An invitation to comment on a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) audit market study has resulted in the Big Four unanimously rejecting the possibility of being broken up and expressing a range of opinions on market share caps and non-audit service restrictions
Melissa Hernandez, executive at Propero Partners, discusses the practical applications of artificial intelligence and the use of web-based chatbots by accounting firms to increase engagement with customers
HMRC has signed a 25-year lease for its Nottingham regional hub with the tax authority planning to move employees into the building by 2021, with the building becoming the final lease that HMRC has signed out of the 13 regional centres
The OECD says international efforts spearheaded by its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project to curb harmful tax practices and prevent the misuse of preferential tax regimes are having a tangible impact worldwide, according to its latest report on progress
The first-ever audit of the Pentagon has identified multiple issues resulting in a heavily qualified opinion of the financial management systems and information technology at the US Department of Defense (DOD), which says it plans to use the findings to improve its financial controls
The government has announced a new £1m fund to expand training programmes for charities so that employees and trustees can improve their digital skills, including developing social media presence and online fundraising
JL Advisory, which provides financial modelling services for public and private sector clients throughout the UK, has joined forces with accountancy firm Dow Schofield Watts as part of its growth plans
KPMG has been suspended from auditing entities regulated by Oman’s Capital Market Authority for a year following the discovery of what were described as ‘major financial and accounting irregularities’
This week's news of professional moves in the sector includes a tax partner appointment at Crowe, KPMG appoints an international tax director in its London office, ex-KPMG partner joins Ayming
The boss of a personal injury claims business has been jailed for 21 months and banned for seven years after fraudulently removing company funds in the months before the courts would make a winding-up order resulting in the closure of the business
An overhaul of the rules on taxation of termination payments has directly affected the tax treatment of payments in lieu of notice (PILONs) and foreign service relief (FSR), creating complicated questions for businesses when applying them to redundancy situations. Tim Stovold, head of tax at Kingston Smith, explains
The £1m annual investment allowance (AIA) limit could translate into an effective annual limit of less than £17,000 due to straddling periods, explains Will Silsby, technical officer at the Association of Taxation Technicians
A proposed agreement between the UK and the EU, including single market access for Northern Ireland and a five-year post-transition commitment to VAT, has prompted resignations from Cabinet ministers Esther McVey and Dominic Raab
The BBC has unresolved issues relating to the tax status of dozens of its on-air presenters and others hired through personal service companies (PSCs) which may have future financial implications for the broadcaster, a National Audit Office (NAO) inquiry has found
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is proposing a one-year deferral of the effective date for IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, under which insurance contract liabilities will be calculated as the present value, to 2022
A survey of 200 charities suggests that the governance competency of charities continues to be deficient in financial matters and are failing to take advantage of available guidance and training
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has indicated it plans to focus on the use of audit quality indicators (AQIs) and applying technology in audits during its inspections for 2019/20, as the regulator released details of its thematic reviews, priority sectors and audit areas of focus
The government has been forced into a U-turn over the planned timetable for reducing the stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which will now be introduced in April 2019 following public and political outcry and a ministerial resignation
HMRC has issued another 18,000 letters, following on from the 20,000 sent last week, to businesses affected by Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT, explaining the change and what they need to do to prepare for April 2019
A London man who set up fake companies, including a jewellery shop and a holiday villas firm, as part of a £120,000 VAT fraud has been jailed for three years, following an HMRC investigation
Sarah Perrin ACA looks at the key questions being considered in the governance review of the Charity SORP committee and process now under way, including whether the SORP-making process commands confidence
Mark Cawthron LLB CTA, tax specialist at Croner-i, examines the developments in the OECD’s framework package on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) over the 12 months to June 2018 and the progress that has been made in the UK's approach to the 'digital challenge'
FTSE 250 company Interserve is the latest outsourcer to come under financial scrutiny following the collapse of Carillion earlier this year, and has been forced to issue a statement quelling rumours of potential difficulties after its share price slumped by up to 30%
The Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD), a group of major international corporate reporting standard setters and framework providers, has announced a two-year project focused on driving better alignment in the corporate reporting landscape
Smart technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), increased use of non-financial data and innovative approaches to recruitment are changing corporate reporting, enabling companies to offer greater transparency and so increase public trust in business, research by EY has found
Fashion group N Brown, which owns the Simply Be and JD Williams brands, faces paying up to £9m in additional VAT from 2020, after the company was told by a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) it is likely to lose its long-running dispute with HMRC
South Korea’s financial services regulator has ruled that Samsung BioLogics, the biotech drug arm of Samsung Group, the country’s biggest family-run conglomerate, ‘intentionally violated accounting rules’ and has imposed sanctions on its auditors
Sheffield-based insolvency firm Wilson Field is acting for Bridal Fashions Ltd, t/a Berketex Bride, after the fifty-year old wedding dress chain collapsed into administration, becoming the latest retail casualty on the high street
HMRC saw a 62% rise in disputed tax collected through the use of mediation last year, collecting £40.8m, up from £25.2m in 2016/17, according to analysis by RPC
The Charity Commission has published guidance on the circumstances and procedures for charities wishing to change their financial year, which vary according to whether or not the charity is incorporated as a company
