The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB), the body tasked with endorsing and adopting international accounting standards now that the UK has left the EU, has officially launched

In a round-up of the biggest accounting stories of the year, we look at accounting and disclosure errors, financial and non-financial reporting standard reviews, Brexit transition planning and FRC warning on cashflow errors

WPP, the world’s biggest advertising group, is to restate its financial statements from 2017 to 2019, after discovering its most recently reported statutory losses were under-stated by £301m

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its first consultation on a new prudential regime for UK investment firms, which includes significantly enhanced capital requirements

The preparation of accounts that reflect the finances of a Parochial Church Council is unique in itself but throw into the mix ‘who owns what’, and complex rules on what can and cannot be capitalised, means accountants need to be careful. Helen Ford FCCA, accounts senior at Butler & Co explains

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is seeking feedback on three IFRS standards for group accounting, in order to assess their usefulness to users of financial statements, the ease of implementation and any unexpected costs of application

US industrial giant General Electric (GE) is to pay a $200m (£150m) penalty to settle charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission over disclosure failures in its power and insurance businesses

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched three consultations on reforms to Companies House, designed to improve the integrity of the information available about companies and strengthen its ability to tackle fraud

Recent tweaks to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts have provided some much needed clarity, but there is still room for interpretation and a financial hit when insurance companies first adopt the accounting standard in 2023, warn Michael Winkler and Sunil Kansal FCA of Shasat Consulting

Ambiguities in the existing international accounting standards have resulted in a lack of transparency about the decommissioning and clean-up costs incurred by pollution-prone industries, resulting in potential liabilities for taxpayers, according to ICAS

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is consulting on minor amendments to FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework as part of the 2020/21 review cycle to keep it in line with IFRS

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is consulting on possible new accounting requirements under current IFRS 3 standard for mergers and acquisitions involving companies within the same group