Tag Archives: Grant Thornton
Council faces new storm over ‘missing’ £73m housing money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors are refusing to sign-off the Town Hall accounts because of missing millions from a complex nexus of housing companies, which could force the council to tip over the edge into bankruptcy for a second time in … Continue reading
£67m fraud at Fairfield: Town Hall row over calling in police
CRISIS SPECIAL: The council’s most senior legal official wants to check the £70m Fairfield fiasco for fraud, but the borough’s Labour councillors don’t want to call in the police, yet their leader says she has already reported it to the … Continue reading
Council got £70m Fairfield Halls refurb wrong from the start
CROYDON IN CRISIS: It was ‘insane’ to grant a licence to Brick by Brick for the refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls, and that led to the £70m ‘shitshow’. Mayoral candidate VAL SHAWCROSS responds to the auditors’ Report In The Public … Continue reading
Negrini and execs ‘failed to ensure council was acting lawfully’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An auditors’ report into the ‘shoddy’ deal that handed the Fairfield Halls refurbishment to loss-making builders Brick by Brick hints at potential fraud and accuses senior officials of large-scale negligence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Some … Continue reading
Auditors investigated four unlawful actions over Fairfield Halls
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Twelve months after Grant Thornton was asked to conduct an audit of the botched and budget-busting refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls, their report has yet to be published. The delay seems likely to be because the auditors … Continue reading
Council to be rocked by second Report In The Public Interest
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The £70m ‘Fairfield fiasco’ has provoked serious concerns with auditors over the potential misuse of public money, with bungling developers Brick by Brick under scrutiny. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES External auditors are to issue a Report In … Continue reading
£700,000: Croydon counting the costs of council failures
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Town Hall has been hit with ‘penalty fines’ of its own since its financial collapse 12 months ago. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES £697,300 And rising… That’s how much Croydon Council says it has paid so far, … Continue reading
Bricking it: Buss pushes for £30m deal to buy 104 flats
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Making Brick by Brick an attractive proposition to a corporate buyer is a Mission Impossible which would defeat Tom Cruise. Croydon’s solution? A package of deals that could cost another £110m. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Chris Buss, … Continue reading
The Audit Report: Council company struck-off over admin error
CROYDON IN CRISIS: One of the criticisms of councils using public money in risky business ventures is that Town Hall staff have little experience or ability operating in private business. And Croydon’s bungling council has provided a perfect illustration of … Continue reading
The Audit Report: Council ignored five warnings on reserves
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Complacency and ‘corporate blindness’ to the problems at the council contributed to the collapse of the borough’s finances. But Grant Thornton’s report also managed to have a dig at Jo Negrini. WALTER CRONXITE reports Grant Thornton’s Report … Continue reading
The Audit Report: Brick by Brick has paid nothing to council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Report in the Public Interest into the financial crisis at Croydon Council includes 21 recommendations. Four of them apply directly to Brick by Brick, the loss-making house-builder which has broken multiple agreements and owes the council … Continue reading
The Audit Report: ‘Tony Newman always has been a coward’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: More senior council figures could lose their positions as a result of the Report in the Public Interest which was released last night, as the Town Hall politicians take stock of its consequences. KEN LEE reports Half … Continue reading
Council had ‘corporate blindness’ and ignored warnings
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors step in with damning Report in the Public Interest over the way in which the council’s finances had been mishandled. By STEVEN DOWNES Council staff were summoned into a meeting at barely 10 minutes notice this … Continue reading
Auditors look at legal sanctions over council’s finances
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A Town Hall committee has been told that the council was ‘in breach of financial regulations’ over its commercial dealings, as they delivered a report with 75 recommendations for improvements. By STEVEN DOWNES The resignation of Simon … Continue reading
External auditor appointment has all the look of an inside job
Croydon Council is to appoint Grant Thornton as its new “external auditor“, even though the accountancy firm already has such strong links inside the council in various other roles as consultants that it makes the risks of serious conflicts of … Continue reading
