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New financial services body to discipline auditors

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:44:00 GMT

THE FSA'S successor could have stronger powers to discipline auditors, potentially creating an overlap with the accountancy profession's watchdog. The Financial Services Bill, which introduces a new regulatory regime to replace the FSA, includes new disciplinary powers aimed at punishing auditors. The ICAEW has said it believes the new powers are an extension of existing controls, however, the Financial Reporting Council has argued against the institute's opinion. According to...

PwC claims E&Y 'shadows' its Lloyds audit

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:32:44 GMT

Kevin Reed Hedge Funds Review

PWC HAS CLAIMED that a ‘shadow' team from Ernst & Young is looking to dislodge the firm as auditor of Lloyds Banking Group. In its latest submission to the Competition Commission's inquiry into the audit market, PwC argued that all the industry sectors had strong audit competition. It cited Ernst & Young's potential to undertake banking audits, despite E&Y currently not auditing any of the UK's high street banks. "Indeed, we...

BDO joins forces with Guernsey firm

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:27:46 GMT

Rachael Singh Hedge Funds Review

BDO HAS ACQUIRED Guernsey-based firm BDO Limited, which has particular expertise in audit and financial services. International firm BDO bought the largest independent accountancy firm on the island which specialises in audit and generates revenues of about £4m annually. Simon Michaels, (pictured) managing partner at BDO, said: "This agreement provides us with an opportunity to acquire a business with growth prospects that will also enable us to enhance our UK offering,...

Paying cash in hand is “diddling the country” says HMRC's Hartnett

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:09:58 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

PAYING a builder or cleaner in cash will result in deeper government cuts to public services, the country's top taxman has warned. Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), told the Daily Telegraph that those who contribute to the cash economy cannot then complain about austerity measures. "Tax provides the funding to run the country: hospitals, schools and everything else," Hartnett said. "Every time someone pays...

Raising tax threshold would cost £11bn

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:40:29 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

RAISING the income tax threshold to £10,000 beyond existing plans would cost £11bn, PwC has warned. "A £100 increase in the personal allowance is estimated by HMRC to cost at least £0.5bn. To raise the tax threshold "further and faster" beyond existing plans would cost £11bn," said Alex Henderson, tax partner at PwC. Henderson's comments came in response to a speech made by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in which he...

Taxman extends self assessment deadline by two days

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:22:00 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

PEOPLE WHO file their self-assessment tax returns on 1 February and 2 February will not be "unfairly" fined, a government minister has said. The extension is an acknowledgement that planned strike action by some HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) staff on 31 January will cause staff shortages at its call centres - meaning that thousands of taxpayers who have queries about their tax return will be unable to get answers and may decide...

Strike action set to disrupt tax deadline day

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:47:00 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

THE TAXMAN said it will not give taxpayers more time to file their self-assessment tax returns online despite planned industrial action by some tax staff on the 31 January deadline. A deadline extension will not be provided even if HMRC staff strike on the final day for self-assessment filing. However, taxpayers unable to get last minute queries about their tax returns answered due to a shortage of call-centre staff and who...

Government makes u-turn on pre-packs

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:41:00 GMT

Rachael Singh Hedge Funds Review

THE GOVERNMENT has about-turned on proposed radical changes to pre-pack administrations, claiming it does not see the benefit of making legislative changes to them. In a ministerial statement today insolvency minister Ed Davey said the "Government is not convinced" any changes to pre-packs would outweigh the benefits it currently provides. Previously Davey caused uproar in the insolvency community when he announced several possible changes to the process including, delaying its rapid...

Companies unsure of legal obligations to report emissions

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:56:12 GMT

Rachael Singh Hedge Funds Review

A THIRD OF COMPANIES are unsure of their legal carbon reporting requirements, a study has shown. The discovery was made in the first ever carbon accounting survey of 1,000 companies globally, by business software supplier Eipicor. The study also revealed 58% of business leaders had not even heard of the term "carbon accounting". The UK is one of the first countries to implement a statutory reporting obligation on environmental emissions. ...

Clegg: Raise income tax threshold 'further and faster'

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:34:25 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

NICK CLEGG will say today that he wants to accelerate plans to raise the threshold for paying income tax to £10,000. The deputy prime minister will say that he wants the coalition government to go "further and faster" in raising the pay level at which people start paying income tax to £10,000 a year, the BBC reported. The deputy prime minister will argue that many families are at financial "boiling point"...

Redknapp knocked back reporter's evasion question

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:32:15 GMT

Kevin Reed Hedge Funds Review

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR manager Harry Redknapp told a reporter that there was no need for him to dodge £30,000 of tax, a court heard yesterday. The jury at Southwark Crown Court heard a tape recording of an interview between a journalist and Redknapp, in which Redknapp ridiculed a suggestion that he held funds in an offshore account in Monaco to evade UK tax. Redknapp said on the recording: "Do me a favour....

FSA allows ICAEW to accredit financial advisors

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:57:44 GMT

Kevin Reed Hedge Funds Review

RETAIL FINANCIAL ADVISORS can be endorsed by the ICAEW, after the institute gained the approval of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The approval enables the ICAEW to endorse retail financial advisors. Under the retail distribution review (RDR) all financial advisors will require a statement of professional standing (SPS) from an accredited body by 1 January 2013 to be able to continue advising clients. The ICAEW will now be able to issue...

Businesses reminded of VAT returns rule change

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:48:10 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

HM REVENUE & Customs is reminding small business owners that all VAT returns must be submitted online from this spring, meaning paper returns will soon be a thing of the past. Currently, only newly-registered businesses and those with turnovers of more than £100,000 have to submit their VAT online, as well as pay electronically. Anyone else can send a paper VAT return. That is changing from April, when all 1.9 million...

