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Latest news from Accountancy Age - UK finance news and jobs for accounting and finance professionals.
Government spending faces audit
Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 08:29:00
Government spending faces top-to-bottomaudit prior to finalising new Budget details
Government spending faces an audit after the new coalition warned that Labour
had led a "scorched earth" policy on spending in its last year in power. The Office for Budget Responsibility, headed by Sir Alan Budd, will launch an
audit of government spending to understand the full extent of the public sector
spending deficit. The National Audit
Office is usually responsible for auditing central government
departments. Ministers criticised pushing through of spending prior to the end of the
previous government, including a £13bn oil tanker project and £420m of school
building contracts. Business secretary Vince Cable warned of finding "skeletons" in cupboards.
"I fear that a lot of bad news about the public finances has been hidden and
stored up for the new government," said Cable in
The
Times. Further reading:
Emergency Budget for 22 June
Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 09:36:00
New chancellor moves Budget back to Tuesday
The emergency Budget will take place on 22 June. After Labour's Wednesday Budget and pre-Budget Reports, chancellor George
Osborne has moved the date back to a Tuesday. Osborne is speaking in a press conference at the launch of the Office of
Budget Responsibility. Further reading:
KPMG considered entering credit-rating market
Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 09:39:00
Head of Big Four firm said it is "plausible" to enter rating industry
The head of Big Four firm KPMG is “passively considering��? entering the credit
rating agency business but believes obstacles may be too great, the
Financial
Times reports. John Griffith Jones, chairman of KPMG UK, said while starting a credit rating
arm was a “plausible��? move, fears of conflicts of interest “probably makes it
impractical��?. “It is something that we talk about as a plausible thing to do. It is
effectively something we would be proficient at doing,��? he said. “But it’s not on the agenda at the moment.��? Further reading:
Banking exodus fears unfounded
David Jetuah, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 10:04:00
Bankers staying put as they still make significantly more than their counterparts in other countries
UK bankers are still raking in a bigger salary than their peers in other
countries, which suggests concerns about a feared exodus because of the 50% tax
on salaries above £150,000 have been overblown. Research by financial recruitment specialists Selby Jennings found that
senior bankers are making twice as much after tax compared to those working in
Geneva or Zurich. It comes alongside George Osborne rejecting suggestions of another bonus tax
on bankers, the
FT
reported, but a levy on bank profits was a possibility. Further reading:
Cable: tax avoidance a priority
Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 10:17:00
Business secretary still focused on tackling tax avoidance
Vince Cable, the former Lib Dem shadow chancellor and business secretary, has
said that beating tax avoidance will be one of his top priorities in his new
role. Speaking to the Daily telegraph Cable said that tacking tax avoidance is "
essential" and that he would be looking at it "closely". In their pre coalition manifesto the Lib Dems claimed they could save up to
£4.6bn by tackling avoidance in the first year of coming to office. Cable has in the past stated his preference for companies to report their tax
liabilities country by country. Read more:
Former T-Mobile CEO takes merged Orange CFO role
Rachael Singh, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 10:54:00
The merger of Orange and T-mobile sees Richard Moat take the top finance role
Richard Moat takes the chief financial officer and deputy chief executive
role at the newly-merged T-Mobile and Orange. Moat, formerly CEO of T-Mobile, will take up the position at Everything
Everywhere, the name of the newly merged business, later this year. Moat spent 17 years at France Telecom's Orange prior to joining T-Mobile in
June 2009. He was most recently CEO of Orange Romania and before that held CEO positions
at Thailand and Denmark. Moat joined Orange in 1992 as senior manager in the finance function, moving
through the ranks to corporate finance director and international group director
of finance. He was reportedly origninally lined up for the COO role at the business. Moat
will work with CEO Tom Alexander, the previous UK CEO of Orange. T-Mobile's previous finance director, Lars Nordmark, left the business
earlier this year. Further reading:
Diageo's
Nick Rose to step down
HMRC launches six toolkits to foil adviser error
David Jetuah, Accountancy Age, Monday 17 May 2010 at 14:39:00
Taxman releases new guides with helpful information including checklists, links to online guidance and examples of frequent errors and how to avoid them
The taxman has released six free toolkits to help advisers avoid common
errors when filing their clients’ returns. The toolkits cover, Capital Gains Tax for land and buildings, Marginal Small
Companies’ relief, Private and Personal expenditure (Income Tax Self
Assessment), Trust and Estates, Capital Gains Tax for trust and estates
(supplement) HMRevenue & Customs worked closely with advisers and the accountancy
professional bodies in developing the toolkits, which were pilot tested by
around 600 firms, tax practitioners and solicitors during the course of last
year. Brian Redford, head of HMRC’s Business Engagement Team, said: "The toolkits are free and easy to use. Agents do not have to use them but
because they are designed with the help of the agent community they are packed
with helpful information including checklists, links to online guidance and
examples of frequent errors and how to avoid them." Related links:
and capital Allowances for plant and machinery.
Accountants storm the Treasury
Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Friday 14 May 2010 at 09:00:00
Mark Hoban takes on key role for taxation and the profession
Two accountants have been appointed to key positions in the new Treasury team
working under chancellor George Osborne. Former PwC staffer Mark Hoban becomes financial secretary to the Treasury,
after occupying the same position in the shadow team, and Justine Greening also
joins the Treasury as economic secretary. Hoban takes over the role from Stephen Timms who became gaff-prone during the
run up to the election campaign but was highly regarded by many in the
accounting and tax profession. Financial secretary ranks below the chief secretary to the Treasury, a
position occupied by Lib Dem David Laws. The job has included responsibility for
HM Revenue & Customs and varied tax issues. Timms spoke broadly on tax in
public and appeared at both the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the ICAEW.
Hoban joined PwC in 1985 and worked his way up to senior manager before being
elected to Parliament in 1992. Economic secretary is the role once filled by Ed Balls, Gordon Brown's
closest adviser on economic policy. Greening trained at PwC but also worked at
Glaxosmithkline and Centrica before being elected in 2005. The Treasury group is completed by David Gauke who becomes exchequer
secretary, the most junior position in the chancellor's team. Nick Gibb, a former chartered accountant with KPMG and former shadow Minister
for Schools has been appointed one of two Ministers of State at the renamed
Department for Education.
China audit reveals irregularities
Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Friday 14 May 2010 at 09:24:00
State audit reveals suspect lending
An audit of China’s Agriculture Bank found tens of billion in lending
irregularities, the
Financial
Times reports. The news comes as the bank plans an offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai,
believed to raise $30bn. The audit highlights the issues still facing China’s state owned banking
sector despite reform attempts. Read the full story
here
