Charlie Patrick is a director in KPMG’s Risk Consulting practice. He has been with the company for 20 years. Based in Birmingham and London, he boasts over 15 years’ experience in forensic and accounting matters both within the UK and abroad.
Patrick spent two years working as a project manager on the KPMG team who investigated the fate of the assets of victims of the Holocaust which were held in Swiss banks. He then went on to establish and lead KPMG Forensic’s Central and Eastern European practice from 2000-2005, during which time he undertook a variety of fraud investigation and expert witness assignments.
Commenting on the new appointment, Jeremy Outen – head of KPMG’s Fraud practice – said: “I’m delighted that Charlie is taking over this role, particularly at a time of heightened interest in bribery and corruption issues which remain very much at the forefront of the mind of both regulators and companies alike.”
Outen continued: “With the anniversary of the implementation of the Bribery Act just over a month away, and with no corporate prosecutions in sight, arguably now more than ever before businesses will be seeking some kind of regulatory assurance that they are on the right track in adhering to the Act. It will be interesting to see how this plays out during the rest of the year, especially with the recent release of the Government’s proposals on Deferred Prosecution Agreements.”
In addition, KPMG has appointed Geoff Dadswell to look at compliance and ethics issues (including the impact of conflict mineral legislation on UK corporates).
UK growth dependent on international talent, says KPMG
Following publication of ‘The Growth Factory’, a report exploring ways in which to rebalance the economy and backed by some high profile MPs, Anna Marie Detert (director in KPMG’s People and Change advisory team) has made some detailed comments.
“With the economy shrinking more than was first thought in the first quarter of the year, it’s clear that the economic challenges we face demand a fresh look at how employers build the skills needed to drive up performance, productivity and profitability,” asserted Detert.
“Too often employers have bemoaned the paucity of skills coming through their doors as graduates enter the workplace, but the time has passed for complaining. Growth is dependent on employers having skills at their disposal for the jobs being done today and those being planned for tomorrow. That is why organisations should be looking at the opportunities to partner with business schools both in the UK and abroad.”
For Detert, it isn’t about bringing in international talent at the expense of domestic skills, but rather “about widening the talent pool so that companies, and the staff they recruit, can benefit from a wider knowledge base.”
The KPMG director added: “Part of the answer lies in creating more flexible visa arrangements so that organisations can parachute talent in for a defined period of time in much the same way that many organisations already adopt a ‘project approach’ to solving problems. Our experience is that companies are often interested in hiring talent, either in interim or full-time roles, but the lengthy and costly visa approval processes often prevents them from bringing in new skills and transferring these to UK staff.”
In conclusion, Detert pointed out: “We are living in the age of the ‘knowledge economy’ so let’s take advantage of it. After all, knowledge is the one currency that has no borders.”
