Financial Management (UK) articles from April 2004

Financial Management (UK) archives from April 2004

Editorial comment.(Financial scandal)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... The pen may be mightier than the sword, but that doesn't mean it can't also be double-edged. It's not surprising, therefore, that people who court publicity--even in a good cause--usually have to endure speculation about their motives and their...

SEM theme for Malaysian event.(News Round-Up)(Strategic enterprise management )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Nine speakers from Malaysia, the UK, China, Indonesia and Japan will share their expertise when CIMA's Malaysia division holds its second management accounting conference in Kuala Lumpur on 13-14 April. This year's theme is "Strategic...

NHS aims to top popularity poll.(News Round-Up)(financial management training scheme)(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The National Health Service hopes that a recent review of its financial management training scheme (FMTS) will help make it the UK's most popular employer among graduates interested in finance. As part of the annual UK Graduate Careers Survey,...

CIPFA proposes end to council tax: but the alternative funding method resembles poll tax.(Public Finance)(Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)
April 1, 2004... The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has presented proposals to the government for an alternative system to council tax. The institute is among a number of bodies that have been brought together by the minister for...

City firms fail to give employees training on FSA regulations.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Thousands of firms in the Square Mile are unwittingly risking fines and even imprisonment for breaching Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules, according to a new survey. Almost 40 per cent of the 200 City employees interviewed by...

Whitehall FDs to get qualified: Mandarins are under pressure to gain relevant credentials.(Government Finance)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Accountancy is set to take on a much stronger position in key government departments as part of the drive to professionalise the finance function across Whitehall. A recent letter from the Treasury's finance director, Sir Andrew Likierman...

Flexible work lures accountants into public sector.(News Round-Up)
April 1, 2004... The promise of a better work-life balance is attracting a growing number of accountants into the civil service and other public-sector jobs, according to a survey by Hays Accountancy Personnel. The poll has found that, although the sector...

Firms quizzed on school reform.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Businesses are being urged to suggest improvements to the UK's secondary education system. A nationwide consultation with employers is examining ways to enhance young people's understanding of the skills needed by employers and to ensure that...

Free tax guidebook published.(News Round-Up)(Thomas Eggar)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Anyone baffled by the taxation changes announced by the chancellor in last month's Budget should take advantage of a free tax guide produced by law firm Thomas Eggar. The guide includes information on changes to income tax, capital gains tax,...

One-stop-shop FRSSE.(News Round-Up)(financial reporting standard for smaller entities )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) is inviting responses to a discussion paper on the idea of a "one-stop-shop standard" for smaller entities. It proposes to bring together in a single document the contents of the current financial reporting...

IASB issues draft interpretation.(News Round-Up)(International Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) has released D5, "Applying IAS29--Financial reporting in hyperinflationary economies" for the first time. The proposed interpretation contains guidance about how an entity...

Tax advisers see red over grey area: accountants and lawyers are being warned that the tax-evasion requirements in the Proceeds of Crime Act could create a double risk.(Money-Laundering)
April 1, 2004... The money-laundering saga continues. Following concerns about the impact of a last-minute addition to the recent money-laundering regulations (see News, February), experts are now highlighting fears about the new tax-evasion requirements. ...

Customs clamps down on VAT fraud.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... HM Customs & Excise is beginning to win its battle against the scourge of "missing trader fraud" (MTF), a report from the National Audit Office has revealed. Billions of pounds in revenue are lost each year to fraudsters who fail to declare VAT...

US investors heat up climate debate.(News Round-Up)
April 1, 2004... Pressure from US shareholders is pushing "high-pollution" industries towards disclosing the risks posed by their impact on the climate. A recent meeting in New York of representatives of more than 60 major businesses, banks and institutional...

PIFs plan to build UK property funds.(News Round-Up)(property investment funds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The anticipated introduction of investor-friendly property shares has at last been given the green light. In last month's Budget, Gordon Brown announced the publication of a consultation document for the introduction of a British version of the...

