Financial Management (UK) articles from December 2007

Financial Management (UK) archives from December 2007

The importance of both long-term planning and rapid flexibility cannot be overstated.(in business)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
December 1, 2007... Over the past year CIMA has taken a leading role in supporting the transformation of the finance function. World-class business leaders highlighted the pace of change in business at the institute's recent annual conference in London. It's clear...

Irony supplement.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I remember when my teacher in a GCSE English class spent a fair bit of time trying to explain the meaning of the term "irony". Afterwards, I felt that the concept she'd just tried to explain had eluded me. Many years later, the full...

Expression of interest.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... The compilers of CIMA's certificate in Islamic finance (Technical matters, September) will have to be deft to explain how the "mark-up" added to an Islamic housing loan is anything but front-loaded interest. Also. unless this mark-up is at...

Efficiency driver.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... A couple of the contributors to FM's October issue referred to efficiency--for example, "must improve its efficiency in providing... management information". I hope that what they meant to say was "improve its effectiveness". Commendable as it...

Mature reflections.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... May I say a few words to fellow members of CIMA as I approach my 90th birthday? I was born in 1918. I graduated in commerce 20 years later and ten years after that I became a CIMA student. I then went to Croydon and participated in the then...

Trading futures.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... In "Forward-looking finance" (July/August), Robert Shaw recommends avoiding the Beyond Budgeting movement and the balanced scorecard. But he is misinformed about the issues that Beyond Budgeting addresses and also about the reasons why the...

Keegan's win.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Dame Mary Keeganof United Kingdom. Accounting Standards Committee awarded by Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CIMA has presented Dame Mary Keegan, Former head of the Accounting Standards Board, with a special lifetime achievement award for services to the accountancy profession. The accolade, given at the Government...

Stephen Jenner FCMA, director, Criminal Justice Information Technology, has been presented with the 2007 civil service award for financial management in recognition of his department's successful approach to portfolio and benefits management.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
December 1, 2007... Stephen Jenner FCMA, director, Criminal Justice Information Technology, has been presented with the 2007 civil service award for financial management in recognition of his department's successful approach to portfolio and benefits management....

World Bank endorses CIMA project.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The government of Bangladesh has commissioned CIMA as its "sole expert supplier" to lead a project to boost the capabilities of the country s main accountancy body. The project is funded by the World Bank. "We are delighted that CIMA has...

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has started publishing quarterly news releases on unit labour costs in OECD countries. The first of these, covering the Q2 of 2007, was issued on October 25. Subsequent releases will be...

The UK government has announced a 12-month delay to new provisions in the Companies Act because Companies House systems and processes will not be able to meet its original deadline of October 1, 2008.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
December 1, 2007... The UK government has announced a 12-month delay to new provisions in the Companies Act because Companies House systems and processes will not be able to meet its original deadline of October 1, 2008. But it has confirmed that changes scheduled...

Governments in developing nations are increasingly using technology to support their economic and social development aims, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
December 1, 2007... Governments in developing nations are increasingly using technology to support their economic and social development aims, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. While past technology programmes have focused on boosting the number of...

PKF Accountants has published guidance entitled "IFRS Illustrative Accounts for AIM Companies 2007" for all companies preparing their first annual accounts under IFRS for the year ended December 31, 2007.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... PKF Accountants has published guidance entitled "IFRS Illustrative Accounts for AIM Companies 2007" for all companies preparing their first annual accounts under IFRS for the year ended December 31, 2007. The illustrative accounts concern...

Employees working for British Land are expected to live eight years longer than their counterparts working for Whitbread, but this has little to do with corporate health policies.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
December 1, 2007... Employees working for British Land are expected to live eight years longer than their counterparts working for Whitbread, but this has little to do with corporate health policies. Research by Pension Capital Strategies has shown that, while...

Soundbites.(CIMA annual conference round-up)
December 1, 2007... "People should always be looking for another job--we are in the business of business, not the business of accounting." Martin Fahy. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The private equity market is slowing down markedly. A lot of returns have been...

Why SMEs should think global, too.(CIMA annual conference round-up)
December 1, 2007... Smaller firms should stay alert to the benefits of globalisation, because in some ways they should find outsourcing easier than large companies, according to Martin Fahy, former director of development, Asia Pacific, at CIMA. "Already many SMEs...

Leading economists agree to differ.(CIMA annual conference round-up)(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The UK base interest rate will probably fall to five or 5.25 per cent in 2008, but rates in the US and EU will rise sterling is currently overvalued and will fall sharply; but the credit crunch is unlikely to cause...

Frequent fryers?(CIMA annual conference round-up)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The finance function of the future will be lean and mean, according to Martin Fahy, former director of development, Asia Pacific, at CIMA. The accounting jobs being shifted overseas are the higher-paid ones, not the...

