The U.K. Financial Reporting Council has singled out audit firms Grant Thornton and Mazars as needing to significantly improve audit quality in the wake of recent inspection findings.
Europe
Posted inEurope
Study questions effectiveness of U.K. management oversight regime
The U.K.’s financial services regulator is still failing to hold individuals accountable four years after introducing a program to improve oversight and enforcement, according to a new study.
Posted inEurope
U.K.’s SFO lays out expectations in new DPA guidance
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office has published its latest internal guidance on the threshold companies must meet before they are offered a deferred prosecution agreement.
Posted inEurope
Experian to appeal ICO enforcement notice over data protection failures
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office issued an enforcement notice against Experian, ordering the credit reference agency to make “fundamental changes” to how it handles personal data related to its direct marketing services.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
FRC pushes for clarity on audit’s role in finding fraud
The proposed changes reflect regulatory fears that U.K. companies will be tempted to hide the scale of their financial losses as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to dent balance sheets.
Posted inEurope
Anatomy of a 90% fine reduction: How BA saved $200M on GDPR penalty
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office agreed to slash its intended GDPR fine for British Airways from £183.39 million (U.S. $230 million) to just £20 million (U.S. $26 million). What was behind the massive reduction?
Posted inEurope
Corrective action could trump fines as GDPR evolves
Experts discuss whether EU data protection authorities would be better served using corrective actions other than eye-watering fines to encourage companies to commit to best (and legal) GDPR practices.
Posted inEurope
Deutsche Bank fined $15.9M for lag in reporting suspicious transactions
A German public prosecutor levied a €13.5 million (U.S. $15.9 million) fine against Deutsche Bank for failing to report over 600 suspicious transactions in a timely manner but dropped a wider investigation related to the Danske Bank money laundering scandal.
Posted inEurope
How Danske is cleaning up after a €200B money laundering scandal
It is not clear what action Danske Bank will take on the back of its investigation into Europe’s biggest-ever money laundering scandal, but it is a safe bet to think further improving compliance will be on the list.
Posted inEurope
FINMA orders Banca Credinvest to improve AML measures
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority found Banca Credinvest “seriously breached” anti-money laundering regulations with regard to dealings with PDVSA in Venezuela.
