5 things FDs need to know this week

1. Twitter appoints new CFO

Twitter has appointed former Goldman Sachs banker, Ned Segal, as its new CFO. He will join Twitter Inc. in August, after leaving his role at Intuit.

Segal will fill the gap that was created when the former CFO, Anthony Noto, who Segal worked with for ten years at Goldman Sachs, was promoted to COO last year.

It is hoped that the former banker will be able to turn the company’s fortunes around and make it more appealing to investors, as Twitter has been consistently unprofitable since going public four years ago.

 2. FCA proposes new premium listing category for sovereign-controlled companies

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a proposal to create a new category within its premium listing regime, for companies that are controlled by a shareholder that is a sovereign country.

The new premium listing would carry the same investor protection already applicable in the existing category, but include two modifications:

• The related party rules would operate on a modified basis: the sovereign controlling shareholder would not be considered a related party for the purposes of the UK listing rules;
• The controlling shareholder rules will not apply to companies in the new category in respect of the sovereign controlling shareholder.

3. Tesco’s proposed merger with Bookers referred for in-depth investigation

After concluding its initial phase 1 investigation into the merger between supermarket giant Tesco and wholesale grocery supplier, Bookers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided to conduct an in-depth phase 2 investigation.

There are concerns that Bookers, which currently supplies over 5,000 independent shops operating under the Premier, Londis, Budgens or Family Shopper brands, will reduce the wholesale services or terms it offers to these stores in order to drive customers to their local Tesco instead, according to CMA.

4. OTS puts forward framework for simplifying corporation tax

As the debate over Making Tax Digital (MTD) continues, the conversation is turning to corporation tax. The Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) has published a report into reforming corporation tax to align it with MTD.

It aims to reduce the time taken on corporation tax administration, alongside more frequent reporting to HMRC.

The summary of recommendations covers seven points, that include building a 5 year CT roadmap, aligning capital/revenue tax definitions with accounting definitions, and for the largest companies to embed the CRM role in line with HMRC’s published strategy.

5. Google Cloud launches new region in London

Google Cloud Platform has launched in the UK’s capital, which the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley, called: “proof Britain is open for business.”

The new region will allow companies to maintain data sovereignty after the UK leaves the EU, in the event that the EU stops being classed as in-country after negotiations.

It will also assist with the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force in May 2018, a regulation that will continue to impact countries that operate across multiple regions, regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

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