Financial Management (UK) articles from April 2008

Financial Management (UK) archives from April 2008

It makes moral and business sense for CIMA to help lead the education drive in developing nations.(in business)
April 1, 2008... As the impact of the credit crunch reverberates around the world, there is a new urgency for companies in both developed and developing economies to demonstrate their accountability and effectiveness. The pressure is on business professionals...

Done down under.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was interesting to read about the role performed by CIMA member Howard Orme at the Department for Work and Pensions (One2one, February). Many members who have worked in the UK and retired abroad receive pensions...

Rights issue.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... It was heartening to read Gordon Grant's "In business" article in your December/January issue. Referring to CIMA Sri Lanka, he wrote: "The United Nations Global Compact and CIMA Sri Lanka will host their inaugural sustainability awards in 2008....

In memoriam.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I wish to send condolences on behalf of my fellow CIMA members in Kolkata to the family of Vice-Admiral Sir George Vallings. He served tremendously well as secretary of the institute from 1987 to 1995 and helped to further CIMA's expansion...

Corrupt data.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I read with interest the article "Kickback backlash" (March) and was surprised to see countries such as Switzerland and Sweden topping the list as "a measure of how willing a nation's businesses are to resort to giving backhanders", whereas...

Memorial service for Vallings.(In memoriam)
April 1, 2008... The many achievements of Vice-Admiral Sir George Vallings, former secretary of the institute, were celebrated at a memorial service in Guildford Cathedral last month. It was attended by several hundred of his friends and former colleagues,...

Healthy progress.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CIMA has formed a development partnership with the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) aimed at promoting and implementing the CIMA Strategic Scorecard in the National Health Service. The initiative is...

Darling defers IFRS.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
April 1, 2008... The UK government has delayed implementing international financial reporting standards (IFRS) for the public sector for another year. In his 2008 budget the chancellor, Alistair Darling (pictured), recognised the scale of the challenge,...

OECD calculates cost of tackling global warming.(fist in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
April 1, 2008... The world's GDP will almost double by 2030 and it would cost just over one per cent of that growth to implement policies that would cut major air pollutants by a third and contain greenhouse gas emissions to 12 per cent growth (compared with 37...

CIMA brand has Krypton factor.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The institute has been named UK Business to Business Superbrand 2008. The award, now in its eighth year, is judged by a panel of experts and draws on a survey of more than 1,500 business professionals. "Firms...

Conformers are top performers.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Firms with the best corporate governance records are producing returns 18 per cent higher than those with poor records, according to research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The study, which examined 654 FTSE All-Share...

Martyn Cuff: ACMA: director and head of operations, Allianz Global Investors Europe.(ONE 2 ONE)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You have a degree and an MBA from London Business School as well as your CIMA, banking (ACIB) and stockbroking (FSII) qualifications, yet you're still in your thirties. How did you find the time to do them all? ...

All over the shop: too much information may be better than none at all, but the level of obfuscation on product labels is starting to make a simple trip to the supermarket a perplexing experience. Ruth Prickett calls for a little clarity.(opinion)
April 1, 2008... Consumers could be forgiven for thinking that they need an accountancy qualification simply to go shopping. Not only are they bombarded with data (much of it spurious) ranging from price per unit of weight to nutritional values, ingredient...

Trust fund: politicians will never win our confidence if the lack of transparency concerning their expenses--and the feeble sanctions against MPs who abuse the system--remain, Danielle Cohen recommends more discipline and rigour in parliamentary affairs.(ethics)
April 1, 2008... Whether it's Derek Conway MP paying a salary to his son--a full-time student--or Sir Nicholas Winterton MP claiming a rent allowance to live in his own mortgage-free home, the potential for politicians to misuse public money has been amply...

Give and make: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett may be setting new records for individual charitable donations, but, as Scott Payton finds out, British firms are leading the world in engaging the philanthropic inclinations of their employees.(Company overview)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] June 2008 will be an important month for Microsoft. Bill Gates is leaving his day-job at the software giant to focus full time on the charity he founded with his wife eight years ago. It's no ordinary charity: with...

