Financial Management (UK) articles from May 2006

Financial Management (UK) archives from May 2006

Congratulations to everyone who makes us such a dynamic and successful organisation.(annual report)
May 1, 2006... This month we publish our 2005 CIMA annual review, which records a tremendously positive year. We have further strengthened our position in terms of membership growth, finance and status. We are a vibrant, dynamic and successful institute. ...

CIMA has opened three helplines.(CIMA has opened three helplines providing guidance on ethics)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CIMA has opened three helplines providing guidance on ethics, whistle-blowing and legal issues. The ethics helpline (0800 358 7663;2 +44 (0)20 8849 2303; ethics@ cimagtobal.com) provides free, confidential advice for members and students...

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman.(a CIMA past president, has been invited to join a committee of six international experts )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, a CIMA past president, has been invited to join a committee of six international experts to evaluate governance and oversight within the United Nations. The study is a key element of the secretary-general's...

Members and students.(Members and students are invited to propose a FTC Kaplan three peaks challenge)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Members and students are invited to propose a name for the team of CIMA staff who are representing the institute in this year's FTC Kaplan three peaks challenge. The team of seven will join others from the accountancy sector to climb Ben Nevis,...

Deal with risk strategically or lose shareholder value, firms warned.(protecting assets and improving shareholder value)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The chairman of IFAC's professional accountants in business committee has urged boards to move risk management higher up their agendas. Bill Connell FCMA told an audience of 150 senior business professionals and academics at CIMA's...

Institute urges government to revive mandatory OFR.(operating and financial reviews)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CIMA's chief executive, Charles Tilley, has called for the reinstatement of statutory operating and financial reviews (OFRs). His reassertion of CIMA's position has come as the government considers whether to restore OFRs or simply to add...

CBI seeks end to treaty allowing US to detain UK suspects without trial.(Central Bureau of Investigation's service )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The CBI's director-general has criticised the government for failing to protect British executives from a "wholly unjust" extradition treaty with the US. Speaking at the annual FDs' Excellence Awards in London last month, Sir Digby Jones...

FEE shares its vision for unification of standards.(European Federation of Accountants)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) has issued a paper giving its views on future moves towards global financial reporting convergence. It has listed three key points that it considers vital for effective progress towards a...

Here's your chance to tell the taxman exactly what you think of him: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is seeking contributions to a review of its functions.(management)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Here's your chance to tell the taxman exactly what you think of him: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is seeking contributions to a review of its functions. The consultation is part of a programme to ensure that the recently merged body operates in...

More than a million UK businesses have become eligible for simpler VAT payments via a single annual return and monthly instalments.(value added tax)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... More than a million UK businesses have become eligible for simpler VAT payments via a single annual return and monthly instalments. Firms with a turnover up to 1.35m [pounds sterling] are now able to join the annual accounting VAT...

A publication claiming to be the world's first corporate social responsibility directory is now available for businesses seeking CSR service.(world's first corporate social responsibility directory is now available for businesses seeking CSR service providers in the UK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A publication claiming to be the world's first corporate social responsibility directory is now available for businesses seeking CSR service providers in the UK. Produced by Ethical Performance, an independent newsletter, the CSR...

CIMA web site users.(faults in Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's website)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CIMA web site users will be unable to access the "My CIMA" facility in late June while an upgrade takes place. A week's notice of the relevant dates will be provided on the site.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry ACMA and Michael Foster ACMA, members of Parliament.(interview)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... MPs with a background in management accounting are a rare breed. How did you make the transition from finance to politics? SM: For me it was more about having two parallel careers. I'd always been interested in politics and in essence my...

Fair value: world expos are designed to celebrate higher things than commerce, but, as with the Olympics, the financial risks and rewards of involvement are never far from the surface.
May 1, 2006... Mention the concept of world fairs or expositions to most people and they'll probably think of a bygone era when spectacular structures such as Crystal Palace and the Eiffel Tower were built for huge exhibitions celebrating the technical and...

Eastern exposure: Laurence Yuen reports on how Shanghai plans to use the 2010 world expo to boost its credentials as a global financial centre.
May 1, 2006... 'Better city, better life" is the theme of the 2010 world exposition. The event is widely seen as an important step towards making Shanghai an international cosmopolitan financial hub--something that the city has been aiming for since the...

Pay and display: the Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to force US companies to disclose more information on executive reward. Neil Hodge explains the implications for firms and investors.
May 1, 2006... Executive pay has long been a contentious issue, especially in the US. The lack of transparency at senior management level, underlined by high-profile financial scandals at WorldCom, Enron, Tyco and Xerox over the past five years, has fuelled...

