Financial Management (UK) articles from May 2003

Financial Management (UK) archives from May 2003

Editorial comment.
May 1, 2003... The dust is settling in Baghdad and soldiers are switching their attention from fighting to law-keeping. Back at home, questions about the cost of war are also shifting: from the cost of sending people and equipment to the Middle East to that...

Technical update. (News Round Up).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Proposals by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) on the treatment of share-based payments have caused controversy in the accounting profession. CIMA broadly supports the proposals, describing them as "real improvements to the reporting and...

FSA decides pay on pension type; the body has cut rises to final-salary scheme members. (Reward).
May 1, 2003... The Financial Services Authority, the regulatory body that oversees corporate governance, is to award lower pay increases to members of its final-salary pension fund than to employees on its riskier money-purchase scheme. The 900 employees...

SMEs to benefit from Brown's tax concessions. (Budget).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Gordon Brown's budget last month has helped to restore his business-friendly credentials, according to the Confederation of British Industry. "In a difficult business climate and with little room for manoeuvre, the chancellor has turned to...

Higgs review splits City again; opinion is divided over when to introduce its reforms. (Corporate Governance).
May 1, 2003... The much-debated Higgs report on corporate governance has stirred up further controversy in the final week of its consultation period. Leading UK investment institutions, including Merrill Lynch and Gartmore Investment Management, called...

FTSE-350 firms flex their options. (News Round Up).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Share incentive schemes remain firmly rooted in the remuneration packages of FTSE-350 companies, according to a survey by Pinsent Curtis Biddle. More than 90 per cent of these firms grant options to executive directors and more than half make...

Prisons slash purchasing costs. (News Round Up).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Improved procurement practices in HM Prison Service led to a saving of 5.8 million [pounds sterling] in 2001-02, and a further 6 million [pounds sterling] saving is expected for 2002-03. The centralisation of several purchasing functions and...

Flotation thanks for non-execs. (News Round Up).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Initial public offerings (IPOs) remain an effective way of raising capital during difficult market conditions, according to research by the London Stock Exchange and law firm Eversheds. In a survey of companies that floated on the London Stock...

Accountants shun flexibility; work-life balance is an option only for a small minority. (Employment Law).
May 1, 2003... The new rules on flexible working are of little help to employees aspiring to the boardroom, according to leading HR consultants. While senior managers' requests to work flexibly are treated with respect, employees further down the career...

The Pru replaces 'nightmare' system. (IT News Round Up).(Prudential Assurance Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Prudential, the UK's second-largest insurer, is to change its budgeting processes to improve cost control and give its finance department more time to analyse the business. The Pru will replace its Excel system with a real-time budgeting...

Postal companies give Hyperion stamp of approval. (IT News Round Up).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Three European mail delivery companies have purchased new financial software systems in response to the deregulation of the postal market over the past few years. Services in France, Italy and Norway have chosen Hyperion Planning, a...

Following reports that Sage, the UK's largest software group was in danger of dropping out of the FTSE 100, the company's first-half results, announced last month, were in line with market expectations. (Technology News In Brief).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Following reports that Sage, the UK's largest software group was in danger of dropping out of the FTSE 100, the company's first-half results, announced last month, were in line with market expectations. Group profit before tax was 74 million...

Best-practice asset accounting is the key to surviving the economic downturn, according to asset management specialist AssetWare Technology. (Technology News In Brief).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Best-practice asset accounting is the key to surviving the economic downturn, according to asset management specialist AssetWare Technology. Its benefits include the provision of a fairer reflection of value on the balance sheet and savings on...

Presidential engagements. (Institute News).(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... Presidential engagements 1 May CIMA roadshow, Glasgow 9 May Republic of Ireland dinner 14 May CIMA executive, CIMA head office 15 May CIMA pensioners' lunch, CIMA head office 15 May ...

