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Tax fears as companies shift to Ireland

Two British companies have confirmed that they are to shift their headquarters to Ireland – a dramatic sign of the rising pressure on the Treasury to keep its tax system competitive

Warning of two million jobless by Christmas

UK retail sales have plunged this month at the fastest annual rate since comparable records began in 1983, the Confederation of British Industry said yesterday as Monetary Policy Committee member David Blanchflower warned of two million unemployed by Christmas

Merrill Lynch losses wipe away longtime profits

Merrill Lynch’s losses in the past 18 months amount to about a quarter of the profits it has made in its 36 years as a listed company, according to Financial Times research that highlights the extent of the global banking crisis

FRC publishes consultation paper setting out its proposals to revise the Guidance for Directors on Going Concern and Financial Reporting

Current market conditions and developments in accounting standards prompt Financial Reporting Council to refresh guidance for directors

SEC plans for IFRS global accounting standards

US companies are set to switch to international accounting rules in a move that will, for the first time, see all the world’s most important listed groups reporting according to the same set of standards. The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday proposed a “roadmap” to manage the migration of US companies from its rules to the international ones. The plans are open to comment for 60 days

Hester in running to succeed Goodwin at RBS

Stephen Hester, chief executive of British Land, has emerged as a candidate to succeed Sir Fred Goodwin CA at the helm of the Royal Bank of Scotland

Irish tax move revives fear of exodus

Fears of a corporate exodus from Britain were reignited on Wednesday when Henderson Group, one of Europe’s largest investment managers, said it was considering moving its tax base to Ireland

British workers 'fear job losses'

More than one in 10 British workers fear the economic slowdown means they will lose their job in the next year, according to union body the TUC. A survey of almost 3,000 employees across Britain suggested those in Wales and Scotland felt most vulnerable

Gaming Machine success for Rank in £25m VAT case

The VAT & Duties Tribunal has handed down an interim decision, ruling that the UK's VAT treatment of the income from certain types of gaming machines was inconsistent with EU rules between November 2003 and December 2005. The ruling means that The Rank Group plc, which brought the case, stands to recoup up to £25m in overpaid VAT

Companies Act still causing confusion

New research carried out by Jordans, the UK’s largest provider of business services, reveals that most professional advisers think the Companies Act 2006 has led to administrative upheaval and failed to deliver what was promised

Scottish football clubs score record earnings

In a record breaking year for Scottish football eight out of twelve clubs recorded positive earnings with the highest profit (£3m) the sport has seen in over a decade - a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals.

Businesses advised to go green to beat the economic blues

Environmental measures could be the answer to combating the downturn with new research showing that waste prevention, using less raw material and energy recovery will be crucial to saving UK companies money in the face of economic recession.

Pressure on profitability spreads to accountancy and other business services

Steep falls in service-sector profitability, which were mainly affecting consumer services, have spread to business and professional services, according to the latest CBI Services Sector survey

Institute of Directors warns Brown on level of company taxation

Business has launched a pre-emptive strike against the ‘unacceptably high’ level of corporate taxation, in an attempt to persuade Prime Minister Gordon Brown not to make companies pay the bill for his autumn relaunch

Defined benefit pensions fall further

A further large decline in final salary benefit pension schemes is on its way, with closure of schemes to existing members set to accelerate and about half of larger employers expecting to try to get rid of their remaining liability within a decade

KPMG predicts building society mergers

The housing downturn is likely to trigger a wave of mergers among building societies, as bad debts from mortgages rise and profits from lending fall, according to a senior analyst at KPMG

EC urged to review audit liability stance

New protections for auditors mean the European Commission must drop its ‘piecemeal’ approach to the subject and step up its efforts to improve quality and competition in the audit market, a leading group of investors has warned

Financial slowdown 'to drag on'

The current global financial slowdown could ‘drag on for some considerable time’, the Bank of England's new deputy governor has warned

Final salary pension schemes give employers competitive edge

The number of final salary pension schemes open to new members in the private sector has dropped from 25 per cent last year to a record low of 17 per cent, according to research released today by Aon Consulting

KPMG beefs up partnerships

KPMG has poached a new partner from rival PricewaterhouseCoopers to run its pensions business in Scotland. The firm said that it had also promoted two KPMG professionals to partner level - taking the number of partners in the firm north of the border to 24

