Accountancy Age articles from November 2005

Accountancy Age archives from November 2005

Watchdogs clash over PFI scheme. PAC calls National Audit Office to account over conflict of interest on LIFT schemes, writes Alex Hawkes.(Public Accounts Committee)(private finance )
November 3, 2005... The National Audit Office has come under severe criticism from MPs for using a company that advises bidders for NHS private finance scheme contracts to carry out a financial evaluation of the same billion-pound scheme. The Public Accounts...

'Merger Monday' sparks shares bonanza for FDs.(finance directors )(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant. Some of Britain's top finance directors could be in line for a bumper pay day after a flurry of market activity and speculation earlier this week signalled the renaissance of corporate mergers and acquisitions. ...

MG Rover bill [pounds sterling]5m and rising.
November 3, 2005... The five firms engaged to advise on aspects of stricken carmaker MG Rover's collapse and sale have already earned at least [pounds sterling]5m, with the figure expected to rise considerably, writes James Bennett. The Rover collapse has...

GM probe highlights risk to UK pension system. World's largest car manufacturer faces investigation, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 3, 2005... Investigations into the pension liabilities of General Motors by the SEC have raised concerns that the UK pensions accounting regime is vulnerable to similar risks. The SEC subpoenaed GM, the world's largest car manufacturer, after claims...

Compass picks E&Y over Deloitte.
November 3, 2005... Shareholder pressure is believed to be the reason why Compass Group has appointed Ernst & Young to probe allegations of corrupt buying practices at a group subsidiary, rather than registered auditors Deloitte, writes Nicholas Neveling. The...

Shell makes PwC sole auditor.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling and Alex Hawkes. PricewaterhouseCoopers may lose out on lucrative non-audit work as a result of becoming sole auditor of Royal Dutch Shell. The company said last week that it would ditch KPMG in favour of PwC as...

News in brief.
November 3, 2005... Auditors will be keeping a close eye on today's publication of the company law reform bill to see whether any changes have been made to clauses on liability limitation. The bill was introduced to parliament late on Tuesday afternoon but does...

Data protection disaster looms for thousands. Firms yet to register with the ICO face threat of fines and prosecution, writes Kevin Reed.
November 3, 2005... Thousands of firms have still not informed the information commissioner that they hold key client information on databases, despite previous warnings that they will face fines and prosecution for failing to do so. Accountancy Age revealed...

Grant Thornton looks at private equity to fund challenge.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. Grant Thornton has hinted that it is considering attracting outside investment from private equity groups to take on the Big Four, as regulators seek to find ways of making the industry more competitive. Last...

Institutes at odds on name.(merger between Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Battle lines between the ICAEW and ICAS have been drawn following the merger vote, as both institutes hold firm on their strategies over any name change, writes Kevin Reed. Despite the ICAEW's failure to gain a two-thirds majority among...

Watchdog probes Big Four transparency.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant. The UK's accounting watchdog is set to launch an investigation into the transparency of accounts of some of the nation's largest accounting firms. The Professional Oversight Board for Accountancy, part of the...

Miserable now. 'Aggressive accounting' by Morrissey's record company has left it facing a serious loss of capital.
November 3, 2005... The crisis at music group Sanctuary has raised concerns about the accounting methods of the entire music industry, writes Nicholas Neveling. Iain Daly, an analyst at Robert W Baird, said the market had long held 'misgivings' about...

Truck group wins claim on bad sale. Judge rules that ERF financial controller made fraudulent statements when the company was sold, writes Kevin Reed.
November 3, 2005... Man Nutzfahrzeuge AG, the German truck manufacturer, was induced to purchase its UK subsidiary ERF on the basis of fraudulent statements made by ERF's former financial controller, the High Court has found. Man brought the claim against...

Banks cut red tape on privacy for auditors. Auditors no longer need to check with clients every time they request information, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 3, 2005... Auditors will have to provide a month's notice when requesting bank information, but will no longer need to provide 'new authority' every time they do so, it emerged this week. Previously, auditors were required to get permission from...

US not ready for convergence.
November 3, 2005... The head of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board has signalled that continued convergence with international standards could stall, as the US is still some way from accepting principles-based standards, writes Paul Grant. According...

