Financial Management (UK) articles from January 2001

Financial Management (UK) archives from January 2001

Editor's letter.(UK business climate in 2000)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2001... 2000 was a funny old year. What started out with a bang (and intense competition over which country could stage the best Millennium bash), soon turned to a whimper as the critics started to pick holes in Labour policies, and the Millennium Dome...

New unit aids company rescue.(joint Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue unit formed to deal with busines rescues)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Formal proposals to rescue businesses in trouble will now be handled by a joint Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue unit. The unit is part of a package of reforms aimed at improving co-ordination in the two departments and improving...

Advice on property investment.(Weatherall Green & Smith publish guide to property investment)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Weatherall Green & Smith has published a guide to property investment. It explains why companies invest in property, different routes, how the industry is regulated, how investment yields are measured, and analyses the risks and returns...

Cars can drive new investment.(fleet management)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A third of companies would invest in new technology if they had access to more funds, according to research by vehicle management company Arval PHH. But 32 per cent of cars acquired by firms are bought, not leased, so almost 2 billion [pounds...

Brand wars will spark `cynicism' and `revolution'.(brand management)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Firms told to find new ways to market their key brands. Strong ethical brands are emerging as the key to business success in a future where knowledge is increasingly widely available and firms are under pressure from customers as well as...

Accountancy firms put at risk by software failures.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Too many accountancy firms have experienced vital software failures in the past two years, according to ICAEW research. The survey, which covered 729 accountancy practices, revealed that 69 per cent of practices use software packages to produce...

Reader offer.(Adaptive Accounting's Accounting Office software)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Accounting Office from Adaptive Accounting is designed to integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Excel, Word and other VBA-enabled applications. The first 100 Financial Management readers who apply will receive a full version of Accounting Office...

European businesses adopt utility-based IT financing.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Utility-based financing for IT will increase by 300 percent in the next year, according to a survey by the Ronin Corporation. Research among large and mid-market businesses showed that, by this time next year, one in three European companies...

Experts fear pension chaos.(new pension scheme accounting standard )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Actuaries are warning that FRS 17 could increase pension costs and prompt companies to close schemes to limit future volatility Flexibility is essential when applying the new pension scheme accounting standard (FRS 17). Actuaries are...

Green paper boosts parental leave.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Businesses could be asked to provide two weeks' paid paternity leave, six months' paid maternity leave and to extend unpaid maternity leave so that new mothers could stay at home for a year, under proposals in the government's green paper on...

FDs warm to public relations.(financial directors bullish on corporate public relations)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Reputation is the key to financial success, according to a survey showing that finance directors are recognising the value of corporate public relations. Over two-thirds of financial directors consider that corporate PR has a positive impact on...

More data for private investors.(Electronic Communications Act)(Electronic Communications Act)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The Electronic Communications Act means that public companies can now use electronic media to communicate to shareholders information such as annual and interim reports and notice of meetings, as well as financial information. This puts private...

Domain name management.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Website addresses are valuable business assets, yet 71 per cent of companies have never audited their domain names for balance sheet purposes and some fast-moving consumer goods companies own up to 40,000 domain names, according to NOP...

Business Masterminds: Bill Gates.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Business Masterminds: Bill Gates Author: Robert Heller Publisher: Dorling Kindersley ISBN: 0751 308218 Price: 8.99 [pounds sterling] Robert Heller, founding editor of Management Today and author of several books in this series, begins by...

The Future of Banking.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Book: The Future of Banking Authors: Henry Engler and James Essinger Publisher: Pearson Education ISBN: 0273 650386 Price: 24.99 [pounds sterling] By reprinting, verbatim, interviews with 27 leaders in the banking industry and related...

Accountant's Guide to the Internet (2nd edition.(Brief Article)(Review)
January 1, 2001... Book: Accountant's Guide to the Internet (2nd edition) Author: Eric E Cohen, CPA Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0471 358347 Price: UK 29.50 [pounds sterling], USA $44.95 A major offshoot of the current revolution in information...

Techno-how.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... When it comes to budgets, IT managers often have difficulties producing arguments that finance directors understand. Robert Derry shows how co-operation can improve internal relationships and customer service There is a mystique...

Untangling the web.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... E-commerce growth in SMEs is hindered by a lack of understanding. Stathis Gould looks at how the new e-commerce scorecard can help smaller firms to improve their performance While e-business has helped many larger companies to benefit from...

Happy new (tax) year.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Christmas may be over, but Trevor James and Graham Cowie explain why 'tis the season to be jolly clever when it comes to making the most of the tax reliefs that are on offer this year as well as planning for the next Smoking, dieting and...

Caring and sharing.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Richard Bull explains why it is important that you play it safe with share-save schemes by establishing as early as possible when to grant them as well as how to account for them There has been much debate recently on the subject of...

Big brother RIP?(Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Employers should tread carefully when monitoring their staff, as they could fall foul of human rights legislation unless they can prove the measures are necessary to protect others. The media coverage following the enactment of the Human...

Hard currency.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Traditional accounting or financial management? David Allen looks at how the growing interest in valuing intangible assets can help managers to define the true worth of a business The idea of putting a value on intangible assets has become...

Eco-Logical.
January 1, 2001... Investors are becoming increasingly aware that good environmental policies can reduce risk and boost competitive advantage. Steve lores takes a closer look at why it makes financial sense for managers to dip a green finger in the organic pie...

Social status.
January 1, 2001... As companies become more aware of corporate social responsibility they have also become more interested in disclosing information to their stakeholders, explain Tracey Swift, David Owen and Christopher Humphrey Social reports are the latest...