Investors quit Russia after Georgia war

Investors pulled their money out of Russia in the wake of the Georgia conflict at the fastest rate since the 1998 rouble crisis, according to new figures

Surprise gain in UK retail sales

UK retailers defied predictions of another monthly sales slump in July despite pushing up prices, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics said retail sales were up 0.8 per cent last month, reversing a sharp fall of 3.9 per cent in June

More banks settle securities case

Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank are the latest banks to reach settlement with US regulators over the sale of risky securities. The banks have agreed to buy back billions of dollars in auction-rate securities and pay fines, after allegations that they misled investors

Car dealers fined in payment protection crackdown

The financial watchdog's crackdown on the misselling of payment protection insurance gathered pace yesterday with the fining of five car dealers, which takes the total levied for the offence to almost £3.9m

Three-way split again on UK rates

Bank of England policymakers were split three ways for the second meeting in a row at their interest rate-setting meeting earlier this month

Job prospects in the City in decline

Almost half of City employers expect to reduce recruitment over the next 12 months as the impact of the credit crunch continues to undermine the financial services industry

Act fast or risk missing out: KPMG warns companies failing to grab VATman’s lifeline in the credit crunch

Businesses across Britain are potentially missing out on the chance to claim VAT rebates ranging from tens of thousands to several million pounds, according to KPMG in the UK

Manufacturers gloomiest for seven years about output prospects

Manufacturers’ output expectations for the next three months are the weakest for seven years, the latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey reveals

A recession in the UK is now considered almost as likely as not by economists

The median probability attached to UK recession in the next 12 months has jumped to 45 per cent, in the latest poll from Reuters, from 40 per cent in a similar survey conducted by the news agency last month.

PwC to shake up national partnership network

PricewaterhouseCoopers will today announce a global reorganisation that matches the efforts under way by some of its fiercest rivals and underlines an industry shift towards the emerging markets

HMRC unveils details of its latest double tax treaties

HMRC has released details of UK’s tax treaty negotiating priorities for the year ending March 31, 2009

Matalan entered into Hall of Shame for squeezing suppliers

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is naming and shaming the retail giant Matalan, which is imposing a 2 per cent deduction on all payments to suppliers from 1 September 2008

Economic downturn means boost for Scotland's insolvency experts

Accountants and insolvency experts are recruiting extra staff to deal with the expected rise in the number of firms failing to cope with financial strictures induced by the credit crunch

Nationwide to set up Irish operation

Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, plans to open a savings operation in Ireland – allowing it access to funding from the European Central Bank

Freddie Mac plans $3 billion debt issue

Freddie Mac was on Monday marketing a $3 billion benchmark five-year debt issue even as renewed concerns about the future of the US government-sponsored entities (GSEs) sent ripples through the financial markets

Large US bank collapse seen ahead

The worst of the global financial crisis is yet to come and a large US bank will fail in the next few months as the world's biggest economy hits further troubles, former IMF chief economist Kenneth Rogoff said on Tuesday

Boards failing to make the most of non-executive roles

Writing in today's Scotsman, ICAS Chief Executive Anton Colella addresses the role of non-executive directors following criticism of Lord Wakeham's failure to understand what was going on at Enron before its collapse

Ernst & Young advises Brit Insurance on change of domicile

Brit Insurance, the Lloyd's of London insurer, has appointed Ernst & Young to advise it on a possible move out of the UK to a more favourable tax regime

Groups rein in non-execs’ pay rises

Pay rises for non-executive directors slowed again last year while companies expected them to do more to justify their fees, according to a study published on Monday. The workload is likely to get harder in the wake of the credit crunch as shareholders questioned the performance and pay of directors, said Sean O’Hare, partner at PwC, which conducted the annual review

Recession in UK 'is months away'

Recession looms in the UK in the next six to nine months as firms face "a difficult and risky climate", the British Chambers of Commerce warns

Merrill set to avoid UK tax after $29 billion loss

Merrill Lynch is unlikely to pay corporation tax in the UK for several decades after $29 billion (£16 billion) of losses suffered by the US investment bank were charged to its London-based subsidiary

Deloitte's top partner sees profit share of £5.7m

The head of accountancy firm Deloitte earned £5.7m after annual profits rose 16 per cent to more than £650m for the year to 31 May

