Week in review: 9 - 13 June
In many respects a landmark week both in the UK and abroad, with a decision taken on the euro, a report out on the WorldCom scandal and a ruling in the Barings trial.
Gordon Brown announced that, as expected, Britain would not be joining the euro now. He said the UK has not met all of the five tests for joining the single currency, but a decision on holding a referendum will be taken at the next Budget speech in March 2004.
Tuesday a report by the new directors of WorldCom/MCI said the $11bn accounting fraud at WorldCom was implemented and directed by former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan.
On Wednesday a High Court judge ruled that Deloitte & Touche was negligent in its audit work at the Singapore arm of merchant bank Barings, which collapsed in 1995 following the rogue trading of Nick Leeson.
Also on the day, Ernst & Young reacted furiously after one of its Hong Kong partners was arrested by anti-corruption detectives probing irregularities at a company based in Shanghai.
Thursday, Accountancy Age exclusively revealed that Richard Broadbent, the soon-to-depart Customs and Excise chairman, is understood to be on the verge of joining FTSE-100 property giant Land Securities, parent company to a former bidder for the PFI contract to run 600 Customs and Inland Revenue properties.
Friday, saw the government announce that the EU fair value directive, which allows companies to account for their debt securities and equities at market rates, be permitted for UK businesses, while the Information Commission finally produced its guidelines detailing how companies can legally monitor staff emails.