Skip to main content

Comet administrator Deloitte faces £1m fine

// Comet administrator Deloitte has been hit with a fine of £1m
// The firm and two of its partners have agreed to pay the fine
// Comet fell into administration in the run-up to the Christmas trading period in 2012

The administrators to Comet, Deloitte has reportedly been hit with a fine of £1 million by the accountancy watchdog.

The Big 4 accountancy firm and two of its partners who oversaw Comet’s administration in 2012, have agreed to pay the fine, Sky News reported.

They will also be given formal reprimands by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), although the two partners – believed to be Neville Kahn and Christopher Farrington – will not be banned.

The ICAEW, which can sanction accountants, reportedly found that Deloitte did not take adequate steps to ensure that its previous work advising Comet’s owners did not present a conflict of interest.

Comet, the electrical goods retailer, fell into administration in the run-up to the Christmas trading period in 2012.

It closed the last of its stores in December of 2012, leaving debts of over £230 million to unsecured creditors, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), unpaid.

Its demise cost more than 6000 jobs, and became one of the biggest high street casualties of the decade – alongside the likes of BHS, Toys R Us UK and Maplin.

At the time, Deloitte charged at least £15 million in fees in its roles as administrator and then liquidator.

Deloitte has also agreed to pay the ICAEW’s costs of nearly £1 million in addition to the fine.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter

The post Comet administrator Deloitte faces £1m fine appeared first on Retail Gazette.



from Retail Gazette https://ift.tt/3aQCKhA
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eagle Labs launches impirica CBD brand

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Eagle Labs has launched impirica, a new brand of CBD intended to eliminate consumer fear, and increase confidence, in trying the exciting new cannabidiol category. Michael Law Although most Americans have now heard about CBD, many are very confused and concerned about product quality. This is inhibiting trial in the category and holding back conversion into sales. In fact, a 2017 study by Johns Hopkins University found that two out of three CBD products on the shelf did not contain the amount of CBD reflected on the label. Furthermore, in 2018 and 2019, the FDA sent notices to a substantial number of CBD manufacturers advising them of serious concerns about product quality or egregious medical claims. The impirica brand looks different than most CBD brands — the brand name itself connotes testing and trust, says Eagle Labs chief commercial officer Michael Law. “It doesn’t use the traditional category colors of browns and greens, and you won’t find a hemp...

Coronavirus Recovery: Canadian Small Businesses Must Focus on Easing Employee, Customer Fears

By M. Tina Dacin and Laura Rees A small business has been  given the green light to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic . What does it need to consider for employees and customers? Small business owners are reorganizing physical space to account for continued distancing requirements and rethinking supply chains to deliver products and services in new ways to meet changing demand patterns. But they must not forget the hearts and minds of employees and customers. That doesn’t mean replacing a focus on the bottom line, but it helps address the need for a new set of expectations and ways of communicating in terms of product or service offerings, delivery methods and real-time feedback. Based on our expertise in organizational behaviour and past research we’ve conducted, we provide a set of recommendations to help small businesses thrive in our new COVID-19 economy by looking after the hearts and minds of the people most important to businesses — employees and customers. Fear, Anxi...

World's 1st Pizza Subscription Service Launches in Toronto

general assembly subscription user opening delivery box of pizza. photo: general assembly pizza By Mario Toneguzzi Toronto-based General Assembly Pizza has launched what it describes as the world’s first pizza subscription service as it also plans to aggressively expand its product offering in the near future by opening a new concept in the market. "Since opening our doors in 2017, we have pushed for the best guest-experience possible — that's why our dough is 100 percent naturally leavened, that's why we have a purpose-built 400-square-foot pick-up and delivery area, and that's why we’ve launched a direct-to-consumer subscription-based ecommerce platform,” said Founder & CEO Ali Khan Lalani. “In 2020, providing the best guest experience means General Assembly Pizza has to be more than a restaurant. I'm proud to say that after almost six months of planning, many roadblocks, and countless pivots — all while maintaining our day-to-day restaurant operatio...