Finance week - Boots prepares for post merger shopping spree. Pharmaceutical and beauty retailer's decision to repay [pounds sterling]500m in net debt may be to free up cash for further acquistions, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 3, 2005... Boots' move to reduce all its [pounds sterling]500m worth of net debt may be an attempt to position itself for an acquisition spree following the Alliance-Unichem merger. The pharmaceutical and beauty retailer reported a disappointing 9.6%...

Finance week - Company reports. Security business reassures market after sudden drop in share price, and bus company vows to recover growth.
November 3, 2005... Medical technology group Smith & Nephew has decided to use US dollars as its reporting currency, rather than pounds sterling, from next January. Smith & Nephew said that the international spread of its business had prompted the change. About...

Analysis - So you think it's all over ... Tradition dictates that it takes a deade for merger talks to begin again. But last week's saga is far from finished, writes Kevin Reed.
November 3, 2005... If opponents hope the narrow failure of the ICAEW/CIPFA merger puts an end to concerns raised by the prospect of a super institute, they are very much mistaken. On a dramatic day at both Guildhall and Chartered Accountants' Hall, where...

Management consultancy - Sainsbury's move threatens advisers. Outsourcing contracts at risk of being ended in favour of moving operations in-house, writes James Bennett.
November 3, 2005... Sainsbury's decision to dump its [pounds sterling]1.7bn outsourcing contract with Accenture is part of a growing insourcing trend that is threatening consulting revenues. A survey by the National Outsourcing Association found that 60% of...

Management consultancy - In, out, shake it all about.
November 3, 2005... Byline: James Bennett, editor of Management Consultancy. While surfing the internet the other day I noticed an entertaining message board response to the growing trend of insourcing - where a company either cancels or sees out its...

Management consultancy - Illiteracy to stall India's growth.
November 3, 2005... India's phenomenal growth rate of 6% a year, and increasing use as an outsourcing location, will be unsustainable without social reform and infrastructure development, according to a panel of experts. At a recent question time event, The...

Technology - Software group to tackle EU. European software lobby group aims to provide better business applications for users, writes Kevin Reed.
November 3, 2005... A pan-European software association plans to tackle the European Union on issues that will affect the way it puts together business applications, its first chairman has claimed. Jeremy Roche, CEO of Coda and inaugural chairman of the...

Technology - IT briefs.(information technology)(Rob Salter joins Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Sage creates globalised customer relationship management )(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Rob Salter, managing partner of Preston-based Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants, has been appointed to join business experts on HMRC's online services review, headed by Lord Carter. With concerns over HMRC's e-services raging, Salter said...

Opinion - A signal to go it alone. The ICAEW and CIPFA should think twice before embarking on another merger vote, argues Terry Cook. Peter Mitchell says look to umbrella body CCAB.(Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)(Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies)
November 3, 2005... Byline: Terry Cook, chairman of lobby group Private Sector Partners NW. So, the ICAEW's members have voted against merger with another body. But the institute's press comments put a slightly different spin on it - they say the ICAEW voted...

Opinion - A step in the right direction.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Peter Mitchell, chairman of the Society of Professional Accountants. The close-run attempt by the ICAEW to merge with CIPFA was a step in the right direction, signalling the need for accountancy institutes to work together to...

Editorial - CCAB must not fall victim to post merger jockeying.(Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies)(Editorial)
November 3, 2005... OK, OK, we annoyed a few of you last week with our merger coverage, as our letters page opposite makes clear. But we also heard plenty of positive comments. Acknowledging that the ICAEW had fallen short of the number of votes needed to...

Jon Ashworth - The corridors of power ...(Philip Green)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Byline: Jon Ashworth, a freelance journalist and writer. Some stories make a habit of turning up year after year. One is the Public Accounts Committee berating lottery distributors for not distributing lottery money quickly enough. The...

Letter - Voters speak out.(Letter to the Editor)
November 3, 2005... I was impressed by the efforts to get us all to vote in the merger proposals - letters, email and even telephone calls stirred me out of apathy and got me to vote. Sadly for the institute, I voted against - a merger with another body with...

Insider - Filling the pensions pot. Share price depression continues. Bond yields have tumbled. And only 5% of UK company pensions are fully funded. But, says Tom Stevenson, we may have turned a corner.
November 3, 2005... The stockmarket's recovery has eased the pensions crisis, but few would argue that the retirement question has been solved. It remains a minefield, not least for companies sponsoring defined benefit schemes. Having overpromised in the past,...