Any colour as long as it's green: the rules of the road are changing for fleet managers. Joanna Gray explains the financial implications of emerging fuel technologies and the approaching corporate manslaughter law--and why environmentally friendly choices will eventually pay.
May 1, 2006... Managing a fleet of company cars has never been the easiest of tasks. Every year a deluge of automotive statistics are released, new legislation comes into force and costs increase. There are financial decisions to consider at every corner of...

Customer profitability analysis: Lanyin Zhang and Malcolm Smith describe Trelleborg's progress in trying to crack the Chinese market by conducting a systematic evaluation of potential customers.(TECHNICAL MATTERS)
May 1, 2006... Trelleborg is a multinational group specialising in polymer technologies. It employs more than 22,000 people in 40 countries, with annual sales in the region of 2.1 bn [pounds sterling]. Trelleborg Industrial Anti-Vibration Solutions (TIAVS),...

Accounting for performance: Sheila Ellwood and Daphne Rixon report on a CIMA-backed Anglo-Canadian study of stakeholder accountability in schemes to help the working wounded.
May 1, 2006... Workplace injuries schemes ensure that workers who incur bodily harm in the course of their employment receive compensation. Canada's scheme is run by government agencies called workers' compensation boards (WCBs) and are self-financed via a...

Performance measurement: does your firm suffer from a surfeit of measures? Mike Brooks considers whether a dictionary of measures could help organisations to improve their performance.
May 1, 2006... Many people in many organisations, both commercial and public sector, spend much of their time measuring things. Most of these activities are conscious, structured and well co-ordinated, but a lot of them are not. If you were to slice through a...

Corporate Social Responsibility.(Book review)
May 1, 2006... CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Authors: Gweneth Norris and John Innes Publisher: ELsevier/CIMA Publishing Price: 29.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 0 7506 6660 9 At exactly 100 pages and without any mathematics, graphs or tables, this is...

Just for the Money? What Really Motivates Us at Work.(Book review)
May 1, 2006... JUST FOR THE MONEY? WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES US AT WORK Author: Adrian Furnham and Tom Booth Publisher: Cyan Price: 9.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 1 904879 50 0 If you agree with The Beatles that money is "what I want", or if you're about...

The Politics of Small Things.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... THE POLITICS OF SMALL THINGS Author: Jeffrey Goldfarb Publisher: The University of Chicago Press Price: 18.50 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 0 226 30108 7 The Politics of Small Things offers a new understanding of how political events take...

Corporate Governance: How to Add Value to Your Company.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: HOW TO ADD VALUE TO YOUR COMPANY Author: Alex Knell Publisher: Elsevier/CIMA Publishing Price: 29.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 0 7506 6924 1 This excellent handbook serves both chairmen and owners of UK firms, and...

Practical Financial Modelling: A Guide to Current Practice.(Brief article)(Book review)
May 1, 2006... PRACTICAL FINANCIAL MODELLING: A GUIDE TO CURRENT PRACTICE Author: Jonathan Swan Publisher: Elsevier/CIMA Publishing Price: 24.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 0 7506 6356 1 A financial model may be described as a tabulation of numbers and...

Sam Garrett, senior finance manager Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust.(interview)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... You're specifically involved in the social and continuing care aspects of the trust's work. Yes, I'm responsible for overseeing the budget provided for the care of people with mental health problems in residential and nursing homes in...

Management accounting performance evaluation: traditional accounting methods still have their place in a modern manufacturing environment. Grahame Steven examines the limitations of backflush accounting.(accounting)
May 1, 2006... The traditional approach to manufacturing, which originated in the Victorian era, emphasises long production runs to maximise the use of resources. While this increases efficiency and reduces manufacturing costs, it creates stock, since...

Management accounting papers: even holy matrimony isn't sacred when it comes to the application of cost theory. Victor Sheahan explains why a small wedding could prove to be a false economy.(management accounting)
May 1, 2006... The concepts of fixed and variable overheads, overhead absorption and contribution and marginal costing can be found in a number of CIMA papers. They are indispensable tools for any management accountant but, as I recently found, they can also...

Financial analysis: Paul Prendergast shows how a "modified DuPont approach" to ratio analysis can be used to drill down to the true cause of financial performance problems.(accounting)
May 1, 2006... It's year-end reporting time at Make-or-Break plc, a video cassette and CD manufacturer. The firm's chief executive, Sir Alex, has a problem. Its share price has been in the doldrums recently and the corporate announcement is likely to make...

Correction.(PAPER P8)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... In panel 6 on page 41 of February's "Study notes" section, the proportion of joint product C should have been 30.313% and its cost should have been 7,879 [pounds sterling], which should also have appeared in panel 7 as C's output figure.

Exam notice.
May 1, 2006... Visit www.cimaglobal.com regularly for updates * May 2006 exams This month's exams take place on Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25. Online entry for these exams closed on March 21. ] * Cancellations and changes We do...

