Insights & News

Innocent partners may not be liable for losses caused by the fraudulent conduct of rogue partners

28 July 2021

In July 2021 the Court of Appeal held that innocent partners in a firm of solicitors are not always liable to former clients of the firm for losses caused by the acts of a fraudulent partner[i].

Any member of an LLP may be subject to a Disqualification Order – not just those on the Management Committee

06 April 2021

Pursuant to the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) the court may, in certain circumstances, make a ‘Disqualification Order’ preventing an individual from being a company director for a period of up to 15 years.

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: Top tips for updating your LLP Agreement

Press

25 April 2019

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fergus Payne, partner and head of our partnerships and LLPs practice group, explains how to update your LLP Agreement.

Andrew Wanambwa writes for Accountancy Daily: Section 2 notices raise risk level for accountants

Press

18 March 2019

Professional services firms, requests for documents and Section 2 notices under Criminal Justice Act 1987 could pose a risk for accountants and auditors as illustrated in the recent Omers case at the High Court, explains Andrew Wanambwa, in an article for Accountancy Age.

James Gill and Mark Hersey write for Accountancy Age: Moving to the Cloud in 2019: 10 steps to avoid the common pitfalls

Press

08 January 2019

Mark Hersey and James Gill have written an article for Accountancy Age explaining how to make your move to cloud accounting as smooth as possible this year.

Joanna Hunt writes for Architects' Journal: How can architecture benefit from the Exceptional Talent visa route?

Press

20 December 2018

In an article for Architects' Journal, Joanna Hunt examines the extension of the Home Office’s Tier 1 category to cover architects wanting to work in the UK.

Fraser McKeating writes for Accountancy Age: Professional privilege and investigations – what do accountants need to know?

Press

26 November 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fraser McKeating explains how the law of privilege operates in the context of investigations.

The regulator and the right of reply: two recent cases involving the Financial Reporting Council

Case Study

29 October 2018

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the regulator for UK statutory audits. Its responsibilities include setting audit standards, as well as enforcing the quality of audit. It is the investigative and disciplinary body for UK accountants dealing with cases affecting the public interest. FRC investigations naturally focus on those under its jurisdiction, such as its member accountancy firms and individual auditors. Sometimes, however, the conduct of the audited company and its managers will also be relevant. Two recent cases have discussed the duties owed by the FRC to these entities. The cases will be relevant to other regulators.

Karen Baxter writes for Accountancy Age: Can you keep a secret?

Press

18 October 2018

In this article for Accountancy Age, Karen Baxter looks at how the role of settlement agreements may have kept abusive behaviour quiet in accountancy firms.

Clive Greenwood and Frances Simm write for Accountancy Age: Compulsory retirement: avoiding the partner pitfalls

Press

20 August 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Clive Greenwood and Frances Simm discuss the rules and processes involved when compelling an individual to retire from a business they co-own.

Karen Baxter writes for Accountancy Age: Sexual harassment – is accountancy next for #MeToo?

Press

24 May 2018

Sexual harassment is big news at the moment as numerous big Hollywood names have opened the floodgates and encouraged individuals to come forward. Karen Baxter asks, is accountancy next for #MeToo?

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: What does the future hold for listed accountancy firms?

Press

13 March 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fergus Payne discusses why firms would consider listing on a stock market or taking external investment.

Karen Baxter writes for Accountancy Age: Mind the gap: what accountancy firms should be doing ahead of the new gender pay gap reporting rules

Press

16 February 2018

With less than two months to go until the deadline for filing gender pay gap reports, thousands of employers have not yet provided their figures. Karen Baxter asks, is your firm ready?

Clive Greenwood writes for Accountancy Age: How to protect LLP firms from a damaging team move

Press

10 January 2018

In an article for Accountancy Age, Clive Greenwood discusses that while accountancy firms heavily invest in attracting and retaining talent, do they devote sufficient effort to ensuring teams can’t go and play for the opposition?

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: LLPs in Top 50+50: Will LLPs continue to be the preferred set-up?

Press

15 December 2017

In an article for Accountancy Age, Fergus Payne discusses why and how do accountancy firms set up or convert to an LLP, and will LLPs continue to be the preferred set-up in the future?

Fergus Payne writes for Accountancy Age: The great professional services shake-up

Press

21 September 2017

Corporate Partner, Fergus Payne has written an article for Accountancy Age which discusses how accountancy has now moved one step closer to becoming a formal piece of the legal services furniture, following the expansion of myriad non-legal firms into the sector.

Preparing to issue proceedings

Inbrief

26 April 2017

This note provides general guidance on the steps to consider prior to embarking on litigation. There are a number of practical considerations that should be taken into account. The civil justice system in England expects parties to take a certain number of steps before issuing proceedings. This guide runs through these matters in outline.