Search Results for: accountancy

BY PHILIP FINE

ARTHUR Andersen LLP has all but shut its doors, after the former accountancy powerhouse relinquished its licence to practice auditing in every American state. The US member firm of Andersen Worldwide, which was once the fifth largest auditing firm in the country, told the US Securities and Exchange Commission it would cease auditing public companies.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission will this month decide whether to start launching inquiries into the piecemeal dismantling of the falling Andersen empire. Competition spokeswoman Amelia Torres told Accountancy Age that Brussels had now been officially informed of the proposed acquisition by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu of Andersen UK and had until July 1 to say whether the deal should be cleared or “whether we need to take a closer look at it.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IN September 1901 the legendary American tycoon James Buchanan “Buck” Duke entered the office of the Player brothers’ cigarette firm in Nottingham with the unforgettable words: “Hello boys, I’m Duke from New York, come to buy your business.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is “continuously monitoring” developments involving the accountancy firm Andersen following the collapse of the proposed merger between the firm’s non-American operations and those of KPMG, officials have told Accountancy Age.

Brussels is concerned about the implications if Andersen’s practices are picked up piecemeal by local or international firms; if parts of Andersen were sold off to other major accountancy

firms on a local basis this “could justify an inquiry” but each case would be judged on its own merits, the official said.…

Keith Nuthall
PROPOSALS that could streamline applications by foreign accountants to work in Britain must take account of their need to have sufficient English skills and knowledge of local taxes and law, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has said.

Director Mike Walsh told Accountancy Age said that proposals from the European Commission on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications needed careful scrutiny, so that standards are protected.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission today told Accountancy Age that it is “fairly certain” to investigate the proposed merger between Andersen’s non-US operations and KPMG and warned that its competition authority could well insist that the accounting giants sell off some of their European operations as a condition of clearing the deal.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice has ruled that the Netherlands, and by precedent other Member States, has the right to prevent lawyers entering into multi-disciplinary partnerships with accountants, even though it accepts that this may restrict competition in legal services.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission is drawing up detailed guidelines informing its staff when they can talk to the media and the public, without breaching their contracts, following criticism from the European Ombudsman Jacob Söderman that existing rules were “insufficiently clear.”…

Keith Nuthall
DETAILS of the European Commission’s plans to reduce the contrasts between tax regimes in EU Member States have been released, with Brussels publishing its policy paper “Towards an Internal Market without Tax Obstacles.”

As predicted in Accountancy Age, the Commission is aiming in the long term for the creation of a consolidated tax base for businesses operating across the EU, with the report highlighting the 30 per cent variations in national company tax rates.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is preparing a potentially groundbreaking initiative to overcome the problems created by the existence of 15 different tax systems throughout the European Union, which could involve setting a harmonised EU corporation tax. In a report due to be released shortly, obtained by Accountancy Age, the Commission says differing tax national systems have caused losses in economic efficiency, generated compliance costs and contributed to a lack of transparency.…