5 Things that mattered 26/8/2018

KPMG fined over fashion group work

KPMG is fined £2.1m after the UK’s accounting regulator concluded that its services for fashion retailer Ted Baker fell short of ethical standards.

The Financial Reporting Council said on Monday it was reprimanding both KPMG and Michael Barradell, a partner at the firm, after they admitted to misconduct in work for the fashion company in 2013 and 2014.

Mr Barradell has been fined £46,800. The issues stem from services provided as an expert witness to Ted Baker in a commercial court claim. The FRC said this compromised the auditor’s independence.

Brexit sec on exports

International trade secretary Liam Fox unveils a plan intended to increase Britain’s exports after Brexit to 35% of GDP.

He says there are 400,000 UK businesses that could export but do not, and will try to target them with better loans, guarantees and support – and ask businesses to spell out what barriers to trade they face.

Record surplus month

Britain records the biggest July budget surplus since the millennium. The Office for National Statistics (ONS)  said public sector net borrowing, excluding the state-owned banks, went into surplus for July by £2bn, meaning the government received more in tax income than was spent on public services.

Business fear of Labour government

The possibility of a Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn is close behind Brexit as a perceived threat to business, according to a poll of UK executives published on Thursday.

Nearly one in three believes that a Labour-led government will be in power within the next five years, according to research by BritainThinks, a polling firm, for business lobbying group London First. A majority — 69 per cent — think a general election will occur before the anticipated date of May 2022.

No-deal Brexit details

British companies exporting to the EU will face a blizzard of red tape if there is no Brexit deal, and should consider hiring customs agents to help them deal with it, the government says.

In a series of technical notices on the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, the UK’s Department for Exiting the EU said trade with the bloc would revert to “non-preferential, World Trade Organization terms”.

It added that exporters should think about engaging “the services of a customs broker, freight forwarder or logistics provider to help, or alternatively secure the appropriate software and authorisations”.

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