Financial Management (UK) articles from December 2003

Financial Management (UK) archives from December 2003

Editorial comment.
December 1, 2003... Ho, ho, ho--it's Christmas again and boom time for retailers. Toy shops, of course, are top of the pile, rivalled only by turkey farms. Hamleys, London's world-famous toy store, expects to make nearly half of its annual sales over Christmas...

Supermarket seeks commitment.(Asda employment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Asda is to recruit 10,000 permanent employees instead of seasonal workers to cover demand over peak periods such as Christmas and New Year. The employees will be contracted to work as few as 10 weeks a year. The firm's recruitment drive has...

Leeds footballers 'unaffordable'.(Leeds United)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Struggling Premiership football club Leeds United needs to improve its financial management drastically to get out of trouble, Grant Thornton's recovery and reorganisation team has warned. The specialist football adviser said that the club was...

Money-laundering law deferred.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The publication of the final version of the UK Money-Laundering Regulations 2003 continues to be delayed and, as FM goes to press, the implementation date is still unknown. They will require all "external" accountants, as well as other...

Small investors act on fat-cat pay: one in 10 private shareholders has sold shares in protest.(Shareholder Activism)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The shareholder revolt over executive pay has spread beyond the investment institutions to include the UK's 7.5 million small investors. A survey by stockbroker Brewin Dolphin found that more than half of the small investors it questioned...

Balanced scorecard provides ROI: a study has found the key to performance management.
December 1, 2003... Successful performance management depends on letting front-line staff identify the measures that matter and find the best ways to improve processes to meet them, according to Philip Barden, research director at Harrogate Management Centre. ...

Charity FDs issue reform plan: proposals are aimed at enhancing financial transparency.(Reporting)(Charity Finance Directors' Group)
December 1, 2003... The voluntary sector faces a radical shake-up if recommendations intended to improve the quality of charities' annual reports are included in a statement of recommended practice (Sorp) currently being drafted by the Charity Commission. The...

EC plans bankruptcy law reforms.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The European Commission is to recommend major changes to the ways in which bankruptcies are handled, according to accountancy firm PKF. The EC's new report, Restructuring, Bankruptcy and a Fresh Start, suggests the increased use of expert...

Pensions law: winners and losers.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The government's publication of draft regulations to ensure that assets are distributed as fairly as possible when pension schemes are wound up has been broadly welcomed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, but the firm has warned that the...

Boardroom blitz at news group.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... All four members of the audit committee at Hollinger have resigned, having had their recommended management changes rejected by the board. This followed the disclosure of $32 million in unauthorised or misreported management payments....

CIMA newsletter hits internet.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Insight, the monthly e-mail newsletter for accountants in business, brings together the most important issues facing the profession in a digestible, interactive format. It includes accountancy news, technical updates and reports on the latest...

List of FM features to go on-line.(News Round-Up)(Financial Management )
December 1, 2003... The Financial Management index of articles for 2003 will be available at the end of January. E-mail esther.boateng@cimaglobal.com to request a copy.

Snapshots of shareholder resistance.(News Round-Up)
December 1, 2003... October 2003 GlaxoSmithKline. Shareholders pressure the board to publish a revised pay policy, having voted down its plans to pay chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier 22 million [pounds sterling] should he be dismissed for poor performance....

Investors finally flex their muscles: shareholder rebellions are now coming thick and fast.(Shareholder Activism)
December 1, 2003... Revolution is afoot in corporate Europe. Five years ago there were little more than mutterings about "fat cats" and "personal fiefdoms". But these have given way to a wave of activism that has extended from veteran corporate governance...

MPs propose pay legislation: but the government is unlikely to accept their advice.(Executive Reward)
December 1, 2003... The government is expected to reject the argument of a group of senior MPs that a law restricting executive pay could be enforceable but should not be introduced yet. A trade and industry select committee report argued that such a law...

Firms take to on-line banking.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Businesses are becoming increasingly willing to bank via the internet and switch their account provider, according to new research by Alliance and Leicester. Around half the firms are more willing than they were 12 months ago to bank on-line...

BADSA scraps certification plan.(Business Application Software Developers' Association )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Business Application Software Developers' Association (BADSA) has decided not to pursue the certification of accounting packages for international accounting standards (IAS) capability. The decision has been prompted by concerns that the...

The CIMA/Financial Management Awards Wednesday 12 November 2003, London.(News Round-Up)
December 1, 2003... Recruitment consultancy of the year Sponsored by GAAPweb Winner: Michael Page The judges were impressed by Michael Page's new initiatives to support CIMA students and promote the qualification--particularly the Part-Qualified Survival...

Presidential engagements.(Institute News)(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... 2-3 Dec ACODI event, Madrid 3 Dec CIMA executive committee 4 Dec CIMA Christmas party 16 Dec ICSA dinner, Old Library of the Great Hall, London (deputy president attending)

Casual vacancy Area 3.(Institute News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Only one nomination was received in response to the casual vacancy advertised for a representative in Area 3: for John Coghlan. He is therefore elected unopposed as the new member of council for Area 3 and will serve on council in this capacity...

Correction.(Institute News)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2003... The notice of elections in November FM should have stated that the closing date is 15 December 2003, not 2004. Apologies for any confusion.

On-line services.(Institute News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CIMA's latest on-line services were launched successfully in November. Members and students can now pay annual subscriptions, set up direct debits, view financial statements, change contact details and enter for exams (all on...