Thorough counsel: when Nathan Elvery became FD at the London Borough of Croydon n 2004, the job of restoring its finances must have seemed like mission impossible. Ruth Prickett reports on a turnaround that hinged on h s ability to tell the council's leaders some home truths and persuade them to take tough decisions.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Wanted: the best financial managers--must be prepared to work in a demoralised, isolated finance function responsible for an overspend of 5m [pounds sterling] to 8m [pounds sterling] a year and the worst-funded...

Cartel tales: the Office of Fair Trading has intensified its campaign against price-fixing and is pressing for heavy penalties. Neil Hodge proposes ways to minimise the risk of prosecution--including blowing the whistle on suspected offenders.
April 1, 2008... While price-fixing has been an offence in the UK for only five years, lawyers believe that the increasing willingness of the competition watchdog to investigate alleged abuses and bring criminal prosecutions means that UK companies must learn...

The Kiwi directive: Hilary Combes draws on her own experiences to explain the lifestyle and career opportunities that New Zealand can offer CIMA professionals.(career development)
April 1, 2008... It was with some trepidation that I stood in line at Auckland airport's immigration desk in January 2005 after my 26-hour journey from London. The only member of New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team I could name was Jonah Lomu. Suppose they...

Outsourcing the finance function: Alexa Michael analyses the most important factors to consider when making decisions on farming out your firm's accounting processes.(technical matters)
April 1, 2008... The use of finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) by organisations of all sizes is increasing across the world and especially in Europe. The number of large contracts (those involving at least five processes and/or valued at more than 25m...

IFRS3 and FAS141: Stuart Whitwell analyses changes to the FASB's and IASB's standards on business combinations and considers how close they are to convergence.(technical matters)
April 1, 2008... In December 2007 and January 2008 respectively, the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)issued revised standards on business combinations. These revised standards take...

Shared service centres: Will Seal and Ian Herbert tell Louise Ross about their research into the contribution that shared service centres can make to intellectual capital.(technical matters)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] What triggered your study? Ian Herbert: In the past 20 years there has been a trend for replacing the traditional model of organising service activities in business divisions with an outsourced model. The...

Money-laundering: Martin Nimmo explains the position of trust and company service providers under the UK Money Laundering Regulations 2007.(technical matters)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is essential and urgent reading for interim managers, non-executive directors and company secretaries. Even if you do not recognise yourself as a trust and company service provider (TCSP), you should read the...

Financial Ratios.(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Financial Ratios Author: Richard Bull Publisher: Elsevier/CIMA Publishing Price: 29.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 978 0 7506 8453 8 I expected book to be full of ratios and formulas, but the...

International Accounting Standards from UK Standards to IAS: An Accelerated Route to Understanding the Key Principles.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] International Accounting Standards from UK Standards to IAS: An Accelerated Route to Understanding the Key Principles Author: Paul Rodgers Publisher: Elsevier/CIMA Publishing Price: 29.99 [pounds...

Tom Patrick, business analyst, Spirits Supply, Diageo.(student ONE 2 ONE)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What do you do and where do you do it? I analyse the production and blending of whisky and also spirits such as gin, vodka and rum. Whisky is about 70 per cent of our market--I look at the amount we produce and...

TOPCIMA: Shuaib Masters checks out the pre-seen material and considers whether the Solberri group will be in Shangri-La or Heartbreak Hotel.(study notes: PAPER P10)
April 1, 2008... TOPCIMA candidates would be well advised to put "do not disturb" signs on their doors while they grapple with May's case study. Solberri is a hotel group that has developed ten resort hotels since establishing a reputation for quality with its...

TOPCIMA: Adrian Sims offers his analysis of the key financial and strategic issues that you and the board of the Solberri hotel group may have to address.(study notes: PAPER P10)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There are no marks available in the TOPCIMA exam for writing out the case again in your own words. You have to analyse it and show what's important. So that's what we'll do here, starting with Solberri's financial...

Management accounting--business strategy: the examiner for paper P6 explains the commercial value of foresight and outlines some of the key methods available for envisioning the future.(study notes: PAPER P6)
April 1, 2008... Most managers look no further than two or three years into the future. This is the usual amount of time they spend in one post and, after that, it becomes someone else's problem when they move on. After all, no one can really forecast the...

Exam notice.(study notes)
April 1, 2008... Visit www.cimaglobal.com regularly for updates May 2008 exams The May exams will take place on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22. Online entry for these exams closed on March 21. Exam entry cancellations and changes ...