The 2007 CIMA financial management awards.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(List)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1 Outstanding contribution to business performance, sponsored by Hewitson Walker. Winner: Andrew Higginson, group finance and strategy director at Tesco. From left: Sandi Toksvig, guest speaker; Gordon Grant, CIMA...

Ian Flavell FCMA: finance director, Castle Cement.(ONE 2 ONE)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... Cement doesn't sound like the most glamorous of businesses. What attracted you to the industry? The grey powder that we call cement appears rather insignificant, but it is a vital part of the modern world and used widely in all manner of...

Ad nauseam: as consumers, our purchasing behaviour is becoming ever more sophisticated and discerning, writes Ruth Prickett. So why do so many companies continue to risk alienating us with their intelligence-insulting television commercials?(opinion)
December 1, 2007... According to H L Mencken: "No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people." Or, as P T Barnum paraphrased the same sentiment: "There is a sucker born every minute." ...

Crying foul: when a takeover bid reported as "hostile", it's likely that the target company's directors are facing a conflict of interests. After all, writes Mike Brooks, it takes a brave turkey to vote for an early Christmas.(opinion)
December 1, 2007... The reporting of business activities and issues can get pretty confused sometimes. Whether this is caused by a tack of understanding among journalists or by a determination to spin the facts into the most entertaining story possible is a moot...

The yin crowd: those of us who have spent our careers treating management as a science might find the application of methods such as astrology in business alarming, writes Scott Payton. But more and more firms are using them--even though few are ready to admit it.
December 1, 2007... The corporate world has a reputation for being the realm of the strictly rational, governed by the black-and-white rules of profit and loss. But many business leaders, in both the west and the east, are tapping into less scientific, often far...

Carbon dating: the UK government's new carbon reduction commitment is the first mandatory auction-based trading scheme of its kind in the world. Defra's Leanne Jones explains the implications for business.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The UK is demonstrating its commitment to leading efforts to tackle climate change with a new mandatory emissions trading scheme, expected to begin in January 2010. The carbon reduction commitment (CRC) will target...

Hot spots: Martin West and Kate Terriere offer advice on how to benefit from susta nable property performance.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." Charles Darwin. Climate change affects us all. The government has committed the UK to...

Practice makes perfect: Mark Allen offers a personal perspective on the rigours and rewards of working as a CIMA member in practice.(career development)(Personal account)
December 1, 2007... I believe that many CIMA members are unaware that the choices available to them include becoming a member in public practice or a practising consultant. Both of these options offer you the chance to get rid of the shackles of employment, set...

Strategic global management: in the first of two articles, Louise Ross explains the development of an open, collaborative and effective new organisational form: Business 2.0.(technical matters)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's Innovation and Development team)
December 1, 2007... Developments in IT have brought about a new mechanism for doing business --e-commerce--but they've had even more significant consequences than the introduction of new processes and channels. They have also affected organisational design and the...

Correction.(technical matters)(Correction notice)
December 1, 2007... Owing to a printing error, text was missing from central panels on the illustration of the enterprise stewardship model on page 43 of the November issue. The full diagram is available on the archived magazine pages at www.cimaglobal.com/fm. We...

Forecasting: Robert Fildes and Paul Goodwin investigate the effectiveness of firms' judgmental adjustments to computer-generated demand forecasts.(technical matters)
December 1, 2007... Accurate forecasts of demand are crucial for effective supply-chain planning, since faulty predictions lead to poor customer service, which is costly. In an effort to reduce error, many firms buy expensive forecasting software that uses...

Money-laundering: members in practice are not the only CIMA accountants who are affected by the UK's tough new law. Martin Nimmo explains its implications.(technical matters)
December 1, 2007... The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 come into force on December 15, giving effect to the third EU money-laundering directive in the UK. Under its terms, all external accountants must be supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes by a...

Simon Gardiner, director of finance, EMEA, Bakbone Software.(student ONE2ONE)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You began the CIMA qualification 28 years ago and finished your exams this autumn. What took you so long? I started the course when I worked at Habitat in the eighties, but I soon left to become chief accountant...

Organisational management and information systems: Doug Mchardie highlights two key models--Porter's value chain and Mintzberg's organigram--that focus on organisational interrelationships.(study notes: PAPER P4)
December 1, 2007... You may be tempted to consider the Organisational Management and Information Systems syllabus as a series of unrelated topics that can be learned in isolation. The reality is that paper P4 emphasises the basic building blocks of a modern...