Insider - Employee benefits special: catching the best recruits. With potential employees able to take their pick of the jobs in a buoyant market, employers need to offer the right bait to land the best talent. But paying the right salary is only part of the story, writes Karen Day.
November 3, 2005... The complete Angler It's never been a better time to be an accountant. The financial services sector is finally coming out of the economic doldrums, and with new reporting standards and legislation on the way, it really is an employees'...

Insider - Employee benefits special - Hold on to your valuables. You can't afford to lose your best people, writes Richard Willsher.
November 3, 2005... Managers are increasingly likely to resign because their salaries are not rising fast enough, according to the latest annual Chartered Management Institute survey. The research, carried out in conjunction with Remuneration Economics, shows...

Insider - Profile: Andrew Pepper and Alastair Beveridge, Kroll's top dogs. Pepper and Beveridge sound like the latest television detective pairing - and if TV producers are ever looking for a couple of superheroes from the world of corporate recovery, then Kroll's rising stars would fit the bill admirably, writes Kevin Reed.(Interview)
November 3, 2005... Dynamic Duo It's not unusual to hear of outstanding entrepreneurs who have single-handedly risen to the top of the corporate tree, but 'dynamic duos' within the world of business are few and far between. For Alastair Beveridge and...

Insider - Overview - Building a reputation. On the frontline: despite his difficulties with CIS, John Healey is a rising star, writes Alex Hawkes.
November 3, 2005... Early on in his ministerial career, John Healey was tasked with pulling the plug on individual learning accounts, the adult education grants that entitled people to [pounds sterling]200 worth of further education. The accounts were the...

Insider - Three steps to ... Stopping bullying in your workplace.
November 3, 2005... Step 1. Nip it in the bud Write a formal policy making it clear that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated, setting out steps to prevent it happening and clarifying the responsibilities of managers. Written guidance and training...

Insider - Buzzwords - The interactions web. (noun) taking the internet to a new level.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... Google Earth is the best example of the new interactions web. A piece of software that allows you to fly from space to your own neighbourhood, you just type in an address and zoom right in. It requires you to download a piece of software and as...

Insider - A conflict of interest?(finance directors)
November 3, 2005... Byline: Pat Scott, partner and executive coach at Woodbridge Partners. An FD's role contains an inherent conflict of interest according to a new book Corporate Governance by Kathryn Vagneur. In most organisations all financial...

Taking Stock - They're coming after you, John.(John Connolly)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... KPMG partners are in a generous mood these days. Keener readers will recall how UK chairman Mike Rake sent his E&Y counterpart Nick Land a bottle of champagne a few weeks ago to acknowledge the firm's court victory over Equitable Life. Now...

Taking Stock - Hot political gossip.(cabinet reshuffle)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... TS is not often in possession of hot political gossip, so let's make the most of it - if anyone asks, you heard it here first. Tony Blair (this one goes right to the top) is rumoured to be looking at a December reshuffle, his last chance to...

Taking Stock - Wayne's porn Starr turn.(Wayne Carnell, Marilyn Starr)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... As firm fans of smutty humour and questionable remarks, TS is not alone in the financial world. Attending the PwC Meet the Experts conference this week, we stumbled across a presentation by former SEC associate director Wayne Carnell, in...

Taking Stock - Sneaking admiration.(Arsene Wenger)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... TS has a sneaking admiration for the way Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger almost always manages to keep his cool, even when his players are making a right mess of penalty kicks. But we hear he quite literally 'lost the plot' when informed that a...

Taking Stock - Brown puts bite on butties.(Gordon Brown)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2005... It seems that nasty Gordon Brown is targeting the humble British caff's bacon and sausage sandwiches, in his inexorable drive to pay off government debts. A recent TS morning trip for a medicinal toasted BLT (with mayo) saw the goodies...

FD group tells taxman to back off. UK plc's top FD Jon Symonds calls for the business tax debate to shift away from avoidance, write Alex Hawkes and James Bennett.(Finance Directors)
November 10, 2005... The debate on tax should be shifted away from avoidance and onto issues of global competitiveness, the chairman of the Hundred Group of Finance Directors has said. At the launch of the Oxford University Business Tax Research Centre last...

