000 scams were reported to HMRC in the last year. At this time of year, Self Assessment customers are at increased risk of falling victim to scams, even if they don’t menti

Revenue Scotland should have powers to waive a second homes tax in exceptional circumstances and the time available for eligible house buyers to claim a tax rebate when they buy a new main home but their old one is still on the market should be doubled. They are among suggestions put forward by the

The Executive Counsel of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has imposed sanctions against KPMG and Mr Michael Neil Frankish in relation to their audits of Revolution Bars Group Plc for the financial years ended 30 June 2015 and the 53 weeks ended 2 July 2016. Mr Frankish performed the role of Aud

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has warned MPs that a lack of clarity around the purpose of legislation creating a register of overseas entities owning UK property could leave many people disappointed that it will not achieve what they expect it to. Legislation creating the register appea

Four Diageo subsidiaries have been formally removed from the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) after failing to honour their commitments. The voluntary code requires companies to pay 95% of invoices within 30 days to their small suppliers and pay 95% of all invoices within 60 days.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is taking action to tackle harm in the consumer investments market, as data published today shows it has stopped 1 in 4 firms from entering this market. The FCA is also urging consumers to be InvestSmart and ScamSmart, following an increase in the number of scam

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a consultation on proposed changes to its statutory Guidance to the Recognised Supervisory Bodies (RSBs) on the recognition of Key Audit Partners for local audit. The changes have been proposed to address a recommendation made by Sir Tony Redmond in h

From today new restrictions will apply to claims management companies (CMCs) to prevent them from charging excessive fees to consumers owed compensation from financial services firms. Under new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules in force from today, the maximum consumers can be charged will dep

PwC Canada has been fined over $900,000 by Canadian and US accounting regulators over exam cheating involving 1,100 of its auditors. The Canadian Public Accountability Board and the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found that PwC had failed to notice that staff were sharing answers in ex

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Barclays Bank £783,800 for oversight failings in its relationship with collapsed payments firm Premier FX. Barclays was Premier FX’s sole banker in the UK.

Adrian Chiles has won a seven-year battle with HMRC over a £1.7 million tax bill for his broadcasting work. A first-tier tax tribunal ruled that Chiles was right to organise his financial affairs through his company, Basic Broadcasting, and was not in effect an employee of the BBC and ITV.

HMRC has launched more than 20 criminal investigations involving crypto assets as it tries to defend itself against its rising crime levels encouraged by the unregulated market. The Daily Telegraph has reported that the tax authority is investigating a rising number of tax fraud and tax evasion case

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has secured changes to potentially unfair and unclear terms in the contracts of Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy and Openpay. The FCA was concerned there was a potential risk of harm to consumers as a result of the way some of the firm’s terms were drafted.