In the wake of numerous corporate collapses, there is a growing focus on the integrity of accountants on company boards. Julie Matheson and Adrian Crawford of Kingsley Napley highlight the corporate governance risks and responsibilities 

This month’s roundup of accounting stories includes SFO charges at Serco, FRS 101 exposure draft released, £58m Post Office accounting settlement, M&C Saatchi misstatement hike and De La Rue flags going concern fears

A major overhaul of audit following the Brydon report will see the creation of a separate corporate auditing profession, greater focus on fraud detection during audits, and the replacement of the ‘true and fair’ concept

The Post Office has agreed to pay £58m to settle a long running legal case brought by a group of sub postmasters who faced charges of fraud which they said were down to problems with a new computerised accounting system

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is under investigation over allegations of internal accounting fraud, with claims a six-figure sum could be involved

Businesses are being urged to do more to protect themselves from fraud, after Action Fraud figures show reported losses reached £682m last year

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has issued guidance outlining reporting requirements for investments in property by local authorities to increase accountability

The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) plans to defer certain effective dates for upcoming accounting standards on current expected credit losses (CECL), leases, hedging and long-duration insurance contracts

In the fifth in our dividends series, Croner-i tax and accounting writer David Duvall FCA looks in detail at issues relating to realised profits and losses

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has issued the 2018-19 college accounts direction setting out financial reporting requirements for sixth form and further education colleges

In this month’s legal updates, Sophie Brookes, partner at law firm Gateley plc, considers whether an automatic email signature can act as a real signature, whether the actions of a company’s members were vexatious, and whether legal professional privilege can be lost when a company dissolves

CIMA has revised its code of ethics in response to the challenges of digital businesses and the impact of emerging technologies, effective from 1 January 2020