Disciplinary case.(Institute News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Darren Warner, registered student (9942939) The disciplinary committee considered a complaint from SBJ Group against Darren Warner, registered student of CIMA, who had been appointed to the position of management accountant. Warner's...

Council reviews progress of new business system.(Institute News)
December 1, 2003... Council met on 24 October and one of the first items on the agenda was a report on the new CIMA business operations system, which is creating an improved database and increasing the institute's on-line functionality. Members heard that the...

Sri Lankan becomes youngest ACMA at 20.(Institute News)(Associate Chartered Management Accountant )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A Sri Lankan management accountant has become the youngest CIMA member in the world. Jayamin Pelpola (right), a merchandiser at Shadowline, a manufacturer for brands including Gap and Banana Republic, has become a member at 20 years old....

Safety checks.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... The penultimate paragraph of "Safety in numbers" (November), refers to "CIMA members in business" and then proceeds to discuss the need for insurance to protect senior executives from possible risks. There are two points that I would like to...

Go east.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... Your special issue on Asia (October) was great. China and India's progress has been remarkable and professionals from these countries equal the best in the world. China's relationship with the western world is now entering a challenging...

A century of CIMA.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I noted with interest your statistic in the October issue of FM that the oldest CIMA member is only 92. My father, Leonard Inman, was elected an associate member in 1946 and a fellow in 1952. He is now 84. This makes me wonder how many members...

Finals frontiers.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I have just returned from a one-month assignment in Iran. This involved preparing Iranian students for the November sitting of CIMA exams at Tehran's management accounting training centre. It was a positive experience and included visits to...

Above and beyond: certain business issues are simply too complex to be decided by sticking to economic principles. David Allen ponders the need to take the financial management profession to a higher level.(Management)
December 1, 2003... In terms of its place in the overall scheme of things, management accountancy is a subset of economics. For those of us on the financial management side in particular, it has been a practical manifestation of microeconomics--ie, helping to...

Dangerous curves: America's economic juggernaut has roared ahead of its main competitors during the third quarter, but David Ross suggests that some hazards may be lying just around the corner.(Economics)
December 1, 2003... The US economy grew at its fastest pace in 20 years during the third quarter, confirming its position as the best-performing economy in the industrialised world. The UK's growth, on the other hand, has not accelerated significantly. It should...

Powers of observation: surveillance in the workplace is a difficult subject that employers cannot afford to get wrong. Ben Willmott explains the best way to keep on the right side of the Information Commissioner.(People Management)
December 1, 2003... Striking the right balance between respecting people's rights to privacy at work and ensuring that they don't misuse business property and systems is a challenge for employers. They have more tools at their disposal than ever before to monitor...

Why way-out is on its way out: Karen Tipping explains how R&D activity in the high-tech sector has been affected by the industry downturn--and why pragmatism is likely to dominate the innovations of the future.(Technology)
December 1, 2003... Wind the clock back to 1999 and the technology industry was pouring trillions of dollars into building it brave new world. But, since the sector was caught in the worst downturn in collective memory, research and development budgets at many...

Shop of little horrors: even before the organised chaos of the Christmas rush, Hamleys has already had a tumultuous year. Cathy Hayward explains how the business went private this summer after a dismal decade on the stock market--and asks FD Ian Parker how the firm plans to write a happy-ever-after for its toy story.(Cover feature: Hamleys)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Childhood haunts often seem much smaller and less impressive when you return to them as an adult. But if you walk through the doors of Hamleys on London's Regent Street it won't matter whether you're 3 ft or 6 ft tall. You'll still be...

TW 03: this year in business has been marked by the rise of shareholder activism--an understandable response to the recent shocking lapses in corporate governance. Ruth Prickett looks back on the past 12 months and asks the experts how companies can establish better investor relations in 2004.(Business Review Of 2003)
December 1, 2003... It was clear from this time last year that 2003 was going to be dominated by war and financial scandals, but which would prove to be the more powerful influence on the economy? The first six months were dominated by the war in Iraq. Terrorism...

Acquire within: obtaining the money to fund a management buy-out may not be the easiest task in the current economic climate, but it's by no means impossible. Paul Beveridge and Louisa Roberts set out the key principles to follow to secure the best deal available.(How To Conduct A Management Buy-Out)
December 1, 2003... Private equity funding levels reached an all-time high of 13.6 million [pounds sterling] in 2001, but the economic climate has changed significantly since those heady days, and the effects are being felt across the UK. Last year they fell by 43...

Just seventeen: corporate social responsibility reporting is still at a formative stage, and British businesses are disclosing differing levels of information in a variety of ways in the absence of mandatory standards. Samuel Idowu and Brian Towler study a stream of conscientiousness from 17 companies to compare how and what they report.(Business Corporate Social Responsibility)
December 1, 2003... Businesses around the world have recognised that they can gain enormous benefits if they are seen to be socially responsible. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) report is the medium that UK firms use to disclose their activities in this...

Welcome to sarajevo: the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina may have ended seven years ago, but the republic is still fighting to repair the economic and socio-political damage that has slowed its progress towards a modern market economy. Duncan Williamson reports on his work in reforming local firms' management accounting practices as part of the aid effort.(Finance Accounting Reform)
December 1, 2003... Many businesses operating in eastern Europe have found it hard to cope with the transition from socialism to a market-driven economy. Generally, their accounting professionals have yet to catch up with the market aspects of the economy, the...