International accounting

It looked like Steinhoff International Holdings NV had reached escape velocity from South Africa’s deepening economic gloom: A furniture retailer emulating Ikea’s model and global ambitions, built by men with their own compelling rags-to-riches stories.

Christo Wiese’s grip on his global furniture retailing empire is slipping after the South African billionaire resigned from the board of troubled Steinhoff International Holdings NV and creditors forced a sale of part of his stake.

The International Federation of Accountants is expressing alarm about recent proposals from a group of global financial regulators to separate its standard-setting boards for auditing and ethics.

KPMG International reported Thursday its worldwide revenue grew 5 percent in local currency terms to a record level of $26.4 billion the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV Chairman Christo Wiese, seeking to stabilize the embattled retailer, is negotiating a standstill agreement on a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) margin loan under which banks would suspend the sale of stock until next year, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV bonds extended losses after Moody’s Investors Service slashed the credit rating to junk in the wake of an accounting scandal that’s threatening the survival of the global furniture and clothing retailer.

BDO reported Thursday its global revenues grew 8 percent to $8.1 billion in fiscal year 2017 across its network of firms as its headcount grew 9.04 percent.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV plunged after its chief executive officer resigned amid accounting irregularities, rocking a company that’s rapidly expanded from its roots in South Africa into a retail empire spanning Australia, Europe and the U.S.

Accounting standard-setters are tweaking the rules for the standards taking effect in the next few years, according to officials.

RSM International has launched RSM Canada, with 37 partners and nearly 300 professionals in Toronto, with plans to extend its reach across the country.

Big Four firms in the United Kingdom should be subject to fines of 10 million pounds ($13.2 million) or more for seriously poor audit work, according to an independent review by the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has signed a cooperative agreement with the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, allowing them to cooperate on joint inspections and oversight of auditing firms subject to of both organizations’ regulatory jurisdiction.

Even as the Trump administration takes a strong line on renegotiating NAFTA, the American Institute of CPAs renewed a mutual recognition agreement with the accounting bodies of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday.

Baker Tilly International has named Timothy Christen as the accounting firm network’s new chairman after he recently completed a term chairing the American Institute of CPAs.

Economic confidence improved globally in the third quarter of 2017, but continued to fall in the U.S., according to a new survey of accountants.

Fayezul Choudhury, CEO of the International Federation of Accountants, discusses how IFAC is helping emerging economies develop their associations for accountants.

KPMG LLP’s South African unit appointed nine new executives in an attempt to restore trust in the auditing firm as clients continued to distance themselves over its involvement with the politically connected Gupta family.

An internal probe found that mistakes in two high-profile engagements did not run throughout its business.

The report is part of IASB’s better communication in financial reporting initiative.

PricewaterhouseCoopers reported 7 percent revenue growth worldwide Wednesday for fiscal year 2017, reaching a record $37.7 billion.