Friday 4 October 2019
IFRS 17 requires further amendments according to WTW
In response to amendments made to the IFRS 17 standard by the International Accounting Standards Board, global insurance and reinsurance broker Willis Towers Watson, have highlighted a number of areas which require improvement.
Managing director and global IFRS lead, Serhat Guven said ‘We commend the IASB for reopening and updating the Standard to address key concerns brought forward by those impacted by the Standard.”
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Metro founder resigns after accounting blunder
The founder of Metro bank has resigned after a huge accounting blunder put the bank in serious trouble. Vernon Hill, who previously said “he would probably die” before stepping down, will leave the board by the end of the year.
The bank, who are still dealing with the fallout from the misclassification of £900m worth of loans, found shares jumped by more than a quarter on Wednesday following the news of Mr. Hill stepping down and investors backing a new fundraising effort.
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“Accounting slight of hand” may have masked issues with Thomas Cook
The Accountancy regulator, The Financial Reporting Council, are considering investigating an “accounting slight of hand” at Thomas Cook which may have masked problems with their business model. The probe would pay particular attention to the way Thomas Cook valued its assets and classified losses as one offs.
Professor of Accounting at Warwick business school, Jo Horton said “Thomas Cook made two fatal mistakes. First it paid too much for MyTravel and expected more synergies than it actually got. The second was buying Co-op Travel and its store in 2016 at a time when everybody is buying online.”
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Corporate failures cause FRC to tighten accounting standards
The collapse of several corporate businesses including Patisserie Valerie and Carillion have caused the Financial Reporting Council to tighten up existing accounting standards. The FRC has issued a revised going concern standard, meaning UK auditors will follow “significantly stronger requirements” than those currently used at international level.
The watchdog has already held discussions with regulators in Japan, Australia and Canada and is hoping other countries around the world will follow suit.
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