Watch: Monthly accountancy news round-up
Accountancy Age's Lucy Skoulding provides a roundup of all the key new stories in the accountancy industry from the month of August.
Every month Accountancy Age are bringing you the top stories that have impacted the accounting industry, so make sure you tune in to keep up to date with everything that’s going on.
In core news…
KPMG’s fine following admission of misconduct in its audits of retailer Ted Baker was our top story. Settlement terms were agreed, but the Big Four firm was still slapped with a two million pound fine.
Trouble with KPMG South Africa also continued as the firm incurred charges for inappropriate conduct and tax evasion after an investigation was launched into Jacques Wessels’ audit of the Gupta family entities, which he admitted were inadequate and fell short of auditing standards.
PwC has also been reprimanded for its audit quality following a leaked report on its BHS audits, in which the firm was accused of making “incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading” statements about the retailer’s financial situation.
Following these fines, new FRC research found that audit fees for the Big Four rose by five point seven percent in 2016/17, begging the question does the whole industry need an overhaul?
In other news, HMRC released their paper on what will happen to VAT if we end up with a no deal Brexit, which overall concluded that Britain will be in a very similar situation to Rest of the World nations when it comes to trading.
And Bracewell-Smith finally settled her claim against Deloitte and Linklaters following the Arsenal investment dispute, after she previously sued the two firms claiming they ill-advised her on the sale of her stake in the football club.
In tax…
The government’s Making Tax Digital for VAT initiative is now only mere months away so Accountancy Age also kicked off our new monthly column with Richard Asquith, global VP of indirect tax at Avalara. This month the focus was on tax and Brexit, Asquith pointing out that the government’s proposal to eliminate the post-Brexit threat of VAT bills on thousands of imports could cost the country 8 billion pounds.
Resources & Whitepapers
Accounting Software The power of customisation in accounting systems
In technology…
We also delved into global fraud and corruption, finding out from Russell Guthrie, CFO at the International Federation of Accountants, what role accountants must play in working alongside lawyers to prevent this problem.
We looked at how artificial intelligence and machine learning will affect accountants and whether the industry will survive the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The problem is largely to do with a skills shortage, and how we must train our workforce in line with technological advances.
On the horizon…
Elsewhere at Accountancy Age, we are gearing up to release our Top 50 + 50 ranking next week, bringing you details of the top 100 accountancy firms in the UK. Look out, because we will also be launching our Best Employers survey, where firms will battle it out to showcase why they are the best place to work. And at the end of September, we will be gathering together at The Grosvenor hotel in London for our annual evening celebrating the best of the best in accountancy at the British Accountancy Awards.