Financial Management (UK) articles from April 2005

Financial Management (UK) archives from April 2005

It's worth devoting extra time to the minutiae when consolidation would lead to vital changes.(IN BUSINESS)(operating and financial reviews)(continuing professional development)
April 1, 2005... With the fastest-growing membership of all the CCAB bodies, CIMA is well on the way to achieving its 2010 strategy. It's crucial, therefore, that we don't lose sight of the distinctiveness for which the institute is so highly prized by its...

Small businesses.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Small businesses are being offered a tax relief extension that allows an additional deduction on research and development. The extension covers expenditure on computer software and utility costs such as water, fuel and power. The move is part...

More than three-quarters.(Chartered Management Institute)(Business Continuity Plan)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... More than three-quarters of businesses in the UK finance sector have a business continuity plan (BCP) in place, according to a survey by the Chartered Management Institute. But many firms are still overlooking the impact of the loss of skills...

A guide to IAS and regulations has been written by Assetware Technology.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A guide to IAS and regulations has been written by Assetware Technology. Clarifying the Confusion is available at www.assetware-technology.com.

Council FD urges work-life balance.(PUBLIC FINANCE)(Finance Director)(Lambeth council)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Lambeth council's finance director is urging local authorities to consider ways of improving the work-life balance of their finance chiefs. Richard Ennis ACMA said the role of FD was often more demanding than other senior local authority...

Institute asks members to vote on CPD.(FIRST IN...)(Continuing Professional Development)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... CIMA members are being urged to approve the byelaw and regulation changes needed for the institute to introduce mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) from January 2006. The institute says the move will ensure continuing compliance...

Existing laws fail to provide tools to combat global financial crime.(MONEY LAUNDERING)
April 1, 2005... Experts are warning that significant hurdles must be overcome before a real impact can be made on reducing serious financial crime and money laundering around the world. Despite the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the recent...

Attention!(FIRST IN ...)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A CIMA member proves that accounting can be a risky business in more ways than one. This photo, captioned "Baghdad Beancounter" is one of the entries for the best depiction of "extreme accounting". The tongue-in-cheek website, sponsored by...

2010 study offers tips for success.(FIRST IN...)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By 2010 a company's business methods will often be more important than what it produces, according to a new survey. More than half of the 4,018 executives contacted for Economist Intelligence Unit's probe into what business will took like in...

CIMA Sri Lanka hosts summit.(FIRST IN...)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... If you have a passion for perfection and need to hone your global business expertise, don't forget that CIMA Sri Lanka will be hosting the CIMA Global Leaders Summit 2005 at the end of May. The theme "Passion for perfection: ordinary people,...

Richard Ennis: executive director of finance, London Borough of Lambeth.(ONE2ONE)(Interview)
April 1, 2005... You've managed to pull Lambeth council out of a 28m [pounds sterling] deficit and generate a surplus of more than 20m [pounds sterling] within two years. How did you manage that? I don't think anyone expected to make quite so much progress...

For richer, for poorer: mergers, like marriages, start optimistically but often end in disappointment. As confidence returns to the M&A market, Camilla Berens reveals the secrets of corporate conjugal bliss.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... When two companies enter into a merger it must feel a bit like falling in love. It's all hearts and flowers at the start, but it's only when they move in with each other that they find out whether they're really compatible. Like many...

State of denial: accepting liability is rarely easy--especially if you're sure you've already dealt with the issue or it wasn't all your fault anyway. But what if the issue is a humanitarian disaster? Neil Hodge finds that sorry really is the hardest word when big businesses and governments are called to account.
April 1, 2005... The term "corporate social responsibility" has become solidly entrenched in the business lexicon over the past few years. Companies now place ethical conduct at the heart of their business strategies at least on paper if not in practice. Some...

Command + ctrl: CPM, BPM or SEM? The software vendors can't agree what to call it, but they say you need it anyway. Ruth Prickett explains what you're missing if you're still using MS Excel to run your business.(business performance management)(corporate performance management)(strategic enterprise management)
April 1, 2005... It's no good saying that if God had wanted us to have performance management systems, he'd never have given us spreadsheets. It's a question of evolution: ever since small firms started growing into large companies, while others complicated...

Budgeting and innovation: do budgets stifle creativity? David Marginson and Stuart Ogden report on a case study that has addressed this question in a leading global technology firm.(TECHNICAL MATTERS)
April 1, 2005... Budgets have long had a bad press, but they have attracted even more flak recently for being at best inappropriate to modern business practice and at worst potentially harmful (1). The Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT) has been one of their...

Financial ratios: if non-financial managers feel that you're speaking double-Dutch whenever you talk figures, Richard Bull offers the accounting equivalent of the Rosetta stone.(TECHNICAL MATTERS)
April 1, 2005... How often have you sat across the table from your colleagues at a board meeting or stood in front of a sea of faces tit a cross-functional performance review and seen their faces go blank as soon as you mention numbers? Too often, those who are...

Professional development: CIMA's new principles-based CPD framework will ensure that members see it not as a chore but as a way to increase their employability.(TECHNICAL MATTERS)(continuing professional development)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
April 1, 2005... Continuing professional development will become mandatory for the entire CIMA membership from January 1, 2006*. To support members in meeting their CPD requirements, the institute has developed a professional development framework that focuses...

Is your memory like a sieve?
April 1, 2005... A FAMOUS international publisher reports that there is a simple technique for acquiring a powerful memory which can pay you real dividends in both business and social advancement. It could work like magic to give you added poise,...

Shamed by your English?(Advertisement)
April 1, 2005... A SIMPLE technique for acquiring a swift mastery of good English has just been announced. It could double your powers of self-expression. It could pay you real dividends in business and social advancement, and give you added poise,...