Sri Lanka hosts CIMA technical symposium.(institute update)(Risk management for sustainable business success)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... CIMA Sri Lanka concluded its third technical symposium on February 15. The event, entitled "Risk management for sustainable business success", attracted over 300 participants from across Sri Lanka's business community and CIMA. ...

Elections to council 2008.(institute update)
April 1, 2008... The following have been re-elected to serve for another term on council from the close of the annual general meeting on June 14, 2008 until the close of the AGM in 2011: R M Clutterham Area 1 (Central London and North Thames) R H...

New faces at CIMA.(institute update)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Victor Smart has taken up the post of CIMA's head of corporate communications. He was previously head of media and public affairs at the Audit Commission and will now oversee the institute's global external and internal communications,...

Online study aids at cimastudy.com.(institute update)
April 1, 2008... CIMA Publishing has launched its first online courses for students worldwide. These can be found at www.cimastudy.com and provide interactive, on-demand training for CIMA's exams. The first three courses are at strategic level and include:...

Presidential engagements.(institute update)(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... Apr 1 ICAS Aileen Beattie memorial lecture, London (deputy president attending). Apr 3 AAT reception, London (deputy president attending). Apr 4 CIMA Johannesburg, AGM and "meet the president" event. Apr 5 Cork and...

Diary: forthcoming local events in the UK.(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... Visit www.cimaglobal.com/events for updates and a full list of events (all branch events are free, unless otherwise stated), To book places, get in touch with the contact for the relevant area, unless otherwise stated, To book on CIMA CPD...

Housing accountant: Andrew Clark explains what qualities it takes to be a development finance manager at a housing association.(so you want to be ...)
April 1, 2008... Role: development finance manager for a housing association. Salary: 48k [pounds sterling] 52k [pounds sterling] This an outstanding opportunity for a qualified CIMA professional to lead the development finance team of a top London...

AlertMe.com.(On the move)
April 1, 2008... Michael Black ACMA has become CFO of AlertMe.com, a home security company. He was previously CFO at Cambridge Display Technology.

Global Eyes Logistics.(On the move)
April 1, 2008... Michael Davis ACMA has become FD at Global Eyes Logistics, a provider of logistics management solutions to the aviation industry. He was previously the finance manager at Bynx Europe.

BP Zambia.(On the move)
April 1, 2008... Rebecca Handahu ACMA has become a final reporting accountant at BP Zambia. She moves from Unilever Zambia, where she was a management accountant.

Weboptimiser.(On the move)
April 1, 2008... Conrad Swailes ACMA, one of the founders of search-engine marketing agency Weboptimiser, has become the company's chief executive. He had previously worked for the FT.

Correction.(On the move)(Correction notice)
April 1, 2008... Correction: We stated that Keith Dolby, author of the "WEEE directive" article in February's FM, was MD of Real Asset Management. In fact, he'd resigned from that job in November 2007. He is now an independent management consultant.

Gross figures.(... last out)
April 1, 2008... "A massive 64 per cent of workers actually believe that meeting face to face is the optimal method of client communication." Plantronics PR. "An alarming 50 per cent of kids will have wasted time looking at Facebook. A staggering 52...

Slippery profit margins.(... last out)
April 1, 2008... "The worst time for profitability to be slipping through your fingers is at a time when margins are incredibly hard to come by in the first place, particularly when market turbulence means that customers are looking around." Callidus...

Letters with holes.(... last out)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... "The Office for National Statistics said the likely increase in public-sector net debt represented 6.7 per cent of GDR If added to the current level of debt, the total public-sector net debt would rise to 44.4 per cent of GDP--far above the...

Put through the wringer.(... last out)
April 1, 2008... "A pensioner has complained to the police after paying 100,000 [pounds sterling] for a suitcase full of worthless blank paper in the belief it contained bank notes dyed black. "The victim was duped into believing he had bought money that...

Planet PR.(... last out)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We have determined that there are seven brand 'planets'. Some will evolve, some will thrive, some will survive and some will disappear into a black hole. Modern Classics, Dominators, New Heroes, Wallpaper, Icons,...

Soundbite.(... last out)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Overheard at the counter in a Primark store. Customer: What's with the new paper carrier bags, then? Sales assistant: It's 'cos we're going green, isn't it? Customer: But they're not green; they're...