Flights to fancy.
January 1, 2001... As the UK and France ground their Concordes in the wake of the Paris crash, Colin Chitty and Tony Dart identify the strategies that will gear up flight inspection services for commercial, as well as technical, success As we enter the...

Balance without profit.
January 1, 2001... Robert S Kaplan, the inventor of the balanced scoreboard, and David P Norton look at the use of strategy scorecards in non-profit, government and health organisations, in the second of a series of excerpts from their new book, The...

Small but perfectly informed.
January 1, 2001... While independence issues are prompting the Big Five to distance themselves from their consultancy arms, small firms are being asked to take on a wider role. Mark Malley asks why Something funny is happening in the world of small...

The wild wild Rover.(Evaluation)
January 1, 2001... The Rover 75 is not a car you forget. Coming from someone who has been known absent-mindedly to leave her car at an engagement and take the tube home, this is no flippant comment. It may not have the sex appeal of a Porsche Boxter, but park the...

Overcome your overdraft on-line.
January 1, 2001... Do you need to sort out your finances following a big splurge at Christmas, but don't want to be dragged through your extravagances under the scrutiny of a financial adviser? If face-to-face discussion about your overdraft is too much to bear,...

Tickets to ride.
January 1, 2001... Whatever your corporate travel needs, you should have no problem getting them following the introduction of a new service from American Express and new travel centres from Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The package from American Express aims to...

Disc to discuss.(bookkeeping CD-Rom for home study)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... If your efforts to convince the CEO or other managers of the merits of bookkeeping have been ignored, you could invest in the AAT's Bookkeeping Certificate, a CD-Rom home-study package. At 99 [pounds sterling] it won't break the bank and, best...

Better saved than sorry.(Automatic Backup System)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Worried about losing those vital end-of-month budget figures because of the sudden failure of a notebook or laptop computer? Primary Storage has released a pocket-sized device called Automatic Backup System (ABS) that enables a mobile computer...

All WAPped up and ready to go.(wireless application protocol)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Looking for something useful to do with your WAP phone? A new service from Norweb Telecom allows people on the move to access real-time, synchronised information from office-based systems, sharing information and accessing e-mails, address...

Bunny in the headlights.(Bunnyfoot's Internet connection for automobiles)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Why drive to the office when you can drive in the office? Web specialist Bunnyfoot has developed a prototype "Internet-enabled car" -- affectionately known as the "Bunnymobile". Equipped with an internet connection, made possible by HSDCS...

Cash in gift of the gab.(foreign language skills)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... An international company needs to appoint a new financial director and there are two candidates. Both have impeccable qualifications and career records. The only real difference is that while one has spent his career to date in the UK, the...

Dotcoms pay to boost staff morale.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Dotcoms may be facing a hard time in the stock market, but this is not restricting their pay outs to staff. Britain's e-businesses are planning pay rises that are more than twice the national average, according to Hay Management Consultants, in...

Direct (fe)males.(job placement for women accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Women account for a mere 5 per cent of all directors in FTSE-100 companies, despite a rise in the number of newly qualified women placed in the past five years. At newly qualified level, the ratio between male and female accountants is the...

The TV CV.(videotaped curriculum vitae)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A new piece of software called "Talking CV" enables you to create your own videotaped CV, and is apparently all the rage. But, according to John Pearce, director of HMI Executive Search and Selection, beware of sending a video to a prospective...

Climate change levy seminars.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A series of five climate change seminars, jointly organised by CIMA and energy efficiency promoter BRECSU, will take place around the country during February and March. The first of these will be in London in the week beginning 12 February....

Fellows for council.(Council of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Are you a CIMA fellow who is keen to help your institute attain the worldwide recognition it deserves? Being a member of CIMA's council will involve at least eight meetings a year in London as well as up to 10 hours a month preparation time....

Teaching the world to sing in tune.(International Federation of Accountants;)(financial and management accounting committee)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Bill Connell, chairman of the new financial and management accounting committee (FMAC) of the International Federation of Accountants, tells Jake Claret about the need for harmonisation The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is...

Shanks Group.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Shanks Group has promoted Bob Cartwright to the post of group treasurer. Cartwright has been with the group for nine years and for the past five years was group chief accountant. And David Jenkins has joined Shanks as group financial...

The Prince's Trust.(appointment of Donna Magee)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The Prince's Trust has appointed Donna Magee as finance and administration manager. Prior to this, Magee worked at Miles Ash and Warner Bros Film Distributors.

Accountacy Foundation's review board.(selects Cohn Reeves)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Cohn Reeves has been appointed director of the Accountancy Foundation's review board -- the pivotal element in the new system of non-statutory independent regulation of the accountancy profession. The board's task will be to monitor the...

Baan Company.(UK office appoints Keith Simpson)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Baan Company has appointed Keith Simpson as its new UK business development director. Following its recent acquisition, Baan is now an integrated part of the Software Systems division of Ivenseys. Previously, Simpson held a business development...

Chase Equipment.(appointment of Michelle Dudley)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Michelle Dudley has been appointed as the financial controller and company secretary for Chase Equipment. Before this, Dudley spent four years working as financial controller for Truck Engineering.

David Chorley Associates and AmBit Technology.(create DCA Telecoms)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... David Chorley Associates and AmBit Technology, part of the TRS Management Resources group of companies, recently combined forces to launch a new telecoms division called DCA Telecoms. Experienced staff from David Chorley Associates and AmBit...