The quality of corporate governance at Indian public companies is under the spotlight after nearly half the board of Satyam, one of India’s largest IT groups, resigned. The directors quit after Satyam scrapped a controversial move to buy two struggling construction businesses controlled by its founder and chairman. Satyam first angered investors in mid-December when […]
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Posted inAccounting & Auditing
UK Audit Board Offers Going Concern Guidance
Britain’s Auditing Practices Board has published guidance to help directors decide whether their business remains a going concern, given the tough economic climate. The Board, which is part of the Financial Reporting Council, said uncertainty about bank lending intentions, the effect of recession on the company’s business, and the extent to which customers and suppliers […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
IASB Moves to Fix Rushed Reclassification Ruling
Act in haste, repent at leisure: The International Accounting Standards Board has announced plans to fix a problem with an amendment to financial instrument reclassification rules that it rushed through in October. Acting under intense pressure from European politicians—pressure that almost made IASB Chairman Sir Davie Tweedie resign—in October the Board suspended its normal process […]
Posted inEurope
Europe Extends IFRS Opt-Out for U.S. and Others
The European Commission has extended a ruling that permits companies from the United States and five other countries to file accounts under their own national GAAPs, rather than having to use International Financial Reporting Standards, which are mandatory for European public companies. When the trading bloc made IFRS reporting mandatory for companies listed on any […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
UK Regulator Criticizes Audit Quality
The UK’s independent audit regulator has criticized the quality of the audit work done by the Big Four accounting firms. The Audit Inspection Unit, part of the Financial Reporting Council, published its first “name and shame” reports on the quality of work done by the large audit firms recently. In the past, the AIU gave […]
Posted inEurope
Europe Needs Better Non-financial Reporting
European companies need to improve their reporting of non-financial information, according to the umbrella group that represents Europe’s national accountancy bodies. Brussels-based FEE (the Fédération des Experts comptables Européens) said reporting on issues such as sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility met the letter of recently introduced European legal requirements, but not necessarily their spirit. A […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
VC Backing Raises Governance Standards at IPOs
Companies that have venture capital (VC) funding before they make an Initial Public Offering of shares have better corporate governance than those without VC support, according to new research from Australia. The boards of VC-backed companies joining the Australian Stock Exchange (ASE) had a higher percentage of independent directors, and those directors were deemed more […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
FSA: No Combined Code for Foreign Cos.
The Financial Services Authority has scrapped a proposal that would have made the Combined Code on Corporate Governance apply to many foreign companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Under a set of proposals published in January—aimed at making London’s complex listing categories easier to understand—the FSA suggested that foreign companies in its proposed premium […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
BNP Paribas Accused of “Inappropriate” Behavior
A Japanese subsidiary of French bank BNP Paribas has serious problems with its standards of internal control and compliance, according to an independent report investigating a controversial deal. The bank commissioned the report from an outside committee after a fundraising deal it underwrote caused uproar. The report said the bank’s behavior constituted a breach of […]
Posted inTechnology
ISO Reviews IT Governance
The International Standards Organization (ISO) has started a project to develop and harmonize its standards on corporate governance relating to Information Technology. One of its key aims is to make sure that a standard it issued on IT governance earlier this year is kept up to date. ISO/IEC 38500, released in June, provides broad guidance […]
