No Accounting for Taste ep210: Tech security at Companies House and HMRC

About this episode

The episode discusses tech security issues at Companies House and HMRC, the implications for private equity-backed firms in M&A, and proposed changes to the audit supervisory model by the FRC.

Tom Herbert opens the podcast with two tech stories from Companies House and HMRC. First, he unpacks a security flaw at Companies House that left confidential details linked to more than five million companies exposed, explaining what happened, how Companies House responded and how serious the breach was. He then turns to HMRC’s decision to reintroduce multi-factor authentication for agents from June, following a series of cyberattacks on agent accounts, looking at why the measure was introduced and later withdrawn, why it is now returning, and the general reaction. Richard Hattersley then tackles one of the biggest questions in the profession’s M&A boom: what is the endgame for private equity-backed firms? He explores the possible exit routes, from sales to larger private equity houses and further consolidation, to initial public offerings, outside buyers such as banks or tech vendors, or even a wave of management buyouts if private equity interest collapses. The team weighs up each one and how realistic it may be. Matthew Ord closes the episode with news that the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has set out plans for what it calls a major evolution of its audit supervisory…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tom Herbert, Matthew Ord

Topics covered

• tech security
• Companies House
• HMRC
• cyberattacks
• private equity
• M&A
• audit reform

Keywords

• security flaw
• multi-factor authentication
• audit oversight
• exit routes

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: No Accounting for Taste

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