Financial analysis: candidates have tended to struggle with questions on US Gaap versus IFRS. The examiner for paper P8 offers her guidance on the topic.(study notes: PAPER P8)
December 1, 2007... The P8 learning outcome "identify major differences between IFRS and US Gaap" has been tested twice so far. The November 2005 paper asked candidates to cite examples of the two systems' differences and similarities, while a question in May 2007...

Management accounting--performance evaluation: Bob Scarlett explains the concept of life-cycle costing and discusses its applications in investment decision-making and financial control.(study notes: PAPER P1 (ALSO OF INTEREST TO P2 CANDIDATES))
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The idea behind life-cycle costing (LCC) is simple enough. When calculating the cost of some activity--for example, developing a new product or installing a new IT system it's important to consider not only the...

Exam notice: visit www.cimaglobal.com regularly for updates.(study notes)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's exam notices)
December 1, 2007... November 2007 exam results The results for the strategic level and TOPCIMA papers will be sent out by first-class post or airmail on January 17. The results for the managerial level papers will be sent out on January 24. Log into your...

CIMA allies with Bath University.(institute update)(University of Bath and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants teamed up)
December 1, 2007... The institute has teamed up with the University of Bath to launch the CIMA Centre of Excellence at the University of Bath School of Management. The centre, which opened on November 20, will conduct independent research into best practice...

Lalani: UK needs migrants' skills.(institute update)(Hanif Lalani )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Hanif Lalani FCMA, group finance director at BT, has challenged business leaders in the City of London to make more use of the growing talent pool in developing countries to ensure that the capital remains a world-class business centre. ...

Elections to council 2008: retirements by rotation.(institute update)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's election for council members)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Notice is given that, as the term of office of the council members in areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12 expires at the end of the annual general meeting in June 2008, elections will be held in February 2008. Nominations for candidates...

Diary: forthcoming local events in the UK.(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... Visit www.cimaglobal.com/events for updates and a full list of events (all branch events are free unless otherwise state). To book places, get in touch with the contact for the relevant area, unless otherwise stated. To book places on CIMA...

Financial manager at an airline: Corinne Dauncey explains what it takes to manage an accounts department at a world-class firm of high-flyers.(so you want to be ...)
December 1, 2007... This role is for someone who wants to take charge of a finance department, assuming full responsibility for its accounting processes and procedures. It calls for a confident, bold character who is practical and able to drive a dynamic team. ...

Radcliffe Denim.(On the move)
December 1, 2007... Howard Bryant, FCMA, who spent eight years as CFO/COO at Figleaves.com helping to turn it from start-up to profitable dot-com, has joined Radcliffe Denim as chief executive. His new company is a luxury fashion brand founded by Suzy Radcliffe in...

Hoare Lea.(On the move)
December 1, 2007... Paul McCunn ACAM has been appointed finance director of Hoare Lea, an award-winning firm of consulting engineers. He has previously worked for Unilever, Deloitte and KPMG Consulting and he speaks on behalf of CIMA on enterprise governance and...

... Last out.
December 1, 2007... We rummage through in-box and postbag to bring you astonishing insights from the business world. If you've been on the receiving end of such wisdom and would like to pass it on, please send the most obvious and the most obscure in corporate...

Colonic intuition.(... last out)(Intuitive Profiles's services)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... "Many companies have found to their cost that choosing and employing the wrong person for the job can be an expensive affair... Now, however, help is at hand thanks to a new service available from specialist agency Intuitive Profiles. Brian...

To boldly stretch an analogy ...(... last out)
December 1, 2007... "In the immortal TV series Star Trek, the Klingons were often fearsome adversaries of Captain James Kirk, his crew and the Federation. But on occasion, and especially during crucial times, they could be useful allies. Today, another type of...

Shooting the breeze (at the ballpark).(Mangled metaphors)
December 1, 2007... "There are early signs of a wind of change in many countries around the world... Yes, it will take time, as there is no silver bullet, but Grant Thornton is more than ready to step up to the plate." Grant Thornton.

Mastication for the nation.(Mangled metaphors)(Mike Gerrard of Grant Thornton L.L.P.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... "Commenting on the continuing problem of personal debt, Mike Gerrard, head of personal insolvency at Grant Thornton, says: 'In spite of relatively benign economic conditions over the past decade, personal insolvencies have gone through the roof...

Buffet cars.(Mangled metaphors)(Mike Holleran of ING Car Lease)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... "The fleet industry needs to beware of entering into a cut-price feeding frenzy according to Mike Holleran, head of broking at ING Car Lease. With the end of the year approaching and a flood of deals likely to come from manufacturers, he warns...

"Solutions, schmolutions".(... last out)
December 1, 2007... "Bibby Financial Services is a market-leading specialist in the provision of a range of business cash flow solutions." "GL Trade, the global provider of front-to-back office integrated solutions." "Microgen is a market leader in the...