Financial Management (UK) articles from February 2003

Financial Management (UK) archives from February 2003

Editorial comment.
February 1, 2003... As every estate agent knows, this is the time of year when people start to think about moving, renovating and decorating. Spring cleaning is just around the corner and new year's resolutions are still able to give us an incentive to make...

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published proposals to improve the quality of accounting for business combinations and to encourage international convergence. (Technical Update).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published proposals to improve the quality of accounting for business combinations and to encourage international convergence. The IASB proposes: * All business combinations within the...

The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has withdrawn UITF Abstract 10 "Disclosure of directors' share options" with immediate effect. (Technical Update).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has withdrawn UITF Abstract 10 "Disclosure of directors' share options" with immediate effect. The abstract has served its purpose, because the new legal requirements for directors' remuneration reports--the...

In less than two years' time UK-listed companies will be required to use EU-adopted international accounting standards in their group financial statements. (Technical Update).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In less than two years' time UK-listed companies will be required to use EU-adopted international accounting standards in their group financial statements. The government is currently debating whether these standards should be extended to other...

Reporting model is `failing its task': firms are not communicating properly with investors. (Investor Relations).
February 1, 2003... Companies are failing to give investors anywhere near enough information, according to investment experts. The facts that companies choose to report to the investment community are only about a quarter of what it wants from them. "The...

OFT's plans dismay whistle-blowing campaigners. (Professional Ethics).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Office of Fair Trading's proposal to extend legal professional privilege to accountants would thwart attempts to prevent corporate scandals, according to Public Concern at Work. The whistle-blowing charity is concerned that the extension of...

CBI hails pensions blueprint: but ministers have been criticised for ignoring key issues. (Pensions Green Paper).
February 1, 2003... The pensions green paper has received a mixed response from employer bodies and pensions experts. Although the CBI welcomed the government's plans for simplifying the system, Mercer Human Resource Consulting complained that the document failed...

Broad support for audit reforms. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sir Robert Smith's report on audit committees has been widely welcomed by the accounting profession, "This as another important contribution to the UK system of corporate governance," said Stathis Gould, CIMA's head of technical issues. The...

CIMA backs Higgs' proposals: but non-execs need even more support, says institute. (Corporate Governance).
February 1, 2003... Business groups have broadly welcomed the Higgs review's radical proposals to reform corporate governance, although they are concerned that some of its recommendations could cause damaging divisions in Britain's boardrooms. "This will...

Update for a firm favourite. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CIMA is relaunching its training support scheme for employers on 17 February. Formerly known as Training Through Partnership, the new framework is called CIMA Training. It will provide a ready-made package to ensure that the training of...

FRC issues review of 2002. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published an annual review reporting on the activities of the FRC, the Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Reporting Review Panel last year. Contact: www.frc.org.uk

How to become more energy efficient. (News Round-Up).
February 1, 2003... Every year 12 billion [pounds sterling] worth of energy in the UK--around a third what the country consumes--is wasted, according to Action Energy, the Carbon Trust's energy efficiency initiative. Experts argue that if organisations focused on...

Business failures on the rise. (News Round-Up).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The number of corporate insolvencies increased by almost 10 per cent last year to 18,926, according to research by Experian. The number of compulsory liquidations--where a court order is obtained by a creditor, employee or director--rose by 37...

List of FM features goes on-line. (News Round-Up).(Financial Management)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Financial Management index of articles for 2002 is now available. For a copy contact Louisa Roberts at louisa.roberts@cimaglobal.com by the end of this month or download it from the CIMA website at www.cimaglobal.com/main/ about/financial/

PFI fee foe umm ... (Letters).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Your review of PFI ("Losing the initiative", FM November 2002) is fine, but let's keep it simple and examine only two of the issues, neither of them new. 1 Like any borrowing, it is a case of "get now, pay (a lot more) later". 2 Civil...

Social benefits. (Letters).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Eric Nichols' letter ("Cash-back deals", FM, December/January 2002-03) points to the elements of social costs and benefits. The creation of public goods means that there is a diversion of funds from the next best use. Next best use involves a...

