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’Further further reading
The “Further further readings” post usually runs in the late afternoon US time, but in this case you can file it under “we forgot to hit publish”. Doh! Or consider it a Tokyo special. Either way, sorry about this.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- UK High street sales weakest for two years — report and statement.
- Antofagasta to pay special dividend of $1 a share — statement.
- Betfair maintains earnings guidance;
Madoff performance was “magic,” according to HSBC
Bejesus. The Madoff trustee complaint against HSBC makes for good reading.
For background: the court-appointed trustee for Madoff’s failed investment business is suing HSBC for $9bn — claiming, as in the JP Morgan case,
Jobs and the City…
Whether you’re an increasingly impecunious chief executive at a mid-ranked UK company, or one of the City’s increasingly flush “AVPs” (assistance vice-presidents), some – interestingly timed – reports on Monday are telling us a few things.
The expedited Audit
Accounting-geeks (like us) might remember that at the start of last year there was much discussion as to whether Britain’s big four auditing firms — PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG — would be able to sign off the 2008 end-of-year accounts of the country’s beleaguered banks.
A future ‘Big Three’?
Here’s where we currently stand in the overly consolidated world of international accountancy.
Firms ranked by revenues:
Price Waterhouse Coopers Lybrand Ross Montgomery
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
EMI – a (on)going concern? (updated)
Maltby Capital Limited, the vehicle Guy Hands used to acquire EMI for £4.2bn shortly before the credit markets collapsed a couple of years ago, has filed results and financial statements for the year to March 31,
Citi of questionable accounting and reserve provisioning
Citi has never been a paragon of accounting standards, so it’s with little surprise that we read the latest work from the oft-controversial Bloomberg columnist, Jonathan Weil.
Weil has been a vehement critic of Citi,
KPMG, PwC raided in Iceland probe
Police have raided the offices of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Reykjavik, seizing documents and computer data as part of a probe into alleged criminal activity at three collapsed Icelandic banks,
Merger pressure on UK building societies
Up to five UK building societies could be pushed into mergers over the next couple of years after reporting losses for 2008, according to KPMG’s Building Societies Database 2009 which is published on Monday.
KPMG rushes to sell Lehman property
The liquidators of Lehman Brothers’ Chinese property portfolio have moved swiftly to divest the bulk of the holdings amid concerns over the outlook for commercial real-estate values in Shanghai. KPMG revealed on Wednesday it had disposed of seven out of nine Chinese property-related loans and bonds,
JJB agrees unusual restructuring
JJB Sports has become the first listed UK company to be saved from administration by agreeing a debt restructuring with creditors using a rarely successful insolvency process. Creditors of JJB Sports overwhelmingly supported the revised payment scheme that uses a company voluntary arrangement,
KPMG sued for ‘negligent’ auditing
KPMG is being sued for $1bn by the liquidators of New Century, the subprime lender that collapsed in April 2007, in the first big case against an auditor arising from the current financial crisis. In a court filing on Wednesday,
FSA – new statement on HBOS
Yet another statement from the FSA – this time with quite a bit more detail of the FSA/KPMG investigation into the allegations raised by Paul Moore – the former HBOS head of risk.
_________
KPMG to FSA: Yours!
Earlier the FSA passed the Paul Moore whistle-blowing buck over to KPMG. And now, KPMG are passing it back.
Statement below just received from the firm:
KPMG can confirm that in 2005 it investigated allegations made by Paul Moore to HBOS and the Financial Services Authority regarding certain aspects of the internal risk function at the bank.
FSA: s’ok, KPMG said HBOS was fine
Shame on KPMG.
Statement from the FSA, emphasis ours:
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) can confirm that specific allegations made by Paul Moore in December 2004 regarding the regulatory risk function at HBOS were fully investigated by KPMG,
Lehman’s HK affairs under scrutiny
Creditors of Lehman Brothers’ Hong Kong operations will get their first chance to cross-examine the liquidators of the entities this week, as they seek to reclaim billions of dollars. KPMG, the court-appointed provisional liquidator,
Accounting firms drawn into Madoff scandal
Top accounting firms were hoodwinked by Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn fraud as well as several top banks and some of the world’s biggest hedge fund investors, according to lists of service providers to Madoff-linked funds.
Lehman’s Asia risk revealed
Lehman Brothers built up a huge balance sheet exposure to Asian property in the form of loans and investments worth billions of dollars, KPMG, the liquidator of the Hong Kong subsidiaries of the collapsed bank,
BCE warns buy-out in jeopardy
The proposed C$34.8bn ($28.1bn) buy-out of Montreal-based BCE, set to be one of the world’s biggest private equity deals, is in jeopardy after outside auditors warned that the resulting debt burden could threaten the telecoms group’s solvency.
When LBOs cause technical insolvency. Hypothetically.
Who remembers the heady days of private equity in 2007? Does BCE ring a bell? The Canadian telecoms firm was one of a series of high-profile LBO deals which surfaced in the months before the credit crunch struck.
UK report suggests analysts ‘in denial’
Analysts forecast that some of the UK’s biggest companies will generate more than £301bn of extra cash in the next two years, suggesting that many in the City of London are in denial about the impact of the credit crunch on earnings,
M&As fall on low appetite
The global deal environment is set to deteriorate over the next 12 months as the grim economic outlook erodes the confidence of companies and their balance sheets weaken, KPMG has warned. The Global M&A Predictor – KPMG’s index that looks at 1,000 companies and the ratio of their share price to earnings – is forecasting a decrease in both appetite and capacity of companies to make deals.
Undertaker on standby – KPMG will administer Northern Rock, if required
It’s only a precaution, we’re told, just in case an alternative solution proves elusive, but KPMG has been lined up to act as administrator to Northern Rock, FT Alphaville understands.
Potential bidders are still said to be crunching their numbers on the wrecked mortgage bank,
Not so green after all
The SRI bandwagon may have hit a stumbling block. While reams of research are being pumped out dedicated to the win-win nature of socially responsible investing, and new funds for ‘green’ investing hit the streets each week,
KPMG sees pace of M&A cooling
The current M&A frenzy is about to peak as the number of new deals slows, KPMG has warned. While several large LBO financings have been put on ice due to turmoil in credit markets, KPMG said rising valuations are proving a headwind for other deals,
UK’s football league calls foul on Leeds
The Football League is refusing to sanction the resale of Leeds United to Ken Bates, the football club’s chairman, and has launched an inquiry into the handling of the club’s affairs by KPMG, its administrator.
UK corporate pension liabilities rise by £30bn
UK private sector companies have added about £30bn to their pension liabilities in the past two years just by recognising the longer life expectancies of members, £25bn of which was added within the past year,
Walker assembles high-flying private equity working group
Sir David Walker has named an 11-member team, including Lady Hogg, 3i chairman, and Lord Hollick, the former United Business Media chief executive, for his working party on the private equity industry.