Auditors face tougher regime An investigation by the Financial Reporting Council into the role of auditors in the global financial crisis could lead to tougher demands and sanctions on accountants. An FRC study will consider what lessons can be learnt from the crisis, with the results to be published in the autumn. Stephen Haddrill, Chief
UK news Ernst & Young fined £1/2m over Equitable failings Ernst & Young has been fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £2.4m in costs by an Appeal Tribunal considering the firm’s audit of Equitable Life. But the original fine of £4.2m and costs of £5.75m imposed by the Joint Disciplinary Tribunal were cut substantially by
UK NEWS IASB proposes pension accounting revolution (long lead) [158] IASB proposals to reform pensions accounting will substantially increase company liabilities and cause extreme balance sheet volatility, claim critics. Under the exposure draft to amend IAS 19 Employee Benefits, entities would have to account immediately for all estimated changes in the cost of providing future
UK News RSM fined over Lehman advice [long, with fast facts] RSM Tenon has been fined £700,000 by the FSA for failures in advice relating to the sale of structured products backed by Lehman Brothers. The firm was found to have provided unsuitable advice on structured products and pension switching, because of poor systems
UK News NAO condemns HMRC bad call centres Only just over half of phone calls to HMRC in 2008/9 were actually answered, a review of performance conducted by the National Audit Office has found. This is well below HMRC performance targets and previous years’ performance. Industry standards expect over 90% of calls to be
UK News SFO investigates Kaupthing The Serious Fraud Office is to investigate activities of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing in the UK prior to its collapse in October 2008. The focus of the investigation will be on the marketing of what was described as a “high yield” deposit account called Kaupthing Edge. Consideration will
UK News Improving governance Non-executive directors must understand their companies and should be provided with regular personalised training, the final Walker report has proposed. Executive directors should be trained to understand business areas outside their immediate experience. NEDs of banks and life assurers should also commit more days than has been normal in the
What is the correct response to regulatory failure? Is it to strengthen regulation – at higher cost – or to say that regulation doesn’t work, so let’s minimise it? These are questions relevant to public services, just as much as for financial services. After 12 years of target-setting and a mostly command-and-control approach
The view from: Michael Parker FCCA, Chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Q. What are the main finance challenges for NHS bodies over the next five years? A. To obtain a greater understanding of patient level costing and contribution analysis to ensure we avoid deflationary activity. This is part of
UK News Vantis executives accused Two executives of Vantis’s tax divisions have appeared at Highbury Magistrates’ Court, facing charges from HMRC. The charges relate to the aggressive use of Gift Aid to reduce the tax liabilities of clients. The scheme is estimated to have saved famous clients – including sportsmen and musicians – over
Did you hear the joke about the French President who suggested replacing GDP with a measure of national happiness? If you read the British press, you probably did. Around much of the world, though, no one is laughing. Nicholas Sarkozy was certainly deadly serious setting-up the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance
Grossly Distorted Performance: Accounting & Business Read More »
The view from Debbie Pert FCCA Q. What challenges do you face? Balancing restricted resources with the ambitions of our organisation! Our largest customers are local authority social service departments. These are facing tough times, so we must work within existing resources to improve services. Q. What challenges do you