Eurozone edges closer to recession

The eurozone moved closer to recession on Thursday after it emerged that the economy contracted in the second quarter for the first time since the launch of the euro

ASB issues Amendment to FRS 25 'Financial Instruments: Presentation'

The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has issued an amendment to Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 25 (IAS 32) ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’, to change the classification from liabilities to equity of certain financial instruments

Bank warns of flat growth ahead

The Bank of England says it expects the UK economy will not grow at all over the next year or so. In the Bank's gloomiest assessment yet, governor Mervyn King said that he expected growth "to be flat" and did not rule out a recession

HBOS to axe 425 jobs

HBOS, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, is to cut 425 jobs and close one of its five mortgage brands to new business as it aims to streamline costs

Auditors seek early scrutiny of results

Auditors are stepping up their scrutiny of companies amid increasing worries about the potential of the credit crunch and the economic slowdown to wreak widespread damage

Workers 'glum' as downturn bites

The credit crunch has led to a jump in the number of office workers who describe themselves as unhappy, a survey suggests

UK inflation surges to 16-year high

The fourth consecutive nasty surprise on prices pushed UK inflation to 4.4 per cent in July – its highest since the early 1990s and more than double the Government’s target – as economists predicted a further rise to 5 per cent in the autumn

Banks risk further accounting clampdown

Banks have failed to live up to the spirit of new accounting rules designed to make them disclose more about risk management practices, according to a study of banks’ year-end accounts by PwC

Cameron attacks stamp duty leak

David Cameron lambasted the Government for its “completely reckless” briefing of plans that could defer stamp duty, accusing ministers on Tuesday of exacerbating problems in the housing market

Credit Suisse close to £5m settlement

Credit Suisse is close to agreeing a potential £5m settlement with the UK’s Financial Services Authority over lapses in its systems and controls relating to a trading scandal that generated a $2.7 billion (£1.4 billion) writedown for the Swiss bank earlier this year

UBS unveils shake-up as losses widen

UBS, the biggest European casualty of the US credit crisis, on Tuesday announced a raft of measures to improve its performance as it reported widening losses and further writedowns of $5.1 billion related to risky credit-related investments

Investors fear another big financial firm failure

Institutional investors expect another big financial firm will collapse within the next six months in the continued fallout from the credit crunch, new research has shown

KPMG warns of looming ‘pensions crunch’ as nervous trustees demand more funding from cash-strapped companies

Despite deteriorating market conditions adding around £20 billion to the FTSE 100’s pension accounting deficits in the first half of this year, around six out of 10 FTSE 100 companies are potentially paying too much into their pension schemes, with up to half overpaying by over £20m a year, according to KPMG’s 2008 Pensions Repayment Monitor

Accountants on track to meet Carter guidelines on online filing

New regulation met by industry already embracing digital working practices

Credit crunch hits football clubs

Expectations of Scottish football fans for success on the pitch may be undermined as boardroom finances are hit by the economic downturn, according to a report by accountants and business adviser PKF

More bosses 'planning job cuts'

Employers expect a gloomy time ahead in the jobs market, with a rise in redundancies accompanied by a downturn in recruitment, according to a survey of 1,200 bosses by KPMG and the Chartered Institute of Personal Development

CBI chief warns of dark mood in business

Surging inflation and continuing stress in financial markets has caused a considerable darkening of mood in business in recent months, the CBI has warned

HMRC launch dedicated phone lines for Scottish accountants

HMRC is promising accountants and tax advisers with client records in Scotland a more efficient telephone service with the introduction of a local Agent Dedicated Telephone Line (ADL) from 12 August

RBS slumps to loss after £5.9 billion writedown

Troubled markets have led Royal Bank of Scotland to report the first loss in its 40-year history as a public company as it wrote down the value of many of its credit market assets by £5.9 billion

Bank of England holds rates at 5%

The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee left interest rates unchanged at 5 per cent for a fourth consecutive month on Thursday, after evidence of a weakening economy left it little scope to toughen its stance against rising inflation

Growth in criminal activity sees Ernst & Young boost its UK fraud investigation and dispute services team

Ernst & Young has appointed three new partners to its UK fraud investigation and dispute services (FIDS) practice in response to a growing demand for investigations, including bribery and corruption and commercial and transaction disputes

