Financial Management (UK) articles from December 2004

Financial Management (UK) archives from December 2004

Editorial comment.(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... The traditional view that the festive season is a time for winding down is fast becoming one of those "I remember when..." legends of idyllic Christmases in years gone by. Hazy memories of whole afternoons spent chatting up receptionists under...

Prized assets go on the record.(News Round-Up)
December 1, 2004... Two winners in the 2004 CIMA and Financial Management Awards feature prominently in this issue. On page 22, Sir Andrew Likierman, recognised for his contribution to management accounting at the annual awards dinner in November, draws on his...

CIMA mixes it with marketers.(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Some of the leading thinkers in finance and marketing will meet on 2-3 February to discuss the topic "Is marketing profitable?" at a conference organised by CIMA and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. The event will feature new research...

How green was my value added?(News Round-Up)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... CIMA has welcomed the publication of the exposure draft International Guidelines on Environmental Management Accounting by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). "We are naturally delighted that IFAC has issued draft guidance on...

Fund guru predicts gloomy 2005: the stock market is likely to go 'sideways rather than up'.(Investment)
December 1, 2004... A leading City figure has forecast a disappointing year for investors, despite the recent economic upturn. Speaking at a lecture on the asset management industry, Lord Latymer, head of portfolio management and financial planning at...

Choose LIFO in the fast lane.(News Round-Up)
December 1, 2004... Who says accountants are dull? A new website has revealed a previously unknown sport that could appeal to thrill-seeking CIMA members: extreme accounting. According to its home page, the activity pushes financial managers to their limits and...

War on terror costs Met dear: the capital's regular police services are short of money.(Public Funding)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Expensive anti-terrorism measures are draining the Metropolitan Police Service of its resources to combat other crimes in London, according to a senior police administrator. Peter Martin, treasurer of the Metropolitan Police Authority...

IFRS: reticent companies risk stock devaluation.(News Round-Up)(international financial reporting standards)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A leading audit firm has warned that companies must increase their efforts to assess and communicate the impact of the new international financial reporting standards (IFRS) on their annual results--or risk damaging their share prices. A...

DTI to defer OFR deadline.(News Round-Up)(Department of Trade and Industry, operating and financial review )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... As Financial Management goes to press, it's still not clear for how long the Department of Trade and Industry will postpone the deadline for the introduction of compulsory operating and financial review (OFR). The mandatory reporting...

to rewrite dictionary.(News Round-Up)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The institute is asking members to draw on their experience to help it update its official terminology of management accountancy. This manual is designed to provide clear and precise definitions of key terms and concepts. Members are being...

The CIMA and Financial Management Awards, Thursday 25 November 2004.(News Round-Up)
December 1, 2004... Employer of the year (more than 500 employees) Sponsored by HAYS Winner: Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover is an outstanding example of what a CIMA Training Quality Partner can offer. The firm's Ignition programme includes soft...

Companies bill survives ambush.(Regulations Update)
December 1, 2004... The companies (audit, investigations and community enterprise) bill received royal asset in November despite attempts to amend it by both Tory and Labour MPs. Even with support from the LibDems, Tory industry spokesman Andrew Mitchell was...

Thousands go on secure register.(Regulations Update)
December 1, 2004... Companies House has reported that the secure directors' register, established in April 2002, now holds the names of 4,792 people. The list was set up to provide confidentiality for directors who believe they are at risk from militant groups as...

Acas offers free course on absence.(Regulations Update)(Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has created an on-line learning package to help small firms manage absence. According to Acas, 176 million working days were lost in the UK in 2003, costing employers 11.6 billion [pounds...

Audit ethics guidance comes under fire.(Regulations Update)
December 1, 2004... Pressure is mounting on the Auditing Practices Board (APB) to reconsider its draft ethical guidelines for auditors. Following last month's decision by the ICAEW's council not to recommend that its registered auditors adopt the APB standards,...

SMEs eagerly await corporation tax review.(Regulations Update)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Small businesses are looking forward to a Treasury discussion paper on the taxation of small owner-managed businesses that's due for release with the chancellor's pre-budget report on d2 2 December. Gordon Brown (pictured) hinted to the CBI...

Questions of consolidation: Roland Kaye explains why it is vital to engage with the debate.(Institute News)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
December 1, 2004... I have genuinely appreciated the two-way communication that has taken place with members and students across our divisions and branches in the current round of consolidation meetings. Above all else, this dialogue has reinforced the passion and...

Obituaries.(Institute News: Eric Power)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... Eric Power, past president, 22 Jan 1912--24 Sept 2004. Power was president of the institute in 1963-64 and president of the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire district in 1970-71. He spent most of his working life at the British United...

Presidential engagements.(Institute News)(Calendar)
December 1, 2004... 28 Nov--Consolidation 14 Dec meetings, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong 6 Dec CIMA consolidation meeting, Leeds 6 Dec CIMA consolidation meeting, Manchester 10 Dec CIMA Christmas party, London 16 Dec CIMA consolidation...

