Audit / The difficulty of auditing cryptocurrencies

Sarah Perrin ACA examines whether the complexity of cryptocurrencies poses a significant enough challenge to auditors to require the creation of new standards
18 Oct 2018

Tax / HMRC’s use of powers criticised in Lords committee

The House of Lords economic affairs finance bill sub-committee has heard from witnesses on HMRC’s usage of powers to clamp down on tax avoidance and its roll-out of Making Tax Digital
18 Oct 2018

Tax / Oury: stock availability and imports in the event of no-deal Brexit

Andrew Oury, partner at Oury Clark, takes a wry look at the potential impact of a no deal Brexit on imports and stock availability in a just-in-time supply chain
18 Oct 2018

Insight / Some colleagues have been superhuman: interview with Croner-i CEO

A year ago, Croner-i was acquired by Peninsula Group – and in just 12 months, the company has gone from strength to strength. CEO Bertrand Stern-Gillet talks about what Croner-i has been up to, the new Navigate Tax service, and how the company has adjusted to major changes while making significant investments in technology, infrastructure and resources
18 Oct 2018

Accounting / Global intangible value of brands tops $50 trillion

The global intangible value of top brands has surpassed $50 trillion (£38 trillion) for the first time in history, but three quarters of this remains unaccounted for on balance sheets, according to research by Brand Finance
18 Oct 2018

Insight / FCA and TPR launch joint regulatory strategy for pensions

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have launched a joint regulatory strategy aimed at strengthening their relationship, and taking joint action to deliver better outcomes for pension savers and those entering retirement
18 Oct 2018

Insight / Government to move forward on collective defined contribution pension schemes

The government has signalled its intention to launch a consultation on collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes this autumn, in the wake of a proposed deal between the Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced earlier this year
18 Oct 2018

Insight / Begbies Traynor administrators to failed 150-year old building company

Lee Lockwood, director, and Bob Maxwell, partner, of Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators of H. Waterhouse & Sons (Wakefield) Ltd, which has been trading for over 150 years but has collapsed with a loss of all jobs
18 Oct 2018

Audit / SEC wants better internal audit controls against cyber threats

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is urging companies to consider cyber threats more closely when implementing internal accounting controls, following a report on nine organisations that fell victim to cyber frauds with combined losses of some $100m (£76m)
18 Oct 2018

Technical Alerts

17 Oct 2018

Insight / Charities: governance, management and culture - part 2

Effective charity governance requires considering both the tangible and the intangible when working with management, and addressing culture and behaviour is as important as policies and procedures, says Pesh Framjee FCA
17 Oct 2018

Tax / Nunn: clarification needed on electric mileage rates for company cars

Businesses can now pay a mileage rate for work-related journeys in a electric car. Yvette Nunn CTA discusses the uncertainty this will create for business owners when it comes time to file their end-of-year expenses
17 Oct 2018

Insight / Call for action over £20bn lost pension pots

As much as £20bn of savings could be sitting in over a million so-called ‘lost pension pots’ where savers have lost touch with their providers according to analysis from the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which says this underlines the need for the government’s proposed pensions dashboard
17 Oct 2018

Tax / 'Careless' behaviour costs large businesses £59m HMRC fine

HMRC fined the UK’s largest businesses £59m in 2017 for ‘careless’ behaviour in their tax affairs, according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, which notes an increasingly aggressive approach to reducing the tax gap
17 Oct 2018

Insight / Charity Commission highlights failure to report safeguarding incidents

The Charity Commission says it continues to have significant concerns about the systemic underreporting of serious incidents by trustees of domestic and international charities, following a report of the findings of its taskforce on safeguarding
17 Oct 2018

Insight / HMRC leads London government office move

The government has officially opened its new office hub in London’s Canary Wharf Hub, which will house 6,000 civil servants, a third of them working for HMRC, in a bid to cut its property costs by consolidating and modernising its location
17 Oct 2018

Audit / BDO replaces PwC as auditor of JKX Oil & Gas

BDO is to take over from PwC as external auditor at JKX Oil & Gas, an exploration and production company which specialises in developing assets in the Ukraine and Russia and is listed on the London Stock Exchange
17 Oct 2018

Audit / European auditors publish 2019 work plan

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published its work programme for 2019, which will see state aid for banks as one of the audit priorities for the year
17 Oct 2018

Audit / Regulator fines Deloitte Canada over lack of audit independence

Deloitte Canada has been fined $350,000 by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) for failing to maintain its independence during three consecutive audits of Canada-based Banro Corporation, a gold mining company
17 Oct 2018

Technical Alerts

16 Oct 2018

Tax / Making Tax Digital for VAT pilot now live for businesses

The pilot is intended to allow up to 500,000 businesses to get fully involved with Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT and test it in full ahead of the April 2019 introduction of the system
16 Oct 2018

Accounting / Charity accounts part 7: accounting for remuneration

This article, the seventh in our series on charity accounts, will focus on what information needs to be disclosed in charity accounts regarding employees’ and trustees’ remuneration 
16 Oct 2018

Tax / Collins: DAC 6 and cross-border arrangements

Jason Collins, partner at Pinsent Masons, examines the implications of DAC 6, the EU’s new mandatory disclosure rules for reinforcing cross-border tax transparency
16 Oct 2018

Tax / OECD names 21 ‘golden passport’ countries for hidden assets

The OECD has published a list of 21 countries which it says offer residence and citizenship by investment (CBI/RBI) options, or so-called ‘golden passport’ schemes, that can be used to hide assets held abroad from reporting under the common reporting standard (CRS)
16 Oct 2018

Tax / IFS and ICAEW warn of ‘tough choices’ in Budget

Without substantial tax rises, or better-than-expected economic growth, the Prime Minister’s aim of ‘ending austerity’ leaves Philip Hammond facing some tough choices for the Budget later this month, analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests
16 Oct 2018

Tax / OECD urges UK to do more on exchange of information requests

The UK is ‘largely compliant’ with the requirements of the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR), but still needs to ensure that information recorded is adequate, accurate and up to date, according to the latest assessment from the OECD
16 Oct 2018

Tax / Lords committee told 'less than 15%' of businesses prepared for MTD

A Lords sub-committee has taken evidence from experts on the digitisation of VAT returns by businesses with turnover above £85,000, which is due to begin in April 2019, and information provided by HMRC on the preparations they need to make
16 Oct 2018

Insight / Regulator to investigate London charity over risk to funds

The Charity Commission has opened a class statutory inquiry into two London-based charities, Future Vision Care and Future Vision Consortium, over concerns that charitable funds may be at risk
16 Oct 2018

Insight / Financial regulators seek views on planning for climate change impact

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a discussion paper on climate change, saying its effects and the associated transition to a low carbon economy may have a major impact on financial markets and on products that serve those markets
16 Oct 2018

Insight / Administrators called in as 1,000mph car project hits skids

Andrew Sheridan and Geoff Rowley, partners at FRP Advisory, have been appointed as administrators to Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the company behind a project to break the land speed world record by creating a supersonic racing car capable of doing 1,000mph, which has run out of funds
16 Oct 2018

Tax / Q&A: incorporation of a letting business for tax relief purposes

Croner Taxwise tax adviser Sohail Butt FCCA considers the use of Chargeable Gains relief to claim relief on a rental portfolio by incorporating the business
16 Oct 2018

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