The Queen’s question about the credit crisis was wonderfully simple: “If these things were so big, why did no one see them coming?” The answer given by Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, in his recent interview is that many people did see the crisis coming, but no one knew when. The same […]

UK accounting standards are celebrating their 40th birthday: Statement of Standard Accounting Practice No.1 on associated companies was issued in 1971. The initiative was given a boost in 1973 following exposure of Robert Maxwell’s deceits at Pergamon Press. In a hotly contested takeover battle Pergamon’s share price was supported by accounts that included a wildly […]

We are approaching the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Enron. Have the lessons been learnt? Enron was the US energy giant that failed only 12 months after its share price rated it seventh largest corporation in America. A handful of tenacious journalists penetrated the miasma of filed data and revealed that the bulk of […]

The proliferation of quangos under the previous administration contributed hugely to the deficit that has all but crippled public finances in the UK. Funded out of taxes, they were launched without reference to any democratic process, often in the wake of pointless Whitehall requirements or EU directives. The rash of self-important job creation that gripped […]

Litigation warning – remember the cycle!  The pattern of litigation tends to be cyclical since it shadows the economic cycle. When there is general prosperity and businesses flourish there is still plenty of litigation (when is there not?) but its character reflects boom-time activity. Businesses buy other businesses and then claim that they overpaid. Although […]

Now we know: the booming economy was a huge Ponzi scheme Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi fraud is now legendary. Yet the fabric on which our entire credit explosion rested was just as illusory as Madoff’s investment fund. It existed in appearance only. The toxic financial instruments, so neatly packaged by investment houses before being […]

The EU has been at it again. Its Statutory Audit Directive requires auditors ceasing to hold office to give their successors access to all “relevant information” if the successors request it. This misguided dictum is being introduced as an amendment to our Companies Act 2006 and a new Audit Regulation is being drafted. “Relevant information” […]