Recyclers get helping hand.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A new scheme to encourage growth in the recycling sector has been launched with private backing. The new finance scheme aims to provide grants for leasing plant and recycling equipment so that recycling businesses can take advantage of the...

Analyst guidelines for investors.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Association for Investment Management and Research and the National Investor Institute have drawn up guidelines governing the relationship between corporate issuers and the securities analysts who cover them. The guidelines stress that...

DTI focuses on executive pay.(Regulations Update)(Department of Trade and Industry )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry could soon be prowling the the City to monitor discussions of executive pay during AGM season. In a speech to business leaders, Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for trade and industry...

Legal loophole allows SMEs to avoid audit.(Regulations Update)(small and medium-sized enterprises)
April 1, 2004... On 27 January the government published its long-awaited amendments to the audit exemption criteria for small companies and groups, as well as increasing the turnover and gross asset thresholds for small and medium-sized companies and groups....

IASB chairman warns IFRS2 may cut 10% off EU firms' profits.(Regulations Update)(International Accounting Standards Board)
April 1, 2004... The new international standard on share-based payment, IFRS2, was issued on Thursday 19 February and will require companies to report the expenses of share options schemes in the annual profit and loss account. IFRS2 is the latest shot from...

Presidential engagements.(Institute News)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... 10-25 April President's visit to CIMA Malaysia and Australia 21 April Basingstoke branch meeting. Vice-president attending 23 April Stoke-on-Trent branch dinner. Deputy president attending 7 May Sussex branch 50th anniversary...

New president for South Australia.(Institute News)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Professor Malcolm Smith became the new president of CIMA's South Australian branch at its February AGM in Adelaide. The AGM was held at the University of South Australia's City West Campus. At the same event, Jim Dunkley retired from both the...

Fill in the census and win an Apple iPod.(Institute News)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
April 1, 2004... At the end of April all CIMA members will have the chance to let the institute know what they think of it. You will be able to comment on the benefits and services CIMA offers you and suggest ways in which the institute should develop to meet...

CIMA awards prizes to top work-experience students.(Institute News)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... "Experience It", the CIMA work experience scheme 2003, was a pilot initiative championed by Claire Ighodaro, CIMAs president, to develop links between schools and local employers via the branch network. A prize-giving ceremony was held at...

An OFR you can refuse?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... In a recent letter to the FT, three fund managers argued that interim results were a waste of time because they did not prevent the Enron affair. Does this show that they were unaware that former Andersen staff were recruited by Enron solely to...

Take the register.(Letters)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The money-laundering regulations that came into force on 1 March are far reaching. Members in public practice and CIMA consultants are obliged to follow CIMA guidelines on registering as members in practice. A failure to do so could render them...

The great wastes of Canada.(Letters)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... I am about to apply for a permanent residency in Canada and I support the opinions in "Allied powers" (Letters, February). When researching the agreement between CIMA and CMA Canada (CMA) I soon realised that I would need to become a permanent...

Blow the budget?(Letters)(Beware while budgeting)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Budgeting wastes a huge amount of time, it causes dysfunctional behaviour and it destroys value. "Use it or lose it" (November 2003) outlined the most common problems for organisations in the sector and the mechanisms that people use to get...

Who needs options anyway? The debate on expensing stock options in the income statement has registered well with the legislators, writes Merrill Cassell, but the impact of the valuation process is still problematic.(People Management)
April 1, 2004... The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is currently working with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to create a set of global standards for valuing stock options. Both boards lean towards the pricing formula developed...

Cartesis[R]: the 'should we, shouldn't we? 'debate on planning and budgeting rages on as the pressure on CFOs to achieve even greater accuracy from performance management processes increases. With the help of new research findings, Jonny Cheetham answers your questions.(Questions & Answers)(Chief Financial Officer )
April 1, 2004... We've been reading lots about how organisations should "blow up the budget", but can this ever be a reality for a large multinatlonal company? The budgeting and planning process has long been an intrinsic part of the performance management...