Letters of the law. (Letters).
February 1, 2003... In no way would I wish to deter ACMAs from becoming FCMAs, but I do doubt whether it provides any real benefit when getting a job. I spent 22 years with Shell, where staff underwent a yearly performance evaluation, and at no time can I recall...

Cartesis[R]: the debate on how to prevent another Enron-style scandal has turned to the use of technology, but can IT systems really make a difference? Jonny Cheetham answers your queries. (Questions & Answers).
February 1, 2003... While all the discussions about improving corporate governance are welcome if another Enron situation is to be avoided, there is another key issue in this debate: can companies' internal systems help to keep things on the straight and narrow?...

Shy of retiring: people who continue working after their 65th birthday automatically lose crucial employment rights, but this cut-off is now underthreat. Sue Nickson explains the implications for employers. (Legal).
February 1, 2003... Employees aged 65 and over are ineligible for statutory redundancy payments and can't generally bring unfair dismissal claims, but this rule has been in question for some time. In Nash v Mash/Roe Group in 1998 a tribunal ignored the exclusions...

Sink or swim: Robert Todd's career took a sea-change for the better when he launched his own management consultancy. But, as he explains to Cathy Hayward, the process hasn't always been plain sailing. (Entrepreneur).
February 1, 2003... Most of us tend to have great ideas for our future when we've had a few drinks. Not many of them ever get off the ground, let alone become limited companies. But for Robert Todd, co-founder of management consultancy Adventus, a sunny day spent...

A non-friction bestseller? At first sight, web services appeared to be just another IT fad. But that's not the case now, argues Chuck Boynton, and CFOs must decide whether it's one technology they shouldn't be ignoring. (Technology).
February 1, 2003... CFOs of large multinationals are in a quandary. On the one hand, they are under pressure to cut IT costs drastically. On the other, IT departments are stressing the need to keep up with "revolutionary developments" promising cost reductions and...

All above board: companies will not be able to make their external reporting processes more transparent unless they improve the way they manage their businesses internally. (City).
February 1, 2003... In a year since the spectacular fall of Enron, we have heard increasingly loud calls for companies' external reporting to be more transparent. CIMA has been at the forefront of this, arguing that transparency is the only way to restore trust in...

Room for improvement: property rental costs are a substantial outgoing for most companies, but they can be reduced considerably by making more efficient use of office space. Jonathan Davies states the business case for innovative workplace design. (Cover Feature Office Design).
February 1, 2003... It's too easy to judge workplace design subjectively in terms of aesthetics and to forget the more tangible issues that affect costs and profitability. Flexible working practices are becoming more widespread, and today's brightest and best...

Precious joules: energy overheads are often ignored when businesses seek to cut costs, but energy is a resource just like any other and should be managed with the same care. Act now to save it, urges Garry Felgate, and you'll soon reap the benefits. (Business Energy Efficiency).
February 1, 2003... The environmental arguments for reducing energy usage are well rehearsed, but many businesses still aren't aware of the very real financial advantages they can gain if they embrace energy efficiency. The climate change levy (CCL),...

Known quantities: although it's impossible to account for most knowledge-based assets using traditional systems, there are alternative methods of assessing these intangibles and how they drive business performance. Bernard Marr explains how to manage your organisation's knowledge base. (How To Knowledge Management).
February 1, 2003... Knowledge has become a crucial strategic resource in most organisations--and for many it plays a more important role than tangible assets. We now live in a business world where "knowledge workers" can sit at home and log into virtual locations...

Bull's-eye market: will large companies in the UK soon embrace the American fashion of issuing targeted stock? Samuel Idowu, Anthony Brabazon and Kojo Menyah explain what targeted stock is--and what it can offer as a financial management tool. (Finance Targeted Stock).
February 1, 2003... Targeted stock is a relatively new class of equity that several large US companies have issued in recent years. Although no British group has yet followed suit, the London Stock Exchange has indicated that it would have no objection to this in...

Double trouble: how can two successful businesses seem to be worth less than the sum of their parts once they merge? Although companies persist in making them, cross-border acquisitions all too often fail to add much value. To determine whether this can be attributed to the problems of establishing suitable management controls, Tony Appleyard and Simon Pallett review the evidence from two Anglo-German case studies. (Business Mergers).
February 1, 2003... The surprising thing about the continuing fashion for international mergers and acquisitions is that there's compelling evidence to show that they add little or no value to the acquiring business. The research in this area has so far failed to...

