Failure to maintain adequate stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) cost the government £10bn as prices soared during the pandemic, while moves to boost supply failed to get equipment to frontline workers quickly enough, the National Audit Office (NAO) has found

Big Four’s fees for non-audit work at audit clients declined by a fifth last year, but much more needs to be done to increase public confidence, says Chris Biggs of Theta Global Advisors

Audit firms have heeded Financial Reporting Council (FRC) advice to implement additional measures to enhance their evaluation of companies’ going concern assessments during the pandemic, a review by the regulator has found

The National Audit Office (NAO) has hit out at a lack of transparency and adequate documentation in the way the government handled £18bn of procurement of goods and services to cope with the outbreak of Covid-19

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is urging auditors to redouble their efforts to remedy inconsistent audit quality, saying this has become even more important in the face of the unprecedented economic turbulence brought by Covid-19

Croydon Council has become the first London borough in twenty years to issue a section 114 notice banning all new non-essential spending as the authority admitted it can no longer balance its budget this year

The UK’s top 100 listed companies have seen an 8% hike in annual audits fees to hit £726m, as Big Four dominance locks out challenger firms while investment and regulatory pressure drives up costs

As the impact of intense regulatory scrutiny and audit automation escalates, the UK’s top 100 listed companies saw an 8% hike in annual audit fees to hit £726m, amid an increasing lack of competition due to Big Four dominance, Philip Smith reports

Deloitte and one of the firm’s former engagement partners have been reprimanded by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over auditing failures at an unnamed client, with the Big Four firm given a £500,000 penalty

The government has announced a rapid non-statutory review into Nottingham City Council, to examine serious governance and risk management issues associated with the council’s private energy company Robin Hood Energy (RHE)

Investment manager M&G has picked PwC as its external auditor, replacing KPMG which had held the role since 1999

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has branded the quality of major local audits as ‘unacceptable’ and says urgent action is required from firms specialising in the sector, including Grant Thornton and Mazars

The government is conducting a probe into the London Borough of Croydon, which has forecast a £50m shortfall in funding this year, following strong criticism from external auditor Grant Thornton of its financial management and its scrutiny of spending and investments

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to update the UK auditing standard covering the auditor’s responsibility relating to fraud, amid concerns that the 16-year old regulations are not sufficiently clear about what the requirements are

Head of audit at Mazars UK, Bob Neate, has his say on audit reform in the UK – explaining how he expects smaller firms to follow the Big Four in splitting operations and the benefits of more players through joint audit - as ‘everyone accepts that competition enhances quality’, Zak Jakubowski reports