Category: Articles

Charity Finance Group, the Institute of Fundraising and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), have released a new survey to find out how the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is working.

Sterling and euro strength over the past year has exposed companies – particularly European ones – to swings of up to 20% against some of the currencies most affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations over the last year, and companies have literally paid the price.

Lack of cultural integration process and planning as well as top talent flight are key people-related M&A concerns for senior business leaders the world over, according to a recent survey by financial services company Mercer.

Rio Tinto has appointed Alfredo Barrios as chief executive of its aluminium business. He will succeed Jacynthe Cote who will leave the business for personal reasons to pursue other interests.

Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, has announced the election of three new members to the company's board of directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders, held in Toronto.

The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) has been exuberant as uncertainties over the US “fiscal cliff” and eurozone debt crisis have diminished and corporate confidence returns, according to a strategist at private bank Coutts.

The unit-linked guarantee market is set to nearly treble to £4 billion a year by the end of 2015 as the Budget reforms highlight the continuing need for certainty on capital and income, insurance firm MetLife believes.

UK small businesses could be inadvertently damaging their growth prospects by paying accountants who aren't even qualified, warns the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

The level of pay awards across the whole economy has fallen in April 2014, according to the latest findings from pay analysts XpertHR.

Increased income tax revenues and a phenomenal rise in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts have boosted an overall tax take in the last twelve months, which is £21 billion (4.47%) higher than in the year preceding say London chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg LLP.

Capgemini, one of the world's foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has announced that Capgemini America Inc., its North American subsidiary, has been selected by NBCUniversal International (NBCUI), the international arm of one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, to deliver business process outsourcing (BPO) services to help standardise and optimise its finance and accounting operations.

Venture capital funding for the Life Sciences sector, which includes Biotechnology and Medical Devices, increased 15% in value during the first quarter of 2014, compared to first quarter of 2013, according to a new PwC US report.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has emerged as the wealthiest actor on the Hollywood and Bollywood Rich List compiled by ultra high net worth intelligence and prospecting firm Wealth-X.

Well services contractors operating in UK waters reported strong demand for their services according to figures in the 2014 Oil & Gas UK Well Services Contractors Report.

UK Financial Services companies are still struggling to comply with The Financial Conduct Authority regulations which require them to record mobile phone conversations, a new report from analyst firm Ovum has found.

London has for the first time posted the highest score among the 30 cities studied by PwC US in the sixth edition of its Cities of Opportunity report.

Unilever has announced that it has purchased, for a consideration of £715m, the rights left in family trusts by William Hesketh Lever which are convertible in 2038 into 70,875,000 Unilever PLC ordinary shares.

A rising level of threats to business, and increasing numbers of regulatory requirements, are combining to ensure in-house general counsel are no longer focused solely on company legal matters.

AstraZeneca, the UK drugs company, has rejected a "final" takeover offer from US drugs firm Pfizer.

Sterling has taken a hit after Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney reiterated the message of no interest rate rises for some time, despite a rapid decline in unemployment and fast-rising house prices, says Mark McFarland, chief economist at private bank Coutts.

There are clear business benefits to supporting employee health and wellbeing, says a new CBI and Medicash report.

Greece could save its businesses hundreds of millions of euros a year and improve their competitiveness by reducing administrative burdens, according to a new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.

Fujitsu today announced it has appointed Michael Keegan as Head of its £1.8 billion business in the UK and Ireland.

Statistics show that one in five adverts from consumer credit firms, for products including payday loans, fell short of the FCA's financial promotion expectations.

Global manufacturing executives rank the UK as one of the top destinations for future sales growth, level with China and ahead of established manufacturing economies such as Germany.

There has been a step change in the tax disclosures made by the UK's largest listed companies, a new PwC report published today shows.

Statistics in the 2014 UK Offshore Workforce Demographics Report published by Oil & Gas UK reveal the total number of people travelling offshore has increased by 8.6% compared to 2012

Global professional services company Towers Watson has announced the launch of a simplified global benefit solution designed for the multinational marketplace.

Law firm Charles Russell LLP has appointed Ashley Freeman to head up the Islamic Finance practice in the firm’s Financial Services team.

More than four out of five (81%) companies surveyed expect already heightened tax risks to accelerate in the next two years, according to a new global report by EY.

In addition to souring relations between Russia, Europe and the United States, further escalation of Russia's engagement in Ukraine could cost Russia more than 3 percent in GDP in real terms.

The world's 75 largest luxury goods companies generated luxury goods sales of £102 billion through the end of last fiscal year, according to a new report.

Chartered Institute of Taxation believes that HMRC's plans to extend capital gains tax to non-residents in certain circumstances may have a significant impact on UK residents with more than one property.

Pricewaterhousecoopers has warned that plans outlined in the Budget for new HMRC powers to settle unpaid demands by taking money from people's bank accounts could have grave consequences for businesses and individuals if errors in the process occur, and undermine the principle of independent taxation.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has upgraded its forecast for GDP growth as the recovery continues to take hold. But it warns politicians of all shades to put incentivising business investment ahead of short-term electioneering.

After growing only very marginally in 2012, growth accelerated rapidly, and is now running at around 3% year-on-year. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) forecasts GDP growth of 2.9% this year, an upward revision of 0.4 percentage points on its forecast published just three months ago.