The columnists

ROBERT BRUCE

The international audit tower of Babel

The great Wirecard scandal looks set to run and run. The German payments group went down in June with some

€1.9 billion in cash unaccounted for.

Not an amount that you or I would have found easy to mislay.

Auditors had, allegedly, not checked the cash at bank. Since then collapse, chaos and mayhem have ensued. Senior figures are being pursued by Interpol, have vanished or are already in police custody.

Business schools everywhere will be sharpening up their analysis as they build a classic case study of failed governance and internal failures to spot the burgeoning fraud that will serve them well in lecture halls. It has all the hallmarks of a classic. Mysterious entities in offshore haunts. Management not knowing what colleagues overseas were up to. Business fundamentals ignored. Whistleblowers’ suspicions falling on deaf ears. And, in the great tradition, auditors are finding that the fingers of anyone wanting to deflect blame are pointing at them.

Who knows what truth may come out of the investigations only just getting under way? But we are likely to find that, as has happened in such scandals over the years, auditors in one culture work under different pressures and expectations than another. The structures of their international networks tend to fall apart under scrutiny. And onlookers pretend that they should be acting as a quasi-supervisory board to ensure proper governance rather than as sceptical outsiders. It will be a mess all round.

Robert Bruce is an award-winning writer on accountancy for The Times

In brief

Learn smarter, pass faster

CIMA has reminded students of the six study techniques, produced by Kaplan, that will help you learn smarter and pass faster: 1) Revisit what you have studied –it will help retrieval and storage strength. It helps if you space your practice, rather than cram. 2) Study different subjects as opposed to studying one topic – it’s called interleaving. 3) Practise your retrieval skills – the process of reflecting back is very powerful. EY has welcomed 1,048 graduates and apprentices in the UK this year, reinforcing its commitment to invest in and nurture young talent. This compares with 1,011 graduates and apprentices hired in 2019.

Some 854 graduates and 194 apprentices have joined 14 EY offices. Edinburgh, Hull, Luton, Reading and Southampton have seen particularly strong intakes on last year.

In line with EY’s commitment to recruit a diverse pool of talent, some 43% of recruits were female (up on 39% in 2019); 41% are from an ethic minority (up from 38%); and 3% are black.

Hywel Ball, EY UK Chair, said: “I’m proud that we’ve maintained had been put back until 30 until at least 31 December 2020.

This follows recent announcements about Covid-19 and will ensure that AAT is able to maintain the health and safety of all its members and partners.

AAT’s Andrew Williamson, said: “We’ll continue to deliver new updates, insights, learning and support through our wide range of online events.”

The Future Finance conference, 4) You need to keep adding something new to what you already know. 5) Concrete examples make it easier to understand, remember and visualise. 6) Use dual coding – use visual information and texts together. But remember replacing a word with a picture is not the same. • See https://tinyurl.com/y6jdursd

Unis under cyber attack

UK colleges and universities are suffering from unprecedented for example, was transformed into two days of digital learning, including live Q&As, exclusive sponsor discounts and offers, and a was all free. Williamson said that ransomware attacks, as students return to campuses. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, said there has been a spike in attacks over the summer months. Newcastle University was one of the recent victims of a ransomware attack, which impacted services across the whole university. Other attacks have hit Northumbria University, Leeds City College and Bolton Sixth Form College. The NCSC’s Paul Chichester called the attacks “reprehensible”.

EY reaffirms faith in younger talent

our commitment to student recruitment this year, despite Covid-19, and that we’ve honoured all the conditional offers we made prior to A-level results. At a time when many young people are facing a challenging labour market, our apprenticeship, graduate and internship programmes provide students and school leavers with a great opportunity to gain real hands-on experience, while also enhancing their skills and gaining a

AAT bans face-to-face events until 2021

AAT face-to-face events – which September – have been cancelled

wealth of practical advice – and it qualification.”

the event attracted 2,500 unique member registrations, an increase of 509% on the number the faceto-face conference attracts. AAT also achieved a rating of 8.5/10 for

ACCA mentoring scheme goes global

ACCA is launching a global rollout members across ACCA’s global education, Reza Ali, said: “ACCA is of its mentoring programme, network. really excited about this new connecting members and affiliates. • Achieve personal and mentoring programme, connecting This follows a successful pilot in development goals. our global family. Supporting our six markets. • Gain valuable insights and fresh members and future members to

Whether you are considering perspectives. succeed is at the heart of what we becoming a mentor or a mentee, • Build confidence and enhance do.” ACCA says there are many benefits skills. ACCA members and affiliates can to joining the scheme, including: • Support a culture of inclusion. find out more on the website at • Connect with members and future ACCA’s director of professional https://tinyurl.com/y4rus88v

the event overall from attendees.

AA AB gets a new name

The Accountant in Business (AB)/Foundations in Accountant and Business exam is changing its name to Business and Technology (BT)/Foundations in Business and Technology later this month. Technology has always been a key element in this exam, but ACCA wants the name to ‘better reflect’ the existing exam syllabus, and believes it shows the exam’s forward-looking focus. The only downside PQ can see is the fact ACCA no longer has a ‘Fab’ exam!