Reforms won’t work
I just don’t see how the diluted audit reforms unveiled by the government will prevent another Carillion. Even the Financial Reporting Council think it is a missed opportunity. The reforms also can’t “restore trust in big business”, it’s just not that simple. One of the measures is to take away the bonuses of directors who lie about their finances, but again I just don’t see that ever happening. I did, however, notice you didn’t have any reaction to the news from any of the Big 4. So I went in search of it! PwC gave some bland comment about “it’s good to see progress on a package of legislative reforms to improve
standards”. PwC’s Hemione Hudson said the firm has long maintained that holistic reform will deliver the best outcome and ensure the UK remains a leading
place to do business. I’m not sure how holistic the final reforms are. The CEO at KPMG, Jon Holt, is a bit more bold – saying there are “some areas where we had hoped to see this package go further”. He felt that the decision not to include a UK version of Sarbanes-Oxley in primary legislation leaves corporate Britain with no clearly defined framework for internal controls, and risks a ‘pick’n’mix’ approach to reporting and measurement. He added: “It will result in investors and stakeholders receiving inconsistent information across different companies unless ARGA provides clear guidance going forward.” Name and email address supplied
Our star letter writer wins a fantastic ‘I love PQ’ mug! Speaking in tongues
I loved James Perry’s hacks in your social media round-up last month. In particular Hack #3, which said you should speak out loud while studying instead of simply reading. It is something I have always done and got a lot of stick from anyone I was living with at the time! James said: “You will be surprised how much more you can remember when you’ve said it out loud.” Well, I’m not but it isn’t a study tip I’ve ever read before and makes me feel so much better! Name and email address supplied The Editor says: We agree, and we will be highlighting some more in next month’s issue, so watch this space, as they say.
Sticking with the old
Why is the AAT still allowing people to register for the old AQ2016 assessments until the end of August? It means some PQs will be sitting a 2016 syllabus (which was old then) in September 2023 – seven years after it was introduced. Surely AAT should be encouraging students to sit the more relevant 2022 syllabus? It is great to almost see the end of the synpotic – but I see it still hiding there in level 2. I noticed too that AAT is
removing the annual subscription fee from 1 September. Instead, we’ll pay a one-off registration fee per qualification. You still, of course, have to pay for exams. I was wondering if this will have a dramatic effect on AAT finances. I
Last month we went on social media and asked whether the accountancy pass rates would rise in the UK because of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The extra holiday gave students two extra days on top of the weekend to get exam focused. “It was a one-off event that could see more students just getting enough to push them over the pass line,” explained one tutor. As Livia explained: “Only if ahem the students actually used the extra days available to them for studying.” Nadia said she “worked the two days”, and Jo-Anne admitted she “studied for the two-days and it was awful not being able to enjoy the time off. Hope it’s reflected in my results.” In another thread on the UK (only) ACCA Distance Learning Students group Emma asked: “Any tips for AA? It’s so dull, I can’t take anything in. My mind wanders.” A fellow PQ agreed “it is so dull and boring”. They decided to skim though the books and do all the exam questions they could get their hands on. Top tutor Erin Morton said you need to break up the reading with questions and get onto exam standard questions as early as you can – adding “it can be fun… I promise.” Ophelia suggested AmandaLovesToAudit YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ytbu7kkf (below).
expect that will be answers in the annual report. Name and email address supplied The Editor says: We are meeting the new CEO Sarah Beale in the next month or so and will take these thoughts to her.
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