Carbon Reduction Commitment will be a test for many companies, warns KPMG

KPMG have warned that the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which requires companies to measure and report the carbon emissions from their energy usage and which comes into effect in little over a year, could have a significant cash flow impact on up to 10,000 organisations

IMF downgrades UK economic growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its forecast for UK economic growth over the next two years, predicting a rise of 1.4 per cent in 2008 and 1.1 per cent in 2009, down from the 1.8 per cent for 2008 and 1.7 per cent for 2009 that it predicted in July

Business backs freeze on rules

Business has backed government plans for a three-year freeze on the burden of red tape, but has called on ministers to rethink a proposed exemption for environmental regulation

Pensions boost for Standard Life

Strong worldwide pension sales and the one-off benefit of a £6.7 billion reinsurance transaction with Canada Life fuelled a 51 per cent rise in Standard Life’s operating profits to £535m in the first half of its current financial year, the insurer said on Wednesday

Big banks seek to limit their own risks

Many of the world’s biggest banks are proposing reforms that would limit the size and scope of their businesses in one of the most dramatic responses to the credit crisis

New row over £3 billion Northern Rock debt swap

Fears that taxpayers will have to pay more for the Northern Rock bailout grew on Tuesday after critics attacked the Government for taking on £3.4 billion in extra risk because the troubled bank’s finances were far worse than previously thought

FTSE 100 pensions are 'in red'

The pension funds of firms listed in the FTSE 100 stock index are back in the red after their biggest annual swing in funding levels since 2002

Consumer confidence falls further

Confidence among consumers and firms in the service sector has slumped ahead of Thursday's decision on interest rates, according to the Nationwide

Brown considers stamp duty freeze

The postponement of stamp duty and a tax-free savings account to help first-time buyers are among measures being considered by Gordon Brown as part of a package of economic steps designed to rescue his premiership next month

Greenspan warns of more bank bail-outs

More banks and financial institutions could end up being bailed out by governments before the credit crisis is over, Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, warns in an article in Tuesday’s Financial Times

Northern Rock’s first half loss to hit £500m

Northern Rock is set to report first half losses of £500m ($981m, €630m) on Tuesday due to rising impairments in its mortgage book

The Financial Reporting Review Panel has published revised operating procedures

The Panel seeks a consensual response from companies with a view to improving the quality of corporate reporting, and the amendments to the operating procedures do not affect this

Scots bankruptcy numbers soar

The number of Scots being made bankrupt has reached an all time high in the second quarter of 2008, as a combination of a change in legislation coupled with the effects of the credit crunch take hold

Company sellers face tax ‘Catch 22’

A legal loophole used by hundreds of entrepreneurs to avoid paying a higher capital gains tax rate this year is set to be hit by the economic downturn

Call for tougher car taxes

The Treasury should make its new car tax regime tougher if it is to make consumers buy greener vehicles, MPs will say today in a provocative report. A revamped vehicle excuse duty (VED) comes into force in 2010 but is already controversial because it will punish those who bought polluting cars up to seven years ago

Business confidence drops in every UK region

Business confidence in the manufacturing sector fell in every UK region in the last quarter, according to a report released on Monday by the CBI and the credit reference agency Experian. The regional trends survey revealed that an anticipated weakening in manufacturing activity, combined with expectations of further rapid cost rises, had contributed to sharp falls in sentiment. In many cases the drops were the steepest since 2001

Former ICAS President Isobel Sharp appointed visiting professor by the University of Edinburgh

Isobel Sharp, President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 2007-2008, has been appointed as a Visiting Professor in the Business School and Economics department at the University of Edinburgh

More doom and gloom for industrialised world

From Britain to Japan, the world's wealthiest economies produced yet more evidence on Thursday that their fortunes are fading fast, and in parts furiously

Angela Eagle announces £80m boost for R&D tax credits

Tax credits to encourage small businesses to invest more in research and development will increase by £80m a year from 1 August, bringing the total tax relief available to around £300m a year, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle MP has announced

ICAS issues submission relating to confirmation rights

ICAS has submitted an application under Section 25 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 in relation to confirmation rights

BAS Publishes Conceptual Framework

As part of its project for developing a new structure for actuarial standards, the Board for Actuarial Standards has published its conceptual framework

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