Parting shot of a financial heavyweight. Jon Symonds, chairman of the Hundred Group of Finance Directors, is to step down from the position after two years in charge, writes James Bennett.
November 10, 2005... He is expected to be replaced by deputy chairman Philip Broadley, group finance director of Prudential, on 28 November at the group's annual general meeting. Symonds, CFO of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, told Accountancy Age that he...

Olympian wins race for Personality Award.
November 10, 2005... Byline: David Callaghan. Olympic bid FD Neil Wood was presented with Accountancy Age's Personality of the Year Award at our annual ceremony last night. In a close-run category, readers voted for Wood from a shortlist of five that...

Chantrey boss fined [pounds sterling]5,000. The head of top 25 firm Chantrey Vellacott DFK has been fined [pounds sterling]5,000 and severely reprimanded by the ICAEW over his actions as treasurer and trustee of a charity, writes Paul Grant.
November 10, 2005... Michael Tovey, managing partner at Chantrey Vellacott, will also pay costs of [pounds sterling]1,417 over his failure to provide a signed independent examiner's report and trustees' annual report. The institute's investigation committee...

Companies tackle pension crisis by securing deficits against assets. Pensions shortfall is forcing UK companies to rethink their deficit strategies, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 10, 2005... UK companies are set to secure their pension deficits against business assets in the latest attempt to meet the challenge of the looming pensions crisis. No companies have made the move yet, but experts believe it is likely to become a...

Action urged on corporate identity fraud. Credit check agencies call for HMRC to publish VAT numbers, writes Kevin Reed.
November 10, 2005... HM Revenue & Customs has been urged to fight corporate identity fraud by publishing VAT numbers alongside company names and addresses so that bogus companies cannot steal valid VAT numbers. Credit check agencies and company fraud...

Finance week - IAS39 regime will avert hedging calamities. More rigorous accounting standard will benefit investors by making companies think through hedging deals, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 10, 2005... An IFRS specialist has defended the controversial IAS39 standard on complex derivatives. The new standard's critics claim the rules on derivatives have made the accounts of banks and insurance companies, among others, less transparent -...

Finance week - Company reports. Man Group bids for bankrupt brokerage as BA prepares to grasp the pension deficit nettle.
November 10, 2005... Hedge fund manager Man Group has confirmed it has submitted a bid for the assets of bankrupt US futures brokerage Refco, which collapsed following the discovery of a $430m ([pounds sterling]246.1m) black hole in its accounts. Other groups...

Analysis - Deloitte's [pounds sterling]40m bill shocks Ireland. Ireland is in uproar over Deloitte's huge consulting bill - made all the more galling by the revelation that it was for the management of two IT systems that ultimately failed. The resulting scandal could even cost Bertie Ahern his government, writes David Harding.
November 10, 2005... Ireland has a new public enemy number one - Deloitte. A huge row has developed in the Republic over the cost of consultants to the public purse following the failure of two expensive but dud IT systems that Deloitte worked on. The row...

Analysis - Stormy waters for cross-atlantic convergence. Arguments over IAS39 have only just died down, but trouble is brewing yet again for standard setters on M&As, writes Paul Grant.(International Accounting Standards)(mergers and acquisitions)
November 10, 2005... When the International Accounting Standards Board sat down yesterday to discuss the second phase of its project to change the accounting for mergers and acquisitions, it did so entering yet another storm of controversy. Barely have the...

Corporate finance - 'Merger Monday' signals shift in UK deal trends. Deluge of merger deals indicates corporates are looking for big acquisitions, writes Nicholas Neveling.
November 10, 2005... The cross-border takeover has arrived, analysts said in the wake of the [pounds sterling]25bn takeover flurry that gripped the London Stock Exchange last week. The deal frenzy on 'Merger Monday' involved some of the UK's largest listed...

Corporate finance - Dip in media and telecoms market growth.
November 10, 2005... The value of completed deals in the UK media and entertainment sector fell 64% in the third quarter of 2005 to just over [pounds sterling]1bn, a drop-off from the [pounds sterling]2.8bn recorded in the second quarter. Volumes fell from 47 deals...