Monthly direct debit dates 2003. (Institute News).(Brief Article)(Directory)
May 1, 2003... Monthly direct debit dates 2003 UK 04/04/03 Ireland 04/04/03 UK 06/05/03 Ireland 06/05/03 UK 04/06/03 Ireland 04/06/03 UK 04/07/03 Ireland ...

Computer system upgrades. (Institute News).(CIMA )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CIMA is updating its computer system and business processes from the beginning of May. In the coming months, significant improvements will be made to the way it processes information and handles administration. Please be patient while these...

Business directories. (Institute News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The first in a series of CIMA business directories has been launched on the web. The recruitment business directory contains information on leading recruitment consultancies in the accountancy and financial sectors, including web links. Further...

Council focuses on good governance. (Institute News).
May 1, 2003... The accountancy profession has two dimensions: business (geared to the future); and regulation (concerns about quality and integrity, discipline and ethics). Both are vital for the public interest, relating to wealth-creation and confidence...

Henley Management College partners CIMA in fast-track MBA. (Institute News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CIMA has launched a ground-breaking scheme to enable members to enjoy a fast-track route to the Henley Management College MBA. Henley is currently ranked in the top 30 business schools worldwide and this is the first time it has partnered a...

CIMA takes training to another level. (Institute News).
May 1, 2003... The institute has launched a new programme that will improve support for employers wanting to develop their financial and business managers to chartered management accountant level. CIMA Training provides official recognition for employers that...

CIMA's headquarters welcomed international staff for a week's visit in April. (Institute News).(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CIMA's headquarters welcomed international staff for a week's visit in April. Visitors from Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, Ireland, Malaysia and Sri Lanka met key staff in the UK and learnt about how the institute's main business drivers...

Cash boost for benevolent fund. (Institute News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The benevolent fund committee thanks members for 14,500 [pounds sterling] worth of donations received in 2002, a 50 per cent increase on 2001. Members' continued support is greatly appreciated and is essential to enable the committee to help...

New database of CIMA tutors. (Institute News).(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... In order to help course providers recruit suitably qualified people, CIMA has established a database of potential tutors. Opportunities occasionally arise in both the further and higher education sectors for tutors to teach CIMA students. The...

CIMA publishes Neds guidance. (Institute News).(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Responding to recent corporate governance scandals, CIMA has published a guide to the role of the non-executive director. The executive briefing, The Role of the Non-Executive Director: Making Corporate Governance Work, has been sent to 1,000...

Union dues.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I take issue with the editor's comment in the April issue that says: "It must always come down to whether joining the single currency will be good for UK businesses." Joining the euro is as much a political decision as an economic one. The...

Withdrawing room.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Following your interesting articles on the euro, it should be borne in mind that a common currency is one of the last parts of the jigsaw--along with law and tax harmonisation and a European army--forming a United States of Europe. If we lose...

'Vaster than empires and more slow'.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... The business leaders' debate and supporting commentary ("Adoption panel", April) make a valuable contribution to the economic arguments for euro membership. Since 1946 there have been 57 years of peaceful coexistence in the EU, following 11...

Paying guess.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Your April news story "NHS chiefs withhold pay data" says that a quarter of health service CEOs received pay increases in excess of 20 per cent and half had a 10 per cent increase in the year ended March 2002. The source is the Incomes Data...

Whose side are you on? It's not too hard for finance directors and pension trustees to find out where their company's fund is being invested, writes Cathy Hayward--but they might not like what they discover. (City).
May 1, 2003... The war on terrorism, from Afghanistan to Iraq, is being funded by UK taxpayers via Gordon Brown's war chest. But, while they are paying for the coalition war effort, are UK firms also indirectly funding terrorists? Despite the best...

Upwardly mobile? In his budget speech, the chancellor remained optimistic about Britain's prospects. David Ross compares Gordon's Brown's analysis with independent forecasts and reviews the global situation. (Economics).
May 1, 2003... Chancellor Gordon Brown's seventh budget speech was less than enthralling. It painted a picture of a UK economy characterised by stability on inflation, public debt and unemployment. As in his pre-budget report in November, Brown blamed the...

