News

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has released the 20th edition of its annual Key Facts and Trends (KFAT) report. This year's KFAT shows that membership of the accountancy bodies continues to grow, with nearly 390,000 members in the UK and Republic of Ireland and over 590,000 members worldw

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined PwC £2.5 million and handed out a £60,000 fine to audit partner Richard Hughes. The verdict comes after an investigation revealed failings in PwC's 2017 audit of BT Group Plc after the discovery of £512m fraud.

UK mutual insurer Royal London has announced profits of £109 million for H1 2022 in its interim results. The rise in operating profits before tax is an increase of 36.25% from £80m (H1 2021) and comes after 140,000 new pension policies were taken out by customers in the first half of the

Ahead of this year’s Scottish exam results day, accountancy professional body ACCA Scotland is urging young people to remember there’s no wrong way to start a career in finance and accountancy. The professional body has highlighted the range of starting points to become a qualified accou

Following a £2 million investment a new business aimed at guiding organisations through the carbon-offsetting journey has been launched. The brainchild of Renwick Drysdale, Akre builds on his forestry heritage and is an evolution of the woodland creation consultancy, Kilrie Trees.

KPMG has resumed bidding for large government contracts after having taken itself out of the running amid a series of accountancy scandals. In December last year, Scottish Financial News reported that the Big Four firm pulled out of bidding for public contracts after the Cabinet Office threatened to

Asset and wealth management firm AssetCo, run by Martin Gilbert, has completed the acquisition of Edinburgh-based investment service Revera Asset Management, for a reduced price. AssetCo has purchased the firm for an effective total consideration of £2.8 million to be satisfied by the issue of

Young people awaiting their exam results tomorrow have been reminded of the value of their qualifications and the many different career pathways and opportunities ahead in an open letter from Scottish business leaders. Students have faced a number of challenges over the last few years, with covid-19

Business activity across the Scottish private sector increased at only a fractional pace during July, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI data. The seasonally adjusted headline Royal Bank of Scotland Business Activity Index - a measure of combined manufacturing and service sector outp

The Treasury has collected a record £14.3 billion in capital gains tax (CGT) in the last financial year, an increase of 42% from the previous period. The record sum was realised on £80bn of gains. This is attributed to rushed sales of buy-to-let homes and growing house prices as an all-t

A cat has been fined nearly £100 for trespassing in a neighbour's garden. Ñirka, a young tortoiseshell cat, was spotted in the garden twice while owner Ramon Correa was on holiday.

Rapidly growing payment orchestration provider BR-DGE has announced a merchant partnership with Travel Counsellors. This partnership will provide the business with access to a multitude of payment providers and alternative payment methods via BR-DGE’s orchestration platform, ultimately ensurin

The University of Edinburgh has awarded a total of £500,000 to five student and graduate start-ups. The newly founded businesses are celebrating after securing almost half a million pounds in grant funding awards between them. The five young companies, all supported by the University’s c

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning against loan fee fraud. Enquiries into the FCA’s contact centre about all types of scams were up 24% as a whole in June 2022 from a year earlier. In particular, reported loan fee fraud scams into the FCA’s contact centre were up

The South of Scotland’s largest community buyout is set to double in size having “achieved the impossible” for a second time in two years, following one of the most ambitious community fundraising campaigns ever seen. A historic agreement for 5,300 acres of land and three propertie