LSBF Blog - Global Matters
Revenue of £23.37bn puts PwC at top of global accountancy rankings
Accountancy sector firm PwC saw its network report £23.37bn total global gross revenues for the fiscal year ending on 30 June 2015.
The latest figures, a 10 percent increase on the previous 12 months, means the firm leaps ahead of Big 4 rival Deloitte to snatch the top place amongst the fierce competitors.
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Today's children could have 40 jobs and live to 100, says expert
Children in the UK who are just starting secondary school have a decent chance of living to 100 and will have up to 40 different jobs in their lifetime, a head teacher's conference at St Andrews University in Scotland has heard.
With graduate employability and a pending skills gap worrying many CFOs according to recent studies, chief executive of Fast Futures, Rohit Talwar, has been laying out a vision of the future for the leaders of UK educational establishments.
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Increasing economic uncertainty hits business confidence, says Deloitte
Difficulties facing emerging economies and global markets are eroding corporate appetites for risk, according to a survey of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) by Big 4 firm Deloitte.
Of the CFOs that took part, only 47% thought that now would be a good time to take any risks, a drop from 59% in Q2 2015.
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London finance workers earn £20,000 more than rest of UK, reveals study
According to the latest analysis on salary data by Michael Page, the global specialist recruitment company, the financial services sector offers an average of £20,000 more for roles in London than in any other UK region.
However, the analysis also revealed that some industries have a higher earning potential outside of London in other areas of the country.
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Big Four firms drop traditional entry requirements for jobseekers
Big 4 rivals Deloitte, E&Y and PwC have all taken similar steps in dropping traditional academic requirements for those wishing to take the first steps on a career path in the industry.
Graduates and school leavers alike are benefiting from the change in approach as the accountancy sector giants join other major companies by using their own pre-employment tests to filter applicants.
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Travel Tax Relief restrictions to affect UK freelancers
Up to 45,000 UK freelancers could be negatively affected by restrictions on tax relief for work travel if the UK Government proceeds as planned, according to The Association of Independent Professionals and Self-Employed (IPSE).
Proposed changes include the abolition of home-to-work travel and subsistence tax relief for some workers.
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HMRC offer guidance on derivative contracts tax changes
A four-week informal consultation is being offered by HMRC regarding the draft legislation for proposed amendments to the taxing of derivative contracts and corporate debt.
The new changes will affect existing legislation on loan relationships in a further attempt to clamp down on perceived abuses in corporate taxation.
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Ernst & Young surpasses £2bn revenue barrier
Ernst & Young has seen an 8 percent growth in fee income for the twelve months up to 3 July 2015, an increase on the previous figure of £1.9bn.
Distributable profits grew by 6 percent, increasing up to £437m from £412m. However, the average distributable profit per partner actually fell from £727,000 to £7000,000.
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End of permanent non-dom status coming soon, says Treasury
The permanency of non-domicile status will be abolished following the pledge by Chancellor George Osborne in his Budget speech, according to the latest Treasury consultation document.
The report on non-domicile taxation confirms a ‘deemed domicile rule' will soon be brought in.
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Crossrail 2 will add billions to UK economy, finds study
A new analysis from Big 4 firm KPMG has found that the overall impact of Crossrail 2 will be positive for the UK economy and also bigger than had been expected.
The effect on the country's productivity will mean significant gains for both business and the nation's GDP, according to the study.
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SMEs could be hit by UK dividends tax changes
Small firms in the UK paid out 63 percent of their profits as dividends in 2014-15, according to the accountancy firm, Moore Stephens.
Now the company claims that proposed changes to the tax treatment of dividends will impact the way that SMEs will be able to fund expansion.
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Britain consults on EU company accounting reforms
A public consultation has begun in the UK regarding sweeping new European Union reforms of company accounting, which are due to come into effect in June 2016.
The EU rules will see the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) take responsibility for the supervision of 50 accounting firms and include requirements for companies to replace their auditor at least every 20 years.
