Financial firms that fall foul of the U.K’s lead regulator face a three-fold increase in fines under its plan to get tougher with wrongdoers. The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which said recently it wanted firms to be more frightened by its enforcement powers, said its proposed new penalty regime reflected its determination to change behavior. […]
Europe
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
EU Members Sued for Lack of Audit Reform
The European Commission has started legal action against four of its member states for failing to implement a directive aimed at bolstering the quality of auditing and accounting in the trading bloc. The four countries in the firing line are Austria, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. The Commission said in a statement that they had failed […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Tweedie Defends Speed of IFRS Reforms
International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie has defended the organization’s response to the financial crisis in front of a meeting of European ministers in Luxembourg. Tweedie told European Union finance ministers that he “took very seriously” their concerns about “the pace and substance” of IASB’s accounting standards reform. And he conceded that the […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Europe Speeds Up Financial Regulation Reform Plan
The European Commission has accelerated plans to create a new regulatory framework for financial services firms. Announcing more detail on the trading bloc’s plans and a timetable for the needed legal changes, Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said he wanted it up and running next year, not 2012 as originally proposed. The Commission’s plan is […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
IASB Boosts User Voice
Two leading investment analysts have joined the International Accounting Standards Board. The move is a response to critics who claim theoretical accountants dominate the board, meaning users’ views are drowned out. The new members are Patrick Finnegan, an accounting expert at the CFA Institute, an association representing investment managers, and Patricia McConnell, until recently an […]
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Europe Rules Out “No Comment” on Leaks
European companies could find it harder to deflect media reports and market rumors with a blanket “no comment” under new guidance from securities regulators. If a publication or rumor is so specific that it looks like inside information has leaked, “a policy of staying silent or of ‘no comment’ by the issuer would not be […]
Posted inEurope
European Commission Gets Tougher on Executive Pay
The European Commission has unveiled a tougher approach to executive pay and said it will issue draft laws that will allow regulators to intervene in financial sector pay awards. The Commission’s last guidance on executive remuneration, issued in 2004, was widely ignored, but Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy insisted these two new missives would make […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
G20 Told to Leave IASB Alone
The International Accounting Standards Board must be allowed to focus its efforts on a fundamental rewrite of its rules on financial assets and should not be forced to respond to every short-term policy shift announced by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, according to a body created to advise both boards. The Financial Crisis Advisory […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Investors Target Governance at Belgian Bank
A group of public sector U.K. pension funds has called for a shareholder rebellion over poor governance practices at Belgian banking and life assurance group KBC. The move is part of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum’s plan to take a tougher stance on governance issues at international companies. The forum, whose 49 member funds […]
Posted inEurope
Euro Governance Forum Wants Better Pay Disclosure
A new executive pay code published by a European Commission advisory body would require companies to disclose more information about directors’ pay. The move follows a growing row about levels of pay and “rewards for failure” across Europe. The European Corporate Governance Forum, which published the code, wants legislation to force companies to reveal their […]