Elections to council 2005.(Institute News)
December 1, 2004... Retirements by rotation Notice is given that, as the term of office of the council member in each of the following electoral areas expires at the end of the annual general meeting in June 2005, election will be held in February 2005....

Election results.(Institute News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Vacancy--Area 5 (North East England) Trevor Hassall has been elected unopposed to council, for his first term as a member of council, to serve until the close of the 2007 AGM. Casual vacancy--Area 3 (East Midlands) Glen Patterson...

United stand?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... After so many attempts over the past 30 years, it is time to try consolidation again, but with a different emphasis that will not only appeal, but be of value to the ICAEW and CIPFA as well as to CIMA. CIMA is stronger and more respected then...

Miss Backlash.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... It beggars belief that some readers have written in to complain about the series of "Miss Whiplash" advertisements on the back covers of Financial Management. No wonder the accountancy profession is still seen as stuffy and boring if this...

Laissez days.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I would like comment on David Allen's article about pension fund valuation (October) and nay own feelings about FASB Statement 142, which allows US quoted companies not to depreciate goodwill. I live in Italy and I find it hard to...

Emerald ire.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... Congratulations to Dennis J Collins (Letters, November) for highlighting a problem that has been evident in my part of Ireland for some time. I am proud to be a CIMA member; but am annoyed at having to explain to local businesses the role of a...

Don't rest your case.(Performance Management)
December 1, 2004... Anyone involved in selling high-value capital items--enterprise software, for example--knows that life can be a rollercoaster. One day everyone is on a high when a major deal is in the bag. The next day everyone is distraught when, after many...

The year the Earth moved: the world has enjoyed an impressive spurt in gross global productivity over the past 12 months. Although a slower 2005 is expected, David Ross predicts that growth will still be respectable.(Economics)
December 1, 2004... It's estimated that the global economy grew by 5 per cent in 2004, its fastest rate since 1973. The US and China accounted for almost half of this growth. Loose monetary policy has encouraged Americans to carry on spending, while an...

A sinister outlook: businesses that persist in the 'left-brain approach' to management will wind up as evolutionary footnotes. David Allen explains the consequences of their refusal to adapt to the environment.(Management)
December 1, 2004... Implicit in many of my columns for FM has been the idea that growing businesses tend to take what I have called the right-brain approach to management, epitomised by a culture of trust and commitment. These companies see the strategic level...

Play as you earn: is your diary over Christmas packed with lacklustre corporate schmooze-fests and uninspiring client lunches? If so, Louisa Roberts finds out what your company could be doing to give key customers an unforgettable experience.(Business Corporate Hospitality)
December 1, 2004... I blame New Zealand. Its breathtaking scenery seems to instil its inhabitants with a mysterious need for near-death experiences (or life-enhancing adrenaline rushes, as they are sometimes called). It doesn't take much to make them go...

Worth your weight in gold? The finance function can no longer rest on its laurels and assume that everyone in the business knows it's indispensable. Sir Andrew Likierman explains how financial managers can go about proving their value.(Finance Performance Measurement)
December 1, 2004... Once upon a time, finance didn't have to discuss its own performance. The function was seen as essential, although the reasons why it was essential were understood only' hazily by outsiders. But that's no longer the case. Inexorable cost...

Neophyte club: the European Union's 10 newest members had to submit to stringent financial control assessments before gaining entry. But have these countries continued their reforms now that they have passed the initiation test?(Finance EU Expansion)
December 1, 2004... Given the media's frequent mauling of the European Commission's accounting record and history of funding embarrassing projects such as the riding school in Spain that turned out to be a brothel, it's little wonder that some people are wary of...

Niche work if you can get it: do you have what it takes to become an interim executive manager? Mike Brooks explains the considerable rewards--and demands--that come with the territory.(Business Interim Management)
December 1, 2004... In my previous FM feature ("Mind the gap", November 2004) I described the development of interim executive management and explained some of the business advantages of this approach. In this article I will describe what life as an interim is...

A no-bull market: whether it's imparting good or bad news, an annual report that tells it to shareholders straight will signal the company's integrity and ultimately benefit its share value, writes Brian Henderson. As the deadline for compulsory operating and financial reviews looms, he provides his best-practice guide to narrative reporting.(How To Write Annual Reports)
December 1, 2004... After several years of consultation, narrative reporting in the UK is shortly to become both compulsory and regulated for the first time. Back in May, Patricia Hewitt, the secretary of state for trade and industry, announced the publication of...

Footing the bill: as the Metropolitan Police Service's 175th anniversary draws to a close, Camilla Berens talks to the man who has given the capital's boys in blue a financial facelift for the 21st century.(Interview Keith Luck)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... When Keith Luck started working for London's Metropolitan Police Service four years ago, he faced the management accountant's ultimate challenge. Many FDs would relish the opportunity to restructure a company's finance function, but Luck had...