Law of the jungle: don't debilitate the best-performing business units of your company in a misguided bid to shore up the weaker ones. David Allen highlights the dangers of short-termism in a group enterprise. (Management).
May 1, 2003... As enterprises grow, they almost inevitably diversify so that they comprise more than one business, defined in terms of customers, products and/or facilities. It's interesting how management accountancy routines reflect (or, in some cases,...

Raider radar: internal fraud is a major threat to business, but perpetrators are usually identified by accident. David Porter explains how integrated systems and data analysis can set the alarm bells ringing. (Technology).
May 1, 2003... In addition to direct financial loss and reputational damage, a well-executed fraud or money-laundering operation can severely harm or even destroy the largest company. There is now a growing realisation that a significant fraud threat comes...

Costing a bomb: the scale of investment required to develop a major defence system has become so prohibitive that now only the US could possibly afford to produce its own without the help of another nation. Ron Matthews explains the business case for collaborative weapons acquisition. (Defence Procurement).(Cover Story)
May 1, 2003... War is an expensive business. The human cost is the main concern during any conflict, of course, but the financial burden on all concerned is significant. For instance, the US spent between $60 billion and $70 billion on the first Gulf...

Filthy lucre: the UK legislation combating money-laundering has been expanded to cover 'external' accountants, and the penalties for simply failing to report a suspected case are draconian. Ruth Prickett explains what the implications are for CIMA members--and how to spot the classic signs of money-laundering activity. (Finance Money-Laundering).
May 1, 2003... When people mention the war on terrorism, you could be forgiven for immediately thinking of the tanks rolling through the deserts of Iraq. In fact, of course, one of the most important ways of fighting terrorism is to cut off the funds that...

Black-hole sums: the pensions industry is in dire straits and the cost of providing employees with a decent retirement income is spiralling. Cathy Hayward considers the alternatives available to finance directors faced with fund deficits and a stock market showing few signs of revival. (Finance Pensions).
May 1, 2003... More than 80 per cent of us spend our working lives fantasising about early retirement, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The idea of a permanent holiday sipping G&Ts in sunnier climes might help us...

What's the worst that could happen? Two out of five enterprises that suffer a disaster will go out of business in five years, according to research by the Gartner Group. Michael Gallagher explains how an effective continuity management plan can improve your firm's chances of survival. (How To Business Continuity).
May 1, 2003... Business continuity management (BCM) is defined by the Business Continuity Institute as "the act of anticipating incidents that will affect mission-critical functions and processes for the organisation and ensuring that it responds to any...

DD guarantee: due diligence is a key stage of mergers and acquisitions, and it's especially crucial to get this process right when economic conditions are uncertain. Stewart Meek explains how a thorough review, incorporating a well-trained 'virtual' team drawn from within the purchasing organisation, can be a genuinely value-adding activity. (Business Acquisitions).
May 1, 2003... There is a school of thought that suggests the acquisition excesses of the internet boom years resulted from poor due diligence practice. But the reality is that the due diligence process starts only after the intention to purchase has been...

Transatlantic drift: everyone's talking about corporate governance now--recent scandals in Europe have removed any trace of complacency. Liz Murby examines the international reaction to the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act. (Finance Sarbanes-Oxley).
May 1, 2003... Under the chairmanship of Harvey Pitt, the US Securities and Exchange Commission's efforts to tighten up corporate governance in the wake of Enron have focused primarily on the issue of auditor independence. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in...

Fair dues: many people underestimate the significance of the shift to fair value accounting in the process of converging international accounting standards. Hugh Osburn offers some perspectives on value. (Finance IAS).(International Accounting Standards Board, Financial Accounting Standards Board form pact)
May 1, 2003... The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a memorandum of understanding in October 2002 that locked the two bodies into a long-term collaboration project on convergence. They...

