KPMG has withdrawn from bidding for Scottish Government contracts after Scottish ministers put their relationship under scrutiny following a series of high-profile accountancy scandals. KPMG recently won a controversial £546,000 National Care Services (NCS) contact, which led ministers t
Regulatory
Firms using company or insolvency law to manage their liabilities have been warned they could face assertive action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) if their proposals unfairly benefit them at the expense of their customers. The FCA has seen an increase in the number of firms developing prop
Jan du Plessis, the chairman-designate of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has told the Big Four accountancy firms that “the outcome could be much worse for them” if they do not actively participate in the drive to improve the audit industry. Mr du Plessis' warning came as he faced
Unite, the union representing staff at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has launched an indicative ballot of its members for industrial action at the regulator. Yesterday, Unite members began voting in a ballot called by the union as management has refused to negotiate with the workforce on a
KPMG has been hit with another multi-million-pound fine from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), over its audits of drinks company Conviviality in 2017. The FRC announced yesterday that it had issued a final decision notice under Audit Enforcement Procedure and imposed sanctions against KPMG
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is acting to address concerns about the ease and speed with which people can make high-risk investments by proposing a significant strengthening of its rules on how high-risk financial products are marketed. This is a central element of the FCA's Consumer Invest
Stuart Smith, a former senior auditor at KPMG, has been fined £150,000 and banned for three years after admitting to misleading the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). KPMG and Mr Smith admitted their misconduct in relation to the FRC’s Audit Quality Review (AQR) inspection of the audit o
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has commenced an investigation into the statutory audits by PwC of the consolidated financial statements of Babcock International Group plc for the years ended 31 March 2019 and 2020. The FRC has extended its original investigation, which intended to analyse aud
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has today published its 3-year Plan for 2022-25 as the watchdog prepares to transition to the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA). The plan contains a detailed breakdown of intended expenditure for 2022-23 and a summary of the expected trajectory of
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to launch two market studies and gather further information to investigate access to wholesale data. In response to a Call for Input, the FCA heard concerns that limited competition in the markets for benchmarks and indices, credit ratings and trading dat
Jon Holt, the chief executive of KPMG, has admitted that the Big Four firm misled the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over its audit of collapsed outsourcer Carillion. In a statement released on the first day of a five-week disciplinary tribunal over the behaviour of the firm and six former employ
Andrea Coscelli, the chief executive of the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), has confirmed he will step down from the role at the end of his current term in July 2022. Dr Coscelli joined the CMA as an Executive Director when it was created in 2013 and he has held the position of Chief Execu
HMRC is urging businesses to take steps to prepare for Making Tax Digital for Value Added Tax (VAT) before it becomes mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses from 1 April this year. Making Tax Digital is designed to help businesses eliminate common errors and save time managing their tax affairs
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined Mazars £314,000 for failing to comply with the Regulatory Framework for Auditing in its audit of a local government authority’s 2019 financial statements. The FRC's Enforcement Committee found failures in the reviewed audit, which it consid
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has fiend Metro Bank £5,376,000 for failing to act with due skill, care and diligence in relation to the regulatory reporting of its capital position. The bank has also been fined for failings in its regulatory reporting governance, controls and invest