Financial Management (UK) articles from March 2008

Financial Management (UK) archives from March 2008

We're working hard to make our qualification the ticket to a world of opportunities.(in business)
March 1, 2008... The first quarter of 2008 is already providing plenty of evidence to show that CIMA remains the most relevant financial qualification for business recognised around the world. For example, we are experiencing increasing demand for CIMA...

Ruffled feathers.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I was interested to read Mike Brooks's article on hostile takeovers ("Crying foul", December/ January 2007/08). Over my 20-year career in the finance departments of a good number of organisations I have had various experiences of changes in...

Rock retrospective.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I wasn't impressed by the "Management Accounting--Risk and Control Strategy" article in February's issue, written by the examiner for paper P3. You can have the most sophisticated risk management policies and the most imaginative corporate...

Don't forget your passport.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I just wanted to thank you for interviewing me in your Study notes section in October 2007 and to let you know that my employer, Aviva, has offered me an 18-month secondment to the Asia-Pacific office. The role will involve managing the...

Last orders.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Isn't your "Members get new year's honours" article from February's FM worthy of your "Last out" page? It states that Helen Weir "is one of the only female finance directors in the FTSE 100". This is meaningless. Is Weir the only female...

CSR on the rise.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
March 1, 2008... Investor pressure and stakeholder interests are pushing corporate social responsibility reporting into the mainstream. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to Grant Thornton's annual corporate governance review, 94 per cent of FTSE-350...

Cyber shield for EU.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(European Union)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The European Network and Security Agency (Enisa) has produced a feasibility study on the development of a European information-sharing and alert system (Eisas) for small businesses and individual citizens in the...

DWP slashes benefit fraud.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
March 1, 2008... The amount of benefit fraud committed against the UK's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fell from 2bn [pounds sterling] in 2000-01 to 800m [pounds sterling] in 2006-07, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO's report...

Islamic bank backs CIMA.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic division of HSBC Bank and one of the world's largest Islamic banks, has formed a partnership with CIMA to support the institute's new certificate in Islamic finance. The...

UK fraud goes past 1bn [pounds sterling] mark.(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
March 1, 2008... More than 1bn [pounds sterling] of fraud was committed in the UK last year--the highest level since 1995--according to KPMG Forensic's annual Fraud Barometer survey. But the bulk of this (833m [pounds sterling]) was perpetrated by...

Big companies challenged on C[O.sub.2].(first in ... All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Carbon Disclosure Project )(Report)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has issued its 2008 information request to more than 3,000 companies around the world. The project is a collaboration of 385 institutional investors with assets under management of $57trn. It requests the...

Alfred Ramosedi FCMA: managing director, Nedbank Private Bank.(ONE2ONE)(Cover story)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tell us about your business. Nedbank is South Africa's fourth-largest bank and I'm managing director of its private bank, which is a fully integrated business with its own P&L, balance sheet, sales targets and so...

Pessimists are never disappointed: the media may feel obliged to pad out factual reporting with "expert comment" to fulfil their 24/7 remit and grab our attention, writes Ruth Prickett. But opinionated speculation about the economy is pointless at best. At worst, it could even be harmful.(opinion)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I predict that in 2008 many column inches and a great deal of TV news time will be spent predicting the state of the economy. The conclusions will be, naturally: yes and no. Yes, the economy is heading for the rocks/...

Antibody politics: the treatment of incurable HIV/Aids patients in the developing world takes too big a slice of a limited budget when money could be better spent on protecting people from both HIV and other preventable fatal diseases.(opinion)
March 1, 2008... The black death is thought to have killed more than 75 million people, eliminating a third of Europe's population in the space of two years. Six and a half centuries later, it's estimated that Aids has accounted for 32 million deaths and that...

Friends in high places: what are the chances that one or more of your management colleagues are addicted to alcohol or drugs? If you're in the UK at least, writes Charles Orton-Jones, the answer is: greater than the chances that your company has effective policies to manage such a risk.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It's 4pm. Do you know what I like to do at 4pm? Pour myself a big drink, lay out a few lines of coke and abuse a screenwriter. Take a seat." The late film producer Don Simpson was arguably the industry's...

Joined-up thinking: Fermin del Valle addressed leaders of the Federation des Experts Comptables Europeens last year in his capacity as president of the International Federation of Accountants. In the following edited extracts of his speech, he explains IFAC's vision for the future of professional regulation.
March 1, 2008... All professions are a response to a societal need. Fundamentally, they are defined by the knowledge, skills, attitudes and ethics of their members. The regulation of a profession is a response to society's need for certain standards to be met...

Kickback backlash: under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, overseas firms with business interests in the US are being prosecuted for allegedly bribing public officials in other countries. Neil Hodge reports on an escalation in Washington's worldwide war on corruption.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While the UK government has been busy ratifying global conventions and enacting domestic legislation to battle corruption committed by British citizens and companies in foreign parts, it's the long arm of a US...

Utility players: as their role has got more complex, analytical and strategic, FDs have had to develop a range of softer skills. But they can't afford to forget the basics, either. Welcome to the world of the all-rounder--the made-to-measure, "designer" FD.(In association with Microsoft)
March 1, 2008... Is there any aspect of a modern business in which the FD isn't involved? Obviously, there are core aspects of the role--accounting, reporting, internal control and suchlike, writes Richard Young. But then there are also all the peripheral jobs...

