Financial Management (UK) articles from March 2009

Financial Management (UK) archives from March 2009

HMRC focuses on web sites.(first in)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UK businesses must check that their online operations tally with their real-world tax returns as HMRC is increasingly scrutinising social media sites to evaluate the accuracy of their tax returns. Monitoring social...

Indian tax risk highlighted.(first in)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Companies that have relocated functions to India may face an increase in tax if a new proposal by the Indian service tax authorities is applied. In the past, a liberal indirect tax regime has meant that services...

IFAC issues guides on sustainability and governance.(first in)
March 1, 2009... The professional accountants in business (PAIB) committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has produced a framework illustrating how a commitment to sustainabitity can help a company to improve its products or services,...

Directors fight shy of reporting internal corruption externally.(first in)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Organisations that uncover a significant case of corruption should either wait to see whether there are serious repercussions or handle the matter internally, rather than make a voluntary disclosure to the...

SMEs gain enhanced training package.(first in)
March 1, 2009... Small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK can obtain help to train their employees via a more flexible Train to Gain programme, which was introduced in January. Its new measures include free and part-funded training courses in areas intended...

Paul Corcoran FCMA Financial director, Nord Stream.(ONE2ONE)(Cover story)(Company overview)
March 1, 2009... What is Nord Stream? It's a European-Russian joint venture to plan, construct and operate two 1,220km pipelines carrying gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. The project was established in late 2005. Gazprom holds a 51 per cent stake, while...

UK gap: as British banks have relied increasingly on global liquidity to keep their balance sheets looking healthy, a 625bn [pounds sterling] discrepancy has formed between sums deposited and sums lent. Where has all this money gone.(opinion)
March 1, 2009... Banks need to retain only a low level of liquidity to meet customer demand at their counters. This is probably the fundamental of banking. They collect money from savers, which in turn they lend to borrowers. The borrowers then spend this...

Value-subtracted assets: the credit crisis is causing particular distress for SMEs, and the key problem of lending against depreciating assets may be here for some time. Simon Woolcott considers whether there is a viable alternative.(opinion)
March 1, 2009... The UK government's second attempt to bail out the banks has highlighted the problems that individuals and smaller businesses are continuing to face when trying to obtain credit. Despite receiving extra public funds, the banks seem to have...

Potential skippers: according to UK anti-money-laundering law, "politically exposed persons" pose a possible reputational risk to any firm that deals with them. Martin Nimmo explains who falls into this category.(legal briefing)
March 1, 2009... The UK Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR) define a politically exposed person (PEP) as someone who "is, or has at any time in the preceding year been, entrusted with a prominent public function by a state other than the UK, a (European)...

From LOL to ROI: dismiss them at your peril--virtual worlds, social networking sites and blogs are a global phenomenon that's here to stay. Charles Orton-Jones highlights the business benefits of joining the Web 2.0 revolution.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "My son, the day you were born, the very forests of Lordaeron whispered the name 'Arthas'. My child, I watched with pride as you grew into a weapon of righteousness." Hail, warriors plundering the lands of...

Talking shop: everyone has a view on the global economic crisis, but what do they suggest can be done about it?
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director, International Monetary Fund: "If there's not a restructuring of the banking system, then all the money that you can put into [monetary and fiscal] stimulus will merely...

On the record: as the downturn deepens, firms' financial statements will come under particular scrutiny in a number of specific areas. Audrey Besson-Levine highlights the most delicate aspects to consider.
March 1, 2009... Financial reporting will be an especially demanding task this year. Auditors, directors and investors will need to pay extra attention to the figures and focus on a number of issues. The role that accounting rules might have played in the...

A cut above: ill-planned and hastily implemented cost reductions are a recipe for disaster. Mark Warren suggests a formal, structured approach to ensure lasting savings.
March 1, 2009... Cost reduction is firmly back on the boardroom agenda for a growing number of organisations. Investors are asking FDs how they plan to cut costs effectively without putting shareholder value at risk. After all, cutting costs is a challenging...

A problem shared ... employees' personal finances are being stretched as far as their employers' balance sheets. Scott Payton suggests some measures to ease the strain.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once upon a time, the job of the human resources department was all about ensuring that employees were well looked after, according to Lesley Uren, chief executive of HR consultancy Jackson Samuel. "In recent years...

Study notes: Ovidio Graziano: accounting administrator in record to report, Italy, AstraZeneca.(student one2one)(Interview)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You studied accountancy and corporate finance in Verona. How did you end up working for AstraZeneca in Manchester? As an undergraduate I spent a year in Kassel in Germany and immediately wanted to work abroad...

Director takes charge of CIMA's global strategy.(institute update)
March 1, 2009... Andrew Harding has been appointed to the institute's senior management team with a brief to oversee its new global strategy on alliances and partnerships. He will be based at the global headquarters in London. Harding was previously...

Coming events.(Calendar)
March 1, 2009... Visit www.cimaglobal.com/events for updates and a full list of events. CIMA Mastercourses--your catalyst for business change: China Asia-Pacific CFO round table--Riding out a rising tide of risk: a CFO agenda March 18 ...

Business analyst: Toby Fowlston explains what it takes to land this highly sought after, yet much misunderstood role.(so you want to be ...)
March 1, 2009... It's the holy grail for so many management accountants. The term "business analyst" immediately attracts interest--my team fields more enquiries from CIMA members about this sort of vacancy than any other. Unfortunately, today's economic...

FGX Europe.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... Jonathan Miles FCMA has been promoted to the role of director of finance and operations at eyewear firm FGX Europe. He was its finance director.

Dubai Ventures Group.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... Laurance Yuan FCMA has joined the Dubai Ventures Group as vice-president, asset management. He was joint company secretary at the Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels (Group)

David Cafferty ACMA.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... David Cafferty ACMA has joined Al Khaliji Commercial Bank QSC, based in Doha. He will be responsible for all aspects of financial crime prevention and the conduct of internal investigations.

Medicash.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... Michael Lawrie-Simmons ACMA has become finance director at Medicash. He was FD at National Museums Liverpool.

Tesco.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... Laurie McIlwee ACMA has become group finance director at Tesco. He was the company's distribution director.

College of North East London.(On the move)
March 1, 2009... Wijayaweera Pitumpe ACMA has been promoted to the post of director of finance and contract compliance at the College of North East London. He was its head of finance.

Well, there's a surprise.(... last out)
March 1, 2009... "Wall Street workers see big drop in bonuses." The Guardian, January 28.

Frozen assets take a tumble.(... last out)
March 1, 2009... "House price fall shows government's 'green shoots' are a fantasy. House prices remain in freefall with little promise of recovery until the freeze on bank lending begins to melt." Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat shadow housing minister....

As the silver bullets of salvation speed towards the were-banks of doom ...(... last out)
March 1, 2009... "Many of the best known developed-world banks have died in 2008. Some are walking dead awaiting a silver bullet before they finally go. Governments hold the gun. Strong brands can help some of the zombie brands return from the dead in 2009."...

Local business hit by recession.(... last out)
March 1, 2009... "Crack den closed down." Headline on a billboard for the Brighton Evening Argus.