Perpetrators: more and more businesses are introducing enterprise resource planning systems, but what are the implications for the future roles of the management accountant? Mike Newman and Chris Westrup discuss the latest research. (Finance ERP Systems).
February 1, 2003... Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are software modules for different business functions linked by a common database to produce an integrated enterprise-wide system. In line with international trends, most large British companies have...

New members list. (Institute News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A list of all the new members admitted to the institute in 2002 will be published on the CIMA website (www.cimaglobal.com) in the spring. The list will also include members who have retired and those who have died. If you require a paper copy,...

Easing student registration. (Institute News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... From 1 February 2003, the CIMA student admissions unit will be operating a revised blanket exemption procedure. The new arrangements will enable students with unaccredited qualifications to receive a fast decision on their exemptions...

New year, new job? (Institute News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... If the new year has put you in the mood to find a new job, you'll be interested in the latest service that CIMA is launching. The CIMA Careers site, developed in partnership with Monster.co.uk, will enable institute members and students to find...

ACT now to have a career to treasure. (Institute News).(Association of Corporate Treasurers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Katherine Medley, group treasurer at the Princes Group, part of the Mitsubishi Corporation, never considered a career in treasury when she started studying with CIMA in 1995. But, as part of the CIMA finance training scheme at BICC Cables,...

Elections to council 2003. (Institute News).
February 1, 2003... 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 AGM in June 2003, elections will be held in February and March. Nominations for candidates (fellows) to fill...

Institute diary.(Calendar)
February 1, 2003... February Check the CIMA website and bookmarkwww.cima global.com/main/about/local/ europe for up-to-date event information in your area. CENTRAL LONDON AND NORTH THAMES See area newsletter for further information and...

JJ Fast Food Distribution. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Jack Manashe FCMA has been appointed head of finance at JJ Fast Food Distribution. He will be working closely with the managing director and operations director to ensure that corporate objectives are achieved. On the move is edited by...

University of Glasgow. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ken Shackleton ACMA has been appointed to the chair of accounting history at the University of Glasgow. Shackleton is the head of the department of accounting and finance at the university, which obtained a rating of 5 at the last research...

MacDonald Dettwiler. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Malcolm Edwards FCMA has been appointed chief executive of MacDonald Dettwiler, the UK arm of Canadian information company MacDonald Dettwiler Associates. Edwards was formerly director of finance and IT at the Coal Authority. On the move...

AccJobs.com. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Stephen Jones FCMA has been appointed finance director of accountancy recruitment website, AccJobs.com. He has held a number of senior finance business roles, both in the UK and the US, including being co-founder of a prominent international...

MOWIS. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ken Gorf FCMA has been appointed managing director of MOWIS, a company specialising in mobile communications for the deaf and hard of hearing community, and location-based weather information services. He has strategic and operational...

Depuy International. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CIMA passed finalist David Johnson has been appointed operations financial analyst at Depuy International (a Leeds-based Johnson and Johnson company). He joins from P & L Beds (a Silentnight Holdings company) where he was a financial...

Groupama Insurances. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Emmanuel Tessier has been appointed finance director of Groupama Insurances. He joins from parent company Groupama, where he was head of the audit and actuarial department in Pads. Before joining Groupama in October 9.001, Tessier was chief...

Land Securities. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Martin Wood has been appointed group tax and treasury director of Land Securities. Wood's previous position was group treasurer at Railtrack, where he was responsible for funding plans and developing the company's bank and rating agency and tax...

Medhotels.com. (On the move).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Jacky Bedlow FCMA (above) has been appointed finance director of holiday destination website, Medhotels.com. Bedlow has spent the the past eight years as finance director of three companies within the Thomas Cook Group. She spent six years in...

Diary of events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2003... Good profits: re-building trust in corporations 11 February, London Speakers include Dr Gerhard Cromme, chairman of the German government's commission on corporate governance. Contact: conferences@riia.org, or tel: + 44 (0) 20...