This note has been developed in preparation for the Audit and Corporate Governance Reform Bill proposed by the new Labour administration in the 2024 King’s Speech.
Read More
This report analyses the financial situation at Birmingham City Council and the factors that led to the issuance of the section 114 notice in September 2023.
The UK’s audit industry has faced unprecedented criticism after high-profile corporate collapses.
The audit industry is plagued by poor performance. Auditors are failing to show independent judgement or professional scepticism.
This briefing responds to the recent section 114 (s114) notice at Birmingham City Council (BCC) in September 2023, described as the ‘effective bankruptcy’ of Europe’s largest authority.
There is a major public accountability crisis emerging at Birmingham City Council (BCC). The equal pay liability, which has led to the proposed fire sale of £500m worth of assets, has yet to be formally audited.
Between January 2021 and February 2022 thirty-one energy firms exited the energy market, affecting more than two million consumers.
A matter of days ago, this was all but confirmed as it transpired that this much needed overhaul would not be included in the King’s Speech which sets out the government’s reform priorities for 2023-24.
A recent review of the accounts of the ICAEW) revealed that it has received more than £104 million in fines paid by its members with regard to their deficient work since 2015.
It is almost a year since the UK government published its response to the White Paper on audit reform. The White Paper was itself a response to a number of corporate collapses where audits had been shown to be seriously deficient.