Accounting watchdog ‘plots sweeping rule changes’ for company executives December 15, 2019 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is lining up significant changes to corporate governance rules after a string of scandals at Patisserie Valerie, M&C Saatchi and Ted Baker. It is understood the accounting regulator is writing a British version of an American law passed in 2002 after Worldcom and Enron collapsed. Read more: FRC watchdog probes [...]
Freshfields partner exits after investigation in latest #MeToo case December 12, 2019 A Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner left the firm this week after an investigation into a suspected #MeToo case. Disputes and investigations partner Nick Williams left the firm on Wednesday following an investigation into his conduct. Website Legal Week reported that his exit was related to #MeToo concerns. A spokesperson for Freshfields said: “We can confirm [...]
Former SJ Berwin lawyer bags £23m fortune through float of consultancy MJ Hudson December 12, 2019 A former SJ Berwin private equity partner has today made a £23m paper fortune after the asset management consultancy he founded went public in a £100m float on London’s junior market. Matthew Hudson founded MJ Hudson in 2010 after a career as a private equity lawyer at now-defunct City firm SJ Berwin and US law [...]
Second law firm files multi-million foreign exchange class action against raft of banks December 11, 2019 A second law firm today launched a multi-million pound class action claim against a raft of banks which admitted rigging the foreign exchange markets. US litigation firm Hausfeld filed the claim in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) today against Barclays, Citibank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, UBS and MUFG Bank over their participation [...]
KPMG partner pay slides after challenging year December 11, 2019 Partner pay at KPMG UK fell seven per cent in 2018-19 after a year when the firm strove to deal with the fallout from a series of scandals. In the year to 30 September, KPMG average partner pay fell to £640,000 from £690,000 the previous year. Profit before taxation and members’ profit shares fell nearly [...]
DWF pays €50m for Spanish law firm Rousaud Costas Duran December 11, 2019 Listed London law firm DWF is set to pay €50.5m (£42.5m) for Spanish law firm Rousaud Costas Duran (RCD) in a move designed to expand its presence in the country. The acquisition will bring 40 new partners and 400 staff to DWF and will give it offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Read more: These [...]
Insolvency firm Begbies Traynor’s boss says retail carnage expected to continue December 10, 2019 The executive chairman of restructuring and insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor said today that there was no sign of the carnage on the High Street ending as the growth in e-retailing and shaky consumer confidence continued to take their toll. “Headwinds in terms of consumer demand with uncertainty over what the future will hold and structural [...]
Accountancy firm Grant Thornton and one of its partners hit with fines for audit failures December 10, 2019 Accountancy firm Grant Thornton was today fined £650,000 and one of its partners £20,000 for failures in the auditing of a publicly listed company. Regulator the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it had sanctioned the firm with a £650,000 fine (discounted to £422,500) and one of its partners £20,000 (discounted to £13,000). It has also [...]
Artificial intelligence could wipe out 13,000 legal sector jobs December 9, 2019 The adoption of new technologies such as artificial intelligence could lead to the UK legal sector shedding 13,000 jobs, according to a report by the Law Society of England and Wales. The report on the future shape of the legal workforce projected a 13,000 fall in the number of jobs by 2027, equivalent to a [...]
UK business output hits 17-month low, BDO says December 9, 2019 Declining output across the UK’s services and manufacturing sectors has caused BDO’s output index to fall to its lowest level in 17 months. In November the index, which provides a snapshot of business productivity through analysing data from the UK’s business surveys, fell by 0.65 points to 96.04. Read more: Private sector output suffers worst [...]