Student one2one: Jonathan Power: reporting accountant, Nestle.(Study Notes)(Interview)
April 1, 2005... You're 21 and you're already a CIMA passed finalist with three years' experience at Nestle behind you. Weren't you attracted by the idea of spending a few years as a student? I had planned to go to Leeds University after leaving school, but...

Managerial level, strategic level and TOPCIMA papers; if you treat reading the business pages of the quality newspapers as a chance to hone your analytical skills, it will make your exam answers far more insightful.(Study Notes)
April 1, 2005... A review of the business media on one day in January revealed headlines including: "P&G to acquire Gillette in $57bn stock swap"; "Branson eyes mobile phone firm in Nigeria"; "Allders strategy failed"; and "BAe to cut 1,400 jobs amid demand...

Management accounting--decision management: the learning curve equation has a number of applications in the manufacturing sector. Fortunately, the formula itself is fairly straightforward to learn for paper P2.(Study Notes)
April 1, 2005... The principle underlying learning curves is generally well understood: if we perform tasks of a repetitive nature, the time we take to complete subsequent tasks reduces until it can reduce no more. This is relevant to management accounting in...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... The feature on "McDonaldisation" in the March issue was attributed to the examiner for paper P1. The author was in fact Bob Scarlett, who is an accountant and consultant.

Exam notice.
April 1, 2005... * May 2005 exam dates The May exams take place on Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26. * Exam entry Exam entry for May dosed on March 21. In extreme circumstances we will consider a very late entry if you can supply suitable...

CIMA submits OFR response.(OFR)(Operating and Financial Review)
April 1, 2005... Flexibility, focus and assurance are the key elements affecting the success of the new Operating and Financial Review (OFR), according to CIMA's response to the Accounting Standards Board. The institute shares the government's view that...

CIMA professional development.(CPD)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A recent conference hosted by the Professional Associations Research Network discussed the key issues around continuing professional development (CPD). These are especially pertinent to accountants, who must demonstrate that they are up to date...

Supply of demand.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... On a recent holiday in Sri Lanka I was impressed to see the profile our institute has around the country. Advertising posters for courses to qualify for CIMA are plastered on buildings and backs of road signs, while newspapers are full of...

Shared issues.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... The CIMA website recently published a timely technical report on maximising shareholder value from CIMA (www.cimaglobal.com/downloads/shareholder_value_tech_report.pdf). I have two points to make about this. The "agency problem" it refers to...

Tool story.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I like the new-style FM and I was interested to read in it that ERP vendors are developing new software togs to meet compliance challenges ("Comply & demand", March 2005). This good news is, however, only half the story. From an analysis...

Presidential engagements.(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... 4-5 April ICAEW global markets conference, Brussels 13 April Management Accountants Research Group, LSE, London 14 April MBA/CIMA event, Northern Ireland 15 April Northern Ireland branch dinner, Belfast 20 April Anthony Howitt...

CIMA strategic scorecard.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A discussion paper on the CIMA strategic scorecard is now available on the CIMA website. To find out more, or to comment on the scorecard, you can find it at www.cimaglobal.com/main/resources/developments/enterprise/.

Members in practice conference 2005.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... This year's Members in Practice conference, "Practice makes perfect", will take place on June 24-25 at Heythrop Park, Oxford. Further information will be posted on the CIMA website.

Diary.(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... All events are free unless stated otherwise. To book places, contact the network officer highlighted for the relevant branch unless stated otherwise. Visit www.cimaglobal.com/members/inside/local for updates. CENTRAL LONDON AND NORTH...

Out, but not down: in certain industries you haven't lived until you've been made redundant--not that this makes it any easier. Ronny Munster describes his own comeback plan.(JOBS & CAREERS)
April 1, 2005... A second successive redundancy poses many questions about your ability to cope under pressure. Until recently, I was the CFO for a subsidiary of a large US investment bank until the parent company decided to close the business down, with the...

D20.(ON THE MOVE)(appointed Steve Farrell as financial officer)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Steve Farrell FCMA has been appointed financial officer at D20, a civil engineering company based in Bristol. Previously he worked for Hewlett-Packard in the UK and the US for two decades, culminating in the role of finance director, UK and...

University of Portsmouth.(ON THE MOVE)(appointed Mike Brooks as an external governor)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Mike Brooks FCMA has been made an external governor of the University of Portsmouth. He was formerly finance director of Trinity Energy and now runs his own consultancy firm.

Ultimate finance group.(ON THE MOVE)(promoted Darren Newman to financial director)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Darren Newman has been promoted to the post of financial director at ultimate finance group, an AIM-listed factoring and invoice discounting house. He has been with the firm for two years as financial controller and, latterly, company...

Managing a redundancy programme.(JOBS & CAREERS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Change management All redundancies require swift attention and change management. You need to revisit strategies, monitor trends, draw up new plans and, above all, keep people informed. If 20 or more jobs are threatened, staff...

How to choose an outplacement agency.(JOBS & CAREERS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... If you're keen to be an employer of choice, you'll have a genuine interest in helping departing staff to find new jobs. Consider the message you send to your talent pool and how this will affect your firm's brand, its prospective employees and...

Piers Pommeroy may well be an expert in risk assessment, but the odds that he'd make a successful bookie are astronomical. The safest bet of all is that he'll put his foot in it every month.(SECRET DIARY)(Calendar)
April 1, 2005... Week 1 I don't know whether to laugh or cry although this, according to Celia, is a state of emotional confusion that I should have got used to by now, having been there all too often. Really not helpful, that kind of observation. No,...

Abacus spot on target.(accountancy practice)
April 1, 2005... The Abacus concept enables the smaller accountancy practice, as well as new start-ups, to meet all the needs of the SME market, particularly those with up to 100 employees, and to significantly grow their business with the support services of a...