Leading answers: Simon Hollington suggests how to win friends and influence people in the crucial first few months of a new management role.(career development)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You've had the phone call confirming that you've landed your dream job. You've worked for it, pushed yourself and now you've got your reward. You celebrate with friends and family and then the reality dawns: you're...

Executive remuneration: Nick Topazio explains the latest proposals from the Report Leadership group for how firms should report their directors' reward packages.(technical matters)(Report)
March 1, 2008... Few topics in corporate reporting generate as much interest and debate as executive remuneration. It's one of the few sections of an annual report that is read in detail by most stakeholders, but it's also one of the least understood areas...

Lean accounting: Ross Maynard explains how lean accounting principles could help you to revolutionise standard costing by improving the "flow" in your organisation.(technical matters)
March 1, 2008... In a high-variability, multi-product environment, there is no such thing as one standard product cost. The cost of the product is related to the flow through the process. A number of factors affect the speed and efficiency of this flow and,...

Student one2one: Mark Kula, Market Finance Analyst, Mars UK.(study notes)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Working for a chocolate manufacturer sounds a dream job. What's it really like? I'm not actually involved with the chocolate accounts. I work on two segments: ice cream plus five non-chocolate brands: Starburst,...

Management accounting-decision management: the internal rate of return may be a flawed investment appraisal method, writes Grahame Steven, but there is a small modification that can help.(study notes: PAPER P2)
March 1, 2008... It seems safe to assume that businesses have always made formal evaluations of potential investments, particularly large ones, but that's not the case. There is evidence from the late 19th century that many firms simply used a mixture of gut...

Management accounting-performance evaluation: Ian Herbert considers the effects of increased investments in capital equipment and lower direct labour content on standard costing.(study notes: PAPER P1: (ALSO OF INTEREST TO P2 CANDIDATES))
March 1, 2008... May 2006's P1 exam had the question: "Briefly discuss three reasons why standard costing may not be appropriate in a modern business environment." But what is meant by "modern" and what should we be comparing it with? And what are the...

Exam notice.(study notes)
March 1, 2008... Visit www.cimaglobal.com regularly for updates May 2008 exams The May exams will take place on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22. Online entry for these has been available at www.cimaglobal.com/examentry since February 1. The...

Money-laundering rule changes.(institute update)
March 1, 2008... CIMA is listed as a supervisory authority under schedule 3 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. All members in practice are supervised by CIMA unless they are required to register instead with another supervisory authority, writes Martin...

Learn online for CIMA exams.(institute update)
March 1, 2008... CIMA has launched a series of online study courses in partnership with Elsevier. The courses, which are branded as CIMAstudy.com, provide interactive and on-demand training for CIMA students. There are nine online products available for...

CPD academies 2008.(institute update)
March 1, 2008... CPD is an integral part of all members' development. The success of the first two CIMA CPD academies, which took place in 2007, means that the institute is planning two. more in 2008. The spring academy will take place on March 6-7 at the...

November 2007 exam results.(institute update)
March 1, 2008... The pass rates achieved in November's exams showed a variety of performances from students throughout the world. At the top end, the prizewinners demonstrated excellent performances. Students who won prizes or received commendations for...

Presidential engagements.(institute update)
March 1, 2008... March 1 Northern Ireland student conference. March 4 ICAEW dinner, London. March 5 Honorary officers' meeting, London. March 19 CIMA council meeting, London. March 19 CIMA appointments...

Diary.(Forthcoming local events in the UK)(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... CENTRAL LONDON AND NORTH THAMES Contact: area.one@cimaglobal.com. Please book online, where possible, at www. cimaglobal.com/centrallondonandnorththames April 2 Tour of Tate Britain, preceded by the central London branch AGM...

Strategy and planning manager: Alex Hallam explains what qualities it takes to move into a key business role with potential for promotion to board level.(so you want to be ...)
March 1, 2008... If you're a qualified accountant with a strong commercial background, you're likely to be in great demand. Forward-thinking individuals are a key appointment for any growing company that's aiming to stay one step ahead of the competition. ...

They would say that, wouldn't they?(... last out)
March 1, 2008... A distinctly unfavourable variance "When asked to rate the effectiveness of their organisation's marketing department, over half (54 per cent) of all CFOs rated it as less than 60 per cent effective. This compares with just 15 per cent of...

How was it for you?(... last out)
March 1, 2008... "As Valentine's day approaches, Maritz, the performance improvement company, reveals that the majority of workers in the UK enjoy close relationships at work, In a national workplace survey, 62 per cent of UK workers say they have a positive...

Facebook friends flee fraudster.(... last out)
March 1, 2008... "The bank yesterday began legal proceedings against Jerome Kerviel... When the news broke yesterday morning, he had 11 friends on Facebook who steadily deserted his page throughout the day." The Guardian online.

Thick and rich?(... last out)
March 1, 2008... "The core components of the BEA-Lab49 framework demonstrate: integration techniques to a variety of thick client and rich internet application applications." BEA Systems.

The truth will come out in the wash.(... last out)(T-post, a wearable magazine)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... "T-post is a wearable magazine. Subscribing to T-post is a lot like having a subscription to a magazine, but instead of receiving magazines in your mailbox you receive T-shirts. As a subscriber you receive a new T-shirt based on a current news...