No merger for ICAEW/CIPFA

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:31:00 GMT

Kevin Reed Hedge Funds Review

THERE ARE no plans for a merger between the ICAEW and CIPFA, according to Michael Izza. In a wide-ranging interview with Accountancy Age taking in his five-year anniversary as chief executive, Izza said there was no chance of revisiting the proposed merger with CIPFA, which was narrowly voted down in 2005. "There are no formal merger plans in the short, medium or long term," Izza told Accountancy Age. He...

Redknapp 'kept offshore fund secret' from his accountant

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:29:26 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

Harry Redknapp did not tell his accountant or bank about an offshore account for years, jurors have heard, the BBC reported. On the second day of the trial on Tuesday the jury heard that the Tottenham boss kept his Monaco account a secret from his accountant for four-and-a-half years and from his bank relations manager for five years and eight months, the BBC added. Redknapp is accused of receiving secret payments...

Portsmouth FC issued with winding-up order

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:20:05 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

PORTSMOUTH Football Club has been issued a winding-up order by HM Revenue & Customs over an unpaid tax bill of £1.6m. The move is a fresh blow for Portsmouth, which became the first Premier League club to go into administration in 2010. "Ensuring tax is paid on time should be at the centre of a football club's business strategy just like any other business," said an HMRC spokesman. Andrew...

Tory MP calls for tax statements to itemise spending

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:36:00 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

CONSERVATIVE MP Ben Gummer will today call on the government to introduce taxpayer statements explaining to people how their taxes will be spent. Gummer's proposal would see taxpayers get annual statements showing how much tax they will pay in the current year and the year to come as well as how money will be divided by and within Government departments, Money Marketing reported. Data in the statement would be based on...

PwC takes on major London oil refinery administration

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:31:43 GMT

Kevin Reed Hedge Funds Review

LONDON'S BIGGEST oil refinery has been handed over to administrators from PwC by its Swiss parent company. Petroplus, which refines 220,000 barrels a day from the Thames, was declared insolvent after the group suffered refinancing issues, a high cost base and high restructuring costs. The business has around 60 employees, and supplies aronud a fifth of London and the south-east's 2,000 forecourts. "Our immediate priority is to continue to...

Sage hails satisfactory start to the year

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:13:13 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

BUSINESS software provider Sage reported a satisfactory trading performance for the start of the year and is in-line with expectations for the year. The company said that it received £200m in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the proceeds of the disposal of Sage Software Healthcare to Vista Equity Partners, the company announced in an interim management statement. A share buyback programme was started to return these proceeds and, to date,...

KPMG makes new appointments to transfer pricing team

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:57:15 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

KPMG has appointed Matt Whipp, formerly head of business risk and transfer pricing at Diageo, as a director in its UK transfer pricing practice. In his role at Diageo, Whipp was responsible for leading the business risk and transfer pricing for the group including establishing and managing its global transfer pricing policy, processes and documentation. Komal Dhall, a partner from KPMG's US transfer pricing practice, also joins the team. ...

SAP profits increase to £2.8bn

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:50:37 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

SAP, the world's largest software provider, reported a surge in fourth quarter profits capping off what it described as the ‘best year' in its 40-year history. Net profit for the quarter almost tripled to €1.2bn (£1bn) compared to the same period last year, while total revenue increased by 11% to €4.5bn. Full-year net profit increased to €3.4bn, while revenues reached €14.2bn. SAP said it expects software and software-related services...

Wragges reveals one-off £10.5m cost of delayed office move

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:09:10 GMT

Rose Orlik Hedge Funds Review

WRAGGE & CO'S managing partner Ian Metcalfe said the firm has set aside the £10.5m in an accounting provision relating to the firm's forthcoming move into new Birmingham headquarters in 2014, reports sister publication Legal Week. The law firm, which will take on around seven floors in Two Snowhill, had initially intended to move into the building in 2011; however construction was delayed due to the recession. Metcalfe (pictured) said: "It's...

Harry Redknapp accused of evading tax through offshore account

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:54:22 GMT

Nick Huber Hedge Funds Review

HARRY REDKNAPP, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, was accused of opening an offshore bank account in Monaco to take a "bung" from Milan Mandaric, the former Portsmouth chairman, Southwark crown court heard yesterday. On the opening day of the pair's trial on charges of tax evasion, the prosecution alleged that Redknapp, who was Portsmouth's manager at the time of the transfer of Peter Crouch to Aston Villa in 2002, opened the account in the...

RSM Tenon divisions could be trimmed

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:53:23 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

IN THE wake of Andy Raynor and Bob Morton's departure from RSM Tenon, there has been speculation that a review of the business by the new management team could result in divisions being trimmed from the company. A search for Raynor's successor as CEO has already begun; Adrian Martin has been promoted to executive chairman with Jeremy Newman, the former global CEO of BDO International joining as a consultant. CFO Adrian Gardner, who...

Duff & Phelps appointed administrators to Avocet Hardware

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:49:47 GMT

Richard Crump Hedge Funds Review

ANDREW STONEMAN and Ben Wiles from of the global restructuring advisory practice at Duff & Phelps have been appointed joint administrators of Avocet Hardware. Avocet was purchased by the current management team in a private equity backed management buyout in November 2007. In December 2011, the company sold its loss making Chinese factory, which manufactured product for the Door & Window hardware division. "The financial performance of the Company...