Insight / Wright: ethical practices must be enforced in accountancy firms

With 22% of accountants believing that a quarter of the profession have helped clients create misleading accounts, an enforceable code of ethics must be introduced to stop further corporate scandals, says Simon Wright, managing director of CareersinAudit.com
19 Oct 2018

Tax / Budget scheduled for 3:30pm on 29 October

Although traditionally announced in the early afternoon after PMQs, the Treasury has confirmed that the Chancellor will deliver his Budget at 3:30pm on Monday 29 October
19 Oct 2018

Audit / Audit will only change 'if it does not affect profit and loss'

A Financial Reporting Council (FRC) event concerning audit in 2018 saw discussion of the recent high-profile failures of companies, and questions raised this year about the regulator’s own effectiveness in maintaining quality in the audit sector
19 Oct 2018

Insight / Account names to be used to prevent fraud on bank transfers

In a bid to combat fraud and the risk of payments being sent to the wrong account, the UK payment authority, Pay.UK, has revealed details of a new service which will check names registered to accounts before payment is processed
19 Oct 2018

Insight / Norris: combatting workplace sexual harassment in accounting firms

Julie Norris, partner at Kingsley Napley LLP, discusses sexual harassment in the workplace and firms’ regulatory obligations and calls for better #metoo related guidance from accounting regulators
19 Oct 2018

Insight / Top five crucial skills for the CFO of the future

With businesses embracing big data, new tech and digital media, the role of traditional CFO is evolving from financial expert to strategic partner, data analyst, talent curator and more. James Booth, chief financial officer at Instant Offices explains what this new era of the multidiscipline strategist means
19 Oct 2018

Tax / AAT launches software guide to Making Tax Digital

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has launched a detailed guide to help accountants and bookkeepers prepare clients for the first implementation phase of Making Tax Digital
19 Oct 2018

Tax / Student loan repayment threshold rises by 2.9%

The government has increased the loan repayment thresholds for student loans by 2.9% and confirmed the introduction of a postgraduate loan system deductible from PAYE effective April 2019
19 Oct 2018

Insight / Tech degree students start fully-funded apprenticeships with PwC

PwC has signed up 111 students to a new fully-funded technology and data science degree programme, as part of an initiative to improve social mobility and attract more young people from a broader range of backgrounds into technology based careers at the Big Four firm
19 Oct 2018

Insight / People in the news: Mazars, AAT, ICAEW

In this week’s moves and appointments roundup, Mazars gains a partner in its financial services team, AAT appoints its 38th president, the next vice president for 2019-2020 has been announced at the ICAEW
19 Oct 2018

Technical Alerts

18 Oct 2018

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

HMRC's extension of powers for tackling tax evasion were under fire from witnesses at a Lords committee, with concerns being raised about the upholding of individual rights, and whether safeguards for protecting individual rights have kept pace with enforcement activity
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

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