Corporate finance - Big four must break America.
November 10, 2005... The Big Four accounting firms must wish they could be as powerful in corporate finance as they are in the audit market. The appetite among the giant firms to be lead advisers on large deals is there - they regularly recruit experienced...

Technology - Small firms told to ditch IT role. Sage founder says smaller firms lack the resources to keep up with the pace of change, writes Kevin Reed.
November 10, 2005... Smaller accountancy firms should give up providing IT advice because the pace of change in the technology market is too fast for them, according to Graham Wylie, founder of FTSE100 software company Sage. Wylie (pictured), now chief...

Technology - BBU happily abandons spreadsheet.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Balfour Beatty Utilities FD Matthew Duncan has said the company's move away from a spreadsheet-intensive finance function has improved the construction giant's performance. The company, which is using business intelligence software from...

Technology - SEC untangles spider's web. Go to AccountancyAge.com for breaking technology and e-business news and to sign up for weekly technology newswires.
November 10, 2005... Anyone keeping tabs on the Accountancy Age website will be familiar with the all-too-regular occurrences of the US Securities & Exchange Commission fining US-listed businesses over misleading, or sometimes downright fraudulent, accounts...

Opinion - There's no avoiding avoidance.(Jon Symonds and Dave Hartnett )
November 10, 2005... Tax - or, more specifically, tax avoidance - is putting in a late run to be crowned the number one accountancy issue for 2006. It's a subject creeping up the boardroom agenda, but for tax advisers and HM Revenue & Customs it's already at the...

The debate - Bill goes off half-cocked. The company law reform bill falls short of the mark, argues Patricia Peter, but the changes could be a powerful weapon for shareholders, says Janet Legrand.
November 10, 2005... The first thing to say about the introduction of the company law reform bill is 'at last'. We have been living with the prospect for over seven years. But now it is here, what of the bill itself? The aims of the original review of company...

Jon Ashworth - The corridors of power.(Joseph Jett case)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Byline: Jon Ashworth, a freelance journalist and writer. There's nothing like an unfolding scandal to get the blood racing. The saga of US futures broker Refco and its British-born former chief executive, Philip Bennett, had that sense of...

Letter - Bombay's a dream.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... In Accountancy Age (3 November, page 11), a report stressed the need for social reform and infrastructure development for India to sustain its 'phenomenal' growth rate. There is no escaping that. However, despite those weaknesses,...

Letter - Super size me.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... What we need is a professional body strong enough to stand up to the Big Four and the government. It would then be able to promote a highly-respected global accountancy qualification. I would support a merger of the present six professional...

Letter - Old problem, new tricks.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... Further to your article 'Slog 'til you drop' (27 October, page 17), there are other third-party influences that have to be dealt with in age discrimination. It is often not the employers who are forcing the issue, but agencies. I find the...

Letter - Friendly advice.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... Accountancy Age appears unrepentant over its tendency to slant its news coverage. As Abbey, Sainsbury and JP Morgan Chase, among others, turn away from clearly unsuccessful outsourcing ventures, your headline is 'Sainsbury's move threatens...

Letter - Blessing in disguise.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... In response to your articles on lost work from the audit threshold rise (27 October, page 8), this will have a huge effect on the profession, especially the smaller firms, but firms can now concentrate on doing things their clients actually...

Letter - IFRS for aliens.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... Charlie McCreevy, European internal market commissioner, is right to decline to adopt the new IFRSs (27 October, page 3). They appear to be based on a strange document called the Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial...

Letter - Back from the dead? The institute merger may yet rise up from the grave.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... I have been following the institute merger saga with disbelief and horror, and only now can breathe out with relief as the merger appears to be dead. However, as it appears to be a Nosferatu-style sleep of the dead and might reawaken at...

People - Madden and Whelan branch out.
November 10, 2005... Practice KPMG has announced leadership changes. The firm has appointed Richard Bennison as the new UK head of its audit practice, replacing Michael Hughes, who becomes chairman of KPMG's global audit steering group. Loughlin Hickley, head...

People - Flying south: MacGovern takes up corporate finance role at Baker Tilly.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... AIM Accountant of the Year Baker Tilly has appointed Simon MacGovern as the new corporate finance director of its southern team - the firm's third new director in as many months. MacGovern previously worked for Ernst & Young's London office,...