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Deloitte to revamp recruitment process to end unconscious class bias
The selection process used by Big 4 firm Deloitte has been revamped to try and stop recruiters from knowing which school or university candidates attended.
The idea is to eliminate any 'unconscious bias' that might influence decisions. A new algorithm that considers contextual information along with academic results is also being introduced.
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Company boards with more diversity perform better, finds report
Having at least one female executive board member means that a company's board outperforms rivals that are made up exclusively of males, according to a new report.
Women in business: the value of diversity, a report from Grant Thornton International, covers listed companies in the UK, US and India and found that diversity on executive boards could have been worth £430bn in 2014.
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Bookkeepers to benefit from UK digital tax accounts
The UK tax system has been undergoing some important changes, and the introduction of digital tax accounts is set to become one of the most significant.
Now a CEO of a highly respected accountancy body thinks that HRMC's latest moves could eventually have big benefits for bookkeepers.
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CEBR warns UK economy could face slowdown due to weak exports
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has warned in a new forecast that the current economic recovery in the UK may not be sustainable.
Weak exports and decreasing investment in business means that any increase over the next five years could hinge on continued growth in household spending.
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SME manufacturing growth hit by skills shortage, shows survey
More than one in four of Britain's manufacturing SME's are having their potential for growth held back by a shortage of skilled workers according to a new survey.
MHA, the UK-wide group of accountancy and business advisory firms, has made the claim in its latest annual Manufacturing Survey, which sampled 400 mainly small and medium sized manufacturing and engineering businesses in the UK.
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Global volatility slowing financial services growth, shows research
The latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey has found that financial services firms experienced slowed growth in business volumes during the three months leading to September.
The rise in overall business volumes was at the slowest pace in two years, coming on the back of almost two years of strong expansion. However, overall optimism about business was stable due to over two and half years of continuous improvement.
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Accountancy profession and natural capital go together, says report
The issue of Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is a concept that should be promoted among businesses, investors, governments and wider society, according to three leading professional, campaigning and business organisations.
In their latest joint paper, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Flora & Fauna International (FFI) and the Big 4 firm KPMG highlight the importance of NCA across a wide range of operations.
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US economy expected to grow faster than previously estimated
According to revised official figures, the second quarter of the year saw the US economy grow faster than previously anticipated.
The surprise positive news was due to strong consumer spending, business investment and residential construction, according to the US Department of Commerce.
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IASB consults on IFRS 9 interim measures
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is going to consult on measures that need to temporarily be put into place to cover issues in the insurance industry surrounding the introduction of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.
The new insurance contracts standard will involve significant changes, and the independent standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation will provide a transparent process in the run up to its application in regard to the new financial instruments standard.
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Earning gap between female graduates and non-graduates is over three times, shows report
A new academic report has found that women who graduate with a degree earn three times as much as those who do not.
According to researchers at the think tank Institute for Fiscal Studies, in association with Cambridge and Harvard universities, there is a £13,200 graduate premium for yearly wages.
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HMRC outlines how businesses can reimburse electric car usage by employees
HM Revenue and Customs has set out how a business can reimburse employees for costs incurred by using electric cars for work purposes.
Previously, HMRC’s failure to recognise electricity as a type of fuel has been used by some companies as a reason for not making more use of the eco-friendly vehicles in their fleets.
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Moral courage to drive value needed in boardroom, says accountants group
Corporate boardrooms must use "moral courage" to drive forward value, according to a global group of accountants.
The group, Chartered Accountants Worldwide, believes that the prevalence of social media and the overall culture of the digital age mean that there is now a direct link between value creation and ethics.
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Businesses lose over £200bn to cyber attacks a year globally, reveals study
Cyber attacks have cost businesses across the world more than £200 billion over the past year, according to new research from Grant Thornton International Ltd.
The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) surveyed 2,500 business leaders in 35 countries and found that in excess of one in every six businesses fell victim to a cyber attack in the past 12 months.
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