It's a mini adventure: if a big company is supposed to be beautiful for institutional investors, does that mean small is successful, sexy or suicidal? Independent research is the key to knowing.(City)
April 1, 2004... Many investors' injured pride and disbelief at the way in which UK smaller companies have stolen a march on the leaders in recent years have left them seeking credible reasons for what they missed and why. Over the past four bearish years,...

Observe the highway code: the prevalence of mobile PCs represents a huge security headache for firms. Magnus Ahlberg warns that overworked IT managers may end up certified if their software encryption system isn't.(Technology)
April 1, 2004... Handhelds, laptops and "smartphones" have become an essential part of our lives. On them we store customer databases, marketing plans, accounts--you name it. Most of us keep as much information on our portable machines as we do on our desktop...

A moment on the lips ... a lifetime on your record. The stigma by those brave enough to blow the whistle on their employers' malpractice is enough to deter most would-be 'conscientious objectors' from speaking out. But the Public Interest Disclosure Act is making life easier for them--and giving employers far more incentive to adopt sound policies on disclosure.(Business Whistle-Blowing)
April 1, 2004... What must have been going through Katharine Gun's mind as she sat in the dock of court number seven at the Old Bailey, charged with what was, in effect, treason? Feeling the full weight of the government's legal apparatus, did she feel a...

Spent force? Resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) was designed to bring the benefits of commercial accounting to the public sector. Five years on, Bill Aiken reviews progress and warns of a potential lost opportunity: the chance to focus on managing resources to deliver outputs.(Finance Resource Accounting And Budgeting)
April 1, 2004... Type the phrase "output management" into an internet search engine and you will be rewarded with several pages of hits. So far, so good, but on closer inspection you will find that all these sites are discussing ways to manage printer queues...

Intensive care: Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust was in such poor condition before the arrival of its new chief executive, Glenn Douglas, that many insiders believed that the plug would be pulled on it. He explains to Ruth Prickett how his survival plan has helped the trust to come off the critical list.(Case Study Ashford And St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust)
April 1, 2004... It's said that nothing succeeds like success. Unfortunately, however, the opposite is also true: nothing fails like failure. This is why the first things that Glenn Douglas had to tackle on becoming CEO of Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS...

Non-prescription remedy: research into performance improvement in the NHS suggests that the most successful initiatives are not sophisticated schemes designed at the top level. Phil Barden explains why staff on the front line will set themselves tougher objectives than any targets imposed from on high.(How To Manage Performance)(National Health Service)
April 1, 2004... How is performance improved in the health service? Does it result from complex strategies devised by senior executives and civil servants, or from incremental changes by staff as they develop their expertise on the job? A team of researchers at...

Bolt-on wonderers: councils have taken a lot of flak--deserved of not--for perceived inefficiency in financial management over the years. Willie Seal and Amanda Ball report on their CIMA-funded research into two authorities' budgeting practices to determine whether the problem of incrementalism is a thing of the past.(Finance Public-Sector Budgeting)
April 1, 2004... Local government has attracted some harsh criticism recently for the schools cash fiasco, inflation-busting council tax increases and alleged reckless job creation (1). But a longer-running problem is that the sector has a departmental attitude...

Armful practice? The National Blood Authority has radically changed its problematic cost allocation method for joint blood products, but the new approach is equally flawed--if not more so. Paul Trenchard and Rob Dixon report on their CIMA-funded project to develop a third way based on the usefulness of products rather than profitability.(Finance Cost Allocation)(National Blood Authority)
April 1, 2004... The manufacture of blood products provides a real example of where a global joint cost problem could affect how patients are treated by the health service. This risk led us to start working on a new approach to allocating joint costs. The...

Electronic recognition: the introduction of new regulations and the extension of existing legislation have at last brought UK copyright law up to date with the internet age. Terry Corbitt offers his guide to the changes.(Business Copyright Law)
April 1, 2004... Until as recently as last autumn, electronic information was not covered by UK copyright law, but this changed when the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 took effect on 21 October. These were enacted in response to European...