Blogs - Talk Accountancy - ICAEW Blogs and Discussions

Start-up survival & the role of chartered accountants

Iain Wright on how accountants are essential to entrepreneurialism, business survival and growth You might be reading this lying on a beach somewhere (in which case, what on earth are you doing?!) or attempting some distraction tactics for the thousa...

15 Aug 2019

What one piece of advice would you give to your 40 year old self?

Megan Fitzpatrick

Recently, I recalled a conversation with my father-in-law after hitting my 40th birthday. Now well into his retirement after a career in the telecoms industry, I asked him: “If you could go back in time and talk to your 40-year-old self, what o...

13 Aug 2019

Would you blind recruit your next accountant?

Megan Fitzpatrick

With increased focus on building a diverse workforce, LSCA Business Board member Vincenzo Leporiere asks whether blind recruitment techniques can play an important role in inclusive talent selection In recent years we have seen a number of companie...

8 Aug 2019

Audits of less complex entities

Alexander Russell

IAASB has issued a Discussion Paper (DP) Audits of Less Complex Entities: Exploring Possible Options to Address the Challenges in Applying the ISAs in which it is seeking views on the possibility of developing a separate auditing standard for less co...

2 Aug 2019

Boris’ travels and the “left behind towns”

Business and Industrial Strategy Team

The cycle of underinvestment and deprivation must stop Last week, the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson gave his first speech from the rose garden of No.10. Cash giveaways are of course a feature of any new administration, with the usual suspects, th...

2 Aug 2019

Sharia divorce, executive pay and workplace barriers: this month's news in London Accountant

Megan Fitzpatrick

The August edition of London Accountant has now been published. These are just some of the topics we cover: Tax questions raised as Sharia couple separate: A London Tax Discussion Group recently considered the separation of a Muslim couple, who ente...

1 Aug 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - UK energy use

Martin Wheatcroft

While all eyes were on political events in Westminster last week, BEIS (the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) published its annual analysis of energy consumption. As illustrated by the #ICAEWchartoftheweek, 2,325 terawa...

29 Jul 2019

Executive pay – time for a new approach?

Business and Industrial Strategy Team

2019 is a key year in the UK executive pay landscape, as many companies are preparing new remuneration policies for a binding shareholder vote in 2020. On 3 July, ICAEW and Hermes convened a senior panel of remuneration committee chairs, invest...

26 Jul 2019

Fiscal risks report

Martin Wheatcroft

Last week, the OBR published their second fiscal risks report - 294 pages of detailed economic analysis on risks to the UK public finances. I am assuming that you will have read it all by now, but on the off-chance you haven't, can I point you to th...

25 Jul 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - Q1 deficit

Martin Wheatcroft

The fiscal deficit for the first quarter of 2019-20 was £17.9bn*, £4.5bn more than the same period last year. As illustrated by the #ICAEWchartoftheweek, this was £7.2bn more than an adjusted baseline of £10.7bn, ta...

22 Jul 2019

Why do chartered accountants start their own practice?

Dale Archer

Our Practice Member Engagement Manager, Sam Brown shares why chartered accountants start their own practice ... http://bit.ly/2Y0bS74

18 Jul 2019

Preparing for ISA 540 (Revised) Auditing accounting estimates and related disclosures

Louise Sharp

Accounting estimates are increasingly common in financial statements and by their very nature are not always easy to audit. Audit inspection findings frequently identify the audit of estimates as an area that requires improvement. This is often becau...

16 Jul 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - Yield curves

Martin Wheatcroft

The news that investors are running out of German Bunds prompted us to take a look at government bonds for the #ICAEWchartoftheweek. The shortage is so severe that investors are willing to pay an annualised rate of 0.71% for the privilege of owning ...

15 Jul 2019

Inspect the results: audit monitoring 2019

Sarah Gammon

This year’s audit monitoring report shows that a significant majority of audit monitoring reviews show positive outcomes; but we are not complacent. Looking back at the results of the last 12 months of audit monitoring reviews, our quality assu...

10 Jul 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - BBC

Martin Wheatcroft

The BBC released its Annual Report and Accounts last week, but you might have been forgiven for thinking that its financial results had been omitted given the media focus on the sections devoted to staff pay. We thought we might buck that trend and ...

8 Jul 2019

Key lessons in regional SME funding

Business and Industrial Strategy Team

By Jon Scopes- ICAEW Manchester and Finance Business Partner The success of the SME sector is fundamental to the economy and the ease of access to funding for growth is a key component in driving that success. The introduction of regional programmes ...

5 Jul 2019

New sanctioning powers for Practice Assurance Committee

Sarah Gammon

The Practice Assurance Committee can now offer penalties for less serious compliance breaches and conduct issues identified during Practice Assurance reviews. The penalties will only be applied with the consent of the member or firm. This new...

2 Jul 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - Department for Work & Pensions

Martin Wheatcroft

The Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) published its latest Annual Report & Accounts last week, reporting that it spent £188bn in the year ended 31 March 2019 - just under a quarter of all government spending. As illustrated by the #I...

1 Jul 2019

Preparing for a 2019 monitoring review?

Sarah Gammon

Watch our latest webinar for guidance on current areas of focus: payroll, conflicts of interest and whistleblowing for useful guidance on preparing for your firm's 2019 monitoring review. Payroll: The nature of the services you provide, how you ...

26 Jun 2019

Climate change reform ramps up

Business and Industrial Strategy Team

ICAEW wants to hear your thoughts If you would like to submit comments on ULEZ or the decarbonisation consultation, please contact Rachel on Rachel.Underhill@icaew.com by 19 July. The urgent need to address the negative impact of climate change is h...

26 Jun 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - Deficit revised for student loans

Martin Wheatcroft

The treatment of student loans in the fiscal numbers has long been controversial, but on Friday the ONS announced that they are finally changing to an approach that better reflects the economics. This means that expected non-payments will now b...

24 Jun 2019

Delays to the Granting of Probate

Jane Berney

We have been hearing reports that members are facing increasing delays in obtaining the grant of probate for their clients. We are meeting HMCTS next week so would so grateful for any evidence of the delays experienced and the problems/ hardships cau...

20 Jun 2019

Meet your Business & Industrial Strategy team

Business and Industrial Strategy Team

ICAEW’s new Business & Industrial Strategy team has been established to ensure that the knowledge, expertise and insight of ICAEW members in business are heard. There are more than over 60,000 of our members working in and running businesse...

18 Jun 2019

ICAEW chart of the week - Transport for London

Martin Wheatcroft

Transport for London (TfL) operates one of the largest urban transport networks in the world, as well as being responsible for the strategic road network in the capital. TfL is a major investor in transport infrastructure in the UK, with the £...

17 Jun 2019

Monitoring advice for firms from ICAEW’s Quality Assurance team

Sarah Gammon

To help firms prepare for their next monitoring reviews, ICAEW’s Quality Assurance team has published three new reports: Practice Assurance Monitoring 2019 Insolvency Monitoring 2019 Audit Monitoring 2019 The reports look back at the last 12 ...

14 Jun 2019