Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance

whitePaper | February 12, 2020

Both the U.S. Government and biopharmaceutical industry have been central engines for developing new medical treatments and cures, thereby lowering the effective price of better health for patients worldwide. The sector has done so by being both the world leader in these biopharmaceutical cures and treatments as well as the source of the returns that are required to fund new medical R&D investments.

whitePaper | February 2, 2022

The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story – a multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-ethnic state with the world’s best broadcaster; a vibrantly creative arts sector; a National Health Service which guarantees care for every citizen; charities and voluntary groups which perform a million acts of kindness daily; globally renowned scientists extending the boundaries of knowledge every year; entrepreneurs developing the products and services which bring joy and jobs to so many; and millions of citizens whose kindness and compassion has been so powerfully displayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

whitePaper | April 30, 2022

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) remain a prominent and diverse group of global asset owners. They represent unencumbered fiscal resources of the host governments, invested under a range of different mandates. In this study, we considered 34 of the largest SWFs, located in 26 different jurisdictions, which as of year-end 2020, have total assets of almost $8.5 trillion, representing 5% of total global markets.2 Between 2018 and 2020, total SWF assets under management (AUM) grew by an annualized 11.3%, as compared to 5.5% over the previous time period (Figure 1). We find that the acceleration in AUM growth is largely a function of market gains due to the post-2018 drawdown in equities. However, we estimate that organic inflows into global SWF holdings are roughly in line with the mid-single digits during the 2014–2018 time period.

whitePaper | March 30, 2022

Why have we written disparaging statements about government when our firm is so deeply committed to public sector excellence? These include statements like “as the fire rages on, our governments seem powerless” and “hunches no longer pass for evidence these days, unless we’re talking about government policy.” We have compared the policy-making process to a chaotic game of tag and suggested that government policymakers can act as seemingly irrational as Cosmo Kramer did on Seinfeld.

whitePaper | July 1, 2022

We believe that more open public services can benefit everybody in the UK and that finding ways to deliver better services for less money is a challenge that is common to all four nations of the UK. The scope of this paper is UK wide, but in devolved areas of policy it is for the devolved administrations to determine their own approach to public service reform. The three devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all different although, in general, services such as health, education and those provided by local government are under devolved control. If you live or work in any of the devolved territories and are in any doubt as to which of these reforms would apply there, the relevant territorial office will be able to advise you. We are committed to working in partnership with the devolved administrations to share good practice and to explore whether our approach would suit their particular circumstances and need.

whitePaper | January 22, 2020

Trade in “services” refers to a wide and growing range of economic activities. These activities include transport, tourism, financial services, use of intellectual property, telecommunications and information services, government services, maintenance, and other professional services from accounting to legal services. Compared to goods, the types and volume of services that can be traded are limited by factors such as the requirement for direct buyer-provider contact, and other unique characteristics such as the reusability of services (e.g., professional consulting) for which traditional value measures do not account. In addition to services as independent exports, manufactured and agricultural products incorporate and depend on services, such as research and development or shipping of intermediate or final goods. As services account for 71% of U.S. employment, U.S. trade in services, both services as exports and as inputs to other exported products, can have a broad impact across the U.S. economy.