People - Profile: Steve Gazzard, the FD making compliance easier. FDs in the market for enterprise software are looking to slay three demons - the compliance burden, out-of-date information and irrelevant data. And it's no different for Steve Gazzard, the FD of one of the leading suppliers of the products, writes Kevin Reed.
November 10, 2005... 'If you had asked me 10 years ago what were the challenges for FDs, I would have said the same thing as I say now - compliance, reporting and getting info on the business with the hope of using it to assist growth,' says Steve Gazzard. But...

Taking stock - Music, please, maestro.(music group names)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Since we launched our Compact Pussycat competition, TS has been inundated with suggestions for accountancy-related band names. Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but if our readers don't feel like sampling Norwich's top all-girl...

Taking stock.(company name error in The Independent)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... TS is reluctant to point out the mistakes of other journals, but we just have to share the one made by The Independent, which featured Grant Thornton tax partner Mike Warburton, whose name has appeared on this page a few times before. The...

Taking stock - If the cap fits.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Confession time. TS, in its early days, longed to star in school drama Grange Hill. Thoughts of that glorious theme tune, the sadly late Mr Bronson shouting at blazered little oiks for being late for double French and the beautifully awful...

Taking stock - A night to remember.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... As a fashionable London media type, TS was propping up a bar in Clapham one evening last week when our conversation (which ranged from the next Conservative leader to why baby polar bears make better pets than kittens) was interrupted by the...

Taking stock.(value-added tax for business)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The annual VATRat award is Baker Tilly's chance to honour someone who has made a significant contribution to the development of VAT. So practitioners must have been choking on their bread rolls on Friday when who should triumph but Chris...

Deloitte to be spared BCCI bill. Bank of England will not pursue Big Four firm for any part of record [pounds sterling]70m costs in BCCI court case, writes Paul Grant.
November 17, 2005... Deloitte will return to court to fight the most expensive legal bill in UK history for BCCI early next year - but it will escape paying part of the enormous costs. The Bank of England has told Accountancy Age that it will not push for...

Unilever calls for halt to reform.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant. The head of one of the UK's largest companies has pleaded with the European Commission to slow the pace of corporate governance reform, as companies risk being snowed under by new rules. Speaking at a DTI conference...

Sage says sorry to customers. Sage chief Paul Stobart has apologised to accountants for the company's 'complacent' and 'dismissive' treatment of them in the past few years, writes Kevin Reed.
November 17, 2005... Stobart, CEO for UK and Ireland, said that, while accountants were powerful influencers, 'first and foremost' they were customers, which was 'something we may have forgotten in the past'. Speaking at Sage's inaugural event for accountants,...

News in brief.
November 17, 2005... The European Court of Auditors has qualified the EU's annual accounts for the 11th year running. This week, the European Union's financial watchdog repeated concerns about the accuracy of the books in the 2004 budget, totalling nearly [pounds...

KPMG report used to back Home Office ID card figures. Big Four firm says methodology is 'robust', but admits 'uncertainty'.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2005... A KMPG report on ID cards has been quoted by the government as providing evidence of robust costings for the controversial scheme despite health warnings from the Big Four firm. The findings provide counter evidence to claims from London...

Profession should aid ID victims. Accountants have been urged to be more active in preventing their clients from suffering from the rising threat of identity fraud, writes Kevin Reed.
November 17, 2005... Concerns have grown over corporate ID theft after Vantis released figures that showed there were 144 attempts to change registered details at Companies House without the company's consent in the last seven months. Partner Jonathan Hoffman...

Government pressed on IR35 failure.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2005... Byline: James Bennett. The government has been asked whether it is reviewing IR35 investigations by HM Revenue & Customs after figures revealed a 'success' rate of less than 1% for the tax regulator. The Professional Contractors Group...

Online filing incentives abused, admits Varney. HMRC chairman is quizzed by public accounts committee, writes Alex Hawkes.
November 17, 2005... Small companies may be filing as 10 different companies rather than one to attract incentives for early filing, HM Revenue & Customs said this week. Speaking at a Commons public accounts committee meeting, David Varney, chairman of HMRC,...

Mid-tier warned of growth risk.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. Mid-tier firms have been warned that they could face 'Parmalat-style' negligence claims unless they ensure strict risk management procedures are in place as their international networks expand into growing economies....