Ring the changes: Q-Tel is the first telecoms firm in the Gulf region to have been privatised, allowing expats to trade on Qatar's Doha stock market for the first time. Nasser Al-Shafi, Harry Churchill and John Pointon evaluate whether the Qatari government has got all its numbers right. (Case Study Privatisation).(Qatar's economy)
May 1, 2003... Despite its relatively small size, the country of Qatar is a key economy in the Gulf region. As a member of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (Oapec), it currently exports more than 75,000 barrels of oil every day. It is...

Institute diary.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Check the CIMA website and bookmarkwww.cimaglobal.com/main/about/local/Europe for up-to-date event information in your area CENTRAL LONDON AND NORTH THAMES See your Network News for further information 14 May Visit to...

Shell Oil Products Global Marketing. (On the move).(Harry Mann appointed head of finance)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Harry Mann FCMA has been appointed head of finance in Shell Oil Products Global Marketing. Mann has held a variety of senior finance jobs at Shell, both in the UK and overseas. Most recently he was the Shell Chemicals global reporting manager...

International leasing and investment company Kuwait. (On the move).(Fazal Careem appointed senior manager)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Fazal Careem ACMA has been appointed senior manager of international leasing and investment company Kuwait. Careem was previously assistant manager, finance and operations, at the First Investment Company. Claire Grewer. Please e-mail...

Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust. (On the move).(new deputy director of finance)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Stuart Wayment FCMA has joined Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust as deputy director of finance. He was previously business manager for private patients and the dental school at King's College Hospital NHS Trust in London. Claire Grewer. ...

Order of Australia (AM). (On the move).(Randolph Ranjit Alwis, new member)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Randolph Ranjit Alwis FCMA (above) has been honoured by his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). His appointment is in recognition for his services to the development of multiculturalism in Australia as an advocate and...

Part-Time Financial Director. (On the move).(financial director services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Chris Moore FCMA (above) has joined Part-Time Financial Director, a company that specialises in providing part-time financial director services to firms that aren't large enough to justify employing a full-time FD. He was previously European...

IT company Coda. (On the move).(appointed Mike Starkings managing director)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Mike Starkings ACMA has been appointed managing director of IT company Coda. He was previously managing director at SquareSum, which was recently bought by Coda. He will be managing the firm's corporate performance and will integrate the...

Grant Thornton's forensic and investigations services practice. (On the move).(Alastair Whiteside hired)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Alastair Whiteside has been appointed to the insurance claims solutions division of Grant Thornton's forensic and investigations services practice. He joins from Capita McLarens, where he was a director for 22 years. Whiteside will be based in...

East Midlands Housing. (On the move).(hired Helen Croft as a management accountant)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Helen Croft ACMA (above) has joined East Midlands Housing as management accountant. She will head a team of three producing financial and management accounts and financial returns for the firm, which provides affordable homes for people...

Institute of Financial Services. (On the move).(Diane Walker appointed head of the faculty of risk and insurance management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Diane Walker (above) has been appointed head of the faculty of risk and insurance management at the Institute of Financial Services. Claire Grewer. Please e-mail her with news of your move at claire.grewer@cimaglobal.com

Bibby Factors Northwest. (On the move).(Beverley Stewart has been appointed regional manager and Rob Kelly has been appointed business development manager)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Beverley Stewart has been appointed regional manager, and Rob Kelly has been appointed business development manager at Bibby Factors Northwest. Claire Grewer. Please e-mail her with news of your move at claire.grewer@cimaglobal.com

Diary of events.
May 1, 2003... Information Management eXpo 2003 1 May, Manchester; 2 May, Bristol; 7 May, Birmingham; 8-9 May, London Contact: www.imexpo.co.uk The Times creme executive secretary and PA exhibition 13-15 May, London Contact:...