Bark! The herald watchdogs sing
Earlier in the year, Board Agenda reported that watchdogs would be examining the possibility of cheating in accountancy exams, after scandals broke out elsewhere in the world. And what happened when they lifted the lid? They found cheating.
“The issues raised by exam cheating therefore remain live and the FRC’s consideration of them, and any further regulatory action needed in response to them, is ongoing,” writes the FRC. It adds that it has not unearthed systemic problems, but “issues that require improvement”.
Which will come as good news to audit committee chairs, no doubt.
Ding dong, merrily on high
Some people just get everything they want for Christmas. Like two top jobs at once. That doesn’t fill everyone with seasonal joy, however. The FT reports that investors have complained about Oliver Blume holding the steering wheel as chief executive at Volkswagen, while also being in the driver’s seat at Porsche.
Blume has said the two posts “complement each other perfectly”. They are both car companies, we guess. And it is possible to multitask. After all, your humble writer can draft this article, browse for Christmas presents online (You’ve left it late … again—Ed), and munch a mince pie all at the same. No mean feat, quite frankly. Good luck Ollie, we’re sure you can keep both companies on the road.
I saw three ships (come sailing in)
It may be Christmas, the season of goodwill and all that but, fair warning, the watchdogs have released what they’ll be gunning for next year. Best read this before you hit the cherry brandy (You haven’t, have you?—Ed). The Financial Reporting Council has said it will be celebrating New Year by taking a close look at audits and the state of reporting in the travel, hospitality and leisure sector, as well as retail, construction and industrial transportation. So you guys can heave sighs of Yuletide cheer.
In audit, they’ll be looking at old bugbears such as going concern assessments and … fraud risk! They know you like that one. Climate risk will also be on the inspection agenda.
In corporate reporting, the inspectors will be looking at disclosures on insurance contracts, metrics used and targets declared as part of TCFD reporting, and fair value measurement in non-financial reporting.
But hang on. Private companies can expect a call too. FRC agents will be looking at a selection of large private company annual reports looking for compliance infractions. It’s no longer only public companies under the spotlight. Enjoy your turkey!
Fairytale of new talk
Words are important. And never more important than when they are new and used a lot. They can either be enlightening or infuriating.
Research by Schwa, the London-based consultancy, finds that this year’s words to add to your business buzzword bingo sheet are (wait for it): “mutuality”, “hypergrowth” and “sustainovation”. I know, now that all you non-execs have read them, you’ll be desperate to trot them out at your next meeting to impress the execs with your up-to-the-minute business street cred. Who wouldn’t want to hear: “Our mutuality will get us hypergrowth as we develop our sustainovation.” Music to the ears.
Undeniably, business loves a buzzword. Neil Taylor, founder of Schwa, says: “Lots of people slag off business jargon and buzzwords, and yes, some of them are a bit daft. But people do use them to signal that they’re up with the latest trends, and it’s tribal—people want to belong. And even in everyday language, we like phrases like ‘goblin mode’ as a way of expressing an idea in a fresh, pithy way.”
So, BA readers, go get pithy! And resist the slagging. It’s Christmas after all.