Disciplinary committee.(disciplinary act of committee against indecent student)
May 1, 2006... Re: a registered student When considering allegations against a male registered student, who admitted that he was guilty of misconduct, the committee found that the registered student was guilty of misconduct, where his conduct had...

Alistair McKenzie ACMA.(Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's service)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The committee found a prima facie case for McKenzie to answer in relation to a complaint that he had signed an accountant's report for the year ended January 31, 2001 stating that the client satisfied the conditions for exemption from audit...

Raymond Cobb ACMA.(Associate member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's service)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The committee found a prima facie case for Cobb to answer in relation to a complaint that he had delayed the return of a client's accounting records, resulting in the client being fined 100 [pounds sterling] by the Inland Revenue for late...

CIMA hosts IFAC meeting.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants hosted a three-day meeting of International Federation of Accountants)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CIMA hosted a three-day meeting of the professional accountants in business committee of IFAC last month. The session was chaired by Bill Connell FCMA. "The importance of professional accountants in business was again emphasised by Graham...

Save now, pay later.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Your "Death and taxes" feature (April) was an interesting analysis of the complicated interactions of the various aspects of the smoking habit. But there was one aspect that I felt was missing. The article said that the extra pension costs...

Love and marriage?(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I completed my CIMA exams over 15 years ago, but I occasionally find the "Study notes" section of FM useful for brushing up on theory and techniques in today's syllabus. I was greatly amused to read Bob Scarlett's article (March) on the various...

Thin end of the wedge.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Your article on lean management (March) referred to the view that high quality and low cost are alternatives. This is not the case in our experience. For example, when a big local authority was trying to meet government targets for timely...

Equal treatment.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I think "Can't get distaff" (April) missed the point. The article stated: "While many firms talk about meeting the needs of female staff, far fewer practise what they preach." Surely the point has to be that employers should meet the needs of...

Presidential engagements.(calendar)(Brief article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2006... PRESIDENTIAL ENGAGEMENTS May 5 Northern Ireland branch dinner, Stormont May 9-10 CIMA management accounting conference, Malaysia May 11 North London Event, Enfield (deputy president attending) May...

CIMA member survey.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants's service)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The 2006 CIMA member survey is your chance to let us know what you think of the institute and to comment on the benefits and services that it offers. We need to know that we provide the support you need to maintain your professional competence...

Diary.(Calendar)
May 1, 2006... Visit www.cimaglobal.com/events for updates and a full list of events (all branch events are free unless otherwise stated). To book places, get in touch with the contact for the relevant are (see panels). To book on CIMA Biz.Net event, e-mail...

Sobering statistics: alcoholism has a damaging effect on productivity, accident rates and relationships at work. Michael Goddard considers what employers can do to reduce the costs.
May 1, 2006... What would you do if you suspected that an employee in your organisation was an alcoholic? What could you do to help them address their problem? Indeed, have you ever suspected that you may be an alcoholic? After all, 38 per cent of male...

Corporate Mailing Matters.(appointments of Gary Bull FCMA )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Gary Bull FCMA, chief financial officer at Corporate Hailing Matters, has been appointed to the company's board. He was previously a commercial director at Courtaulds and a management accountant at Black & Decker.

Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotels Holding Company.(Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotels Holding Company's appointment of Laurence Yuen)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Laurence Yuen FCMA has been appointed FD of Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotels Holding Company, responsible for H-share capital market. He is also a PhD candidate at the faculty of industrial economics at Shanghai Fudan University.

Narrowstep Inc.(appointments)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Steve Beaumont ACMA has been promoted to chief executive at Narrowstep Inc (NRWS), a public US-listed company providing television on the internet. He was formerly senior vice-president at the same company.

Hardide.(appointments)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Peter Davenport ACMA has been promoted to the post of FD and board director at surface engineering technology provider Hardide. He was appointed financial controller at the company in June 2005.

Northampton Saints.(apointment in Northampton Saints)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Richard Deane ACMA has been appointed to the board of Northampton Saints as FD. He previously served as the rugby club's financial controller for three and a half years.

Melville Housing Association.(ON THE MOVE)
May 1, 2006... Andrew Noble ACMA has been promoted to the post of chief executive of Melville Housing Association. He was formerly its finance director.

Secret diary: Piers Pommeroy may as well enjoy some Schadenfreude on the rare occasion that he's not on the receiving end. It'll only be a matter of time before the karmic retribution kicks in, after all.(Diary entry)
May 1, 2006... Week 1 OK, I admit it. I know that relishing the suffering of a fellow professional is the sign of a serious character defect, but I've been taking a certain amount of pleasure in the discomfort of my erstwhile fellow rock guitarist and...