Financial Management (UK) articles from October 2007

Financial Management (UK) archives from October 2007

The transformation of finance creates more opportunities than threats for CIMA professionals.(in business)(grwowth of employee recruitment)
October 1, 2007... Businesses around the globe can recruit the best people in India, China, eastern Europe or anywhere else in the world where their business or knowledge process outsourcing needs can be met. Now that leading companies have well and truly woken...

At variance ...(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... Charles Tilley asks why qualified audit reports are still accepted in the public sector ("A favourable variance", September). But his comparison of the practices of government departments with those of the private sector falls short of...

Qualified approval.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I have just read "A favourable variance". it touches on some of the key issues in public-sector financial management--for example, the need to focus on outcomes, the requirement for world-class performance management and (the prerequisite for...

New and improved.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I must congratulate the editorial team for a refreshingly modern and vibrant approach to the magazine's layout. The articles I have read so far have been interesting, quick reads of a quality expected from a modern professional body. Without...

PAYE for http?(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(analysis of tax planning)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Participants in virtual worlds such as There and Second Life could shortly be liable to pay tax in real-world jurisdictions, according to Mark Simpson, tax director at Simpson Burgess Nash. Online worlds are...

Ding-dong merrily ...(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(services of charitable associations)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Crisis, a charity for homeless people, is urging companies to forego their annual Christmas cards and send a virtual choir instead. Firms that donate their Christmas card budgets will have a personalised, singing...

The Financial Action Task Force.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(laws and rules of anti money laundering)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Financial Action Task Force has posted its evaluation of China's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism measures online. The report states that China has made significant progress implementing its anti-money-laundering (AML) system. At...

The International Federation of Accountants.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has launched a multilingual web site to make information about its activities available to more people worldwide. It has translated core areas of its site into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian...

IFAC is hosting its 2007.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... IFAC is hosting its 2007 small and medium practices (SMPs) forum in St Julian's, Malta, on October 30. The forum will seek to address challenges facing SMPs, especially in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia. The programme is...

Pension penalty.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... New international pension accounting rules will deter companies from funding their pension schemes prudently, according to investment experts at Hymans Robertson. They warn that from 2008 changes introduced to IAS19 by IFRIC14 will punish...

Ighodaro makes power list.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Claire Ighodaro)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Claire Ighodaro, CIMA's president in 2003-04, has been voted the fifth most powerful black woman in New Nation magazine's UK power list 2007. Ighodaro (pictured) was CIMA's first female president. She is currently...

CIMA has published a new technical report, "In-year financial forecasting in the NHS", aimed at finance professionals in the health service.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... CIMA has published a new technical report, "In-year financial forecasting in the NHS", aimed at finance professionals in the health service. The institute's NHS Group compiled it after suggestions by government health officials that poor...

India is now the second-largest contributor of foreign direct investment (FDI) to London.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... India is now the second-largest contributor of foreign direct investment (FDI) to London. FDI agency Think London estimates that Indian firms accounted for 14 per cent of all FDI projects into London in 2006-07, compared with six per cent in...

Emerging markets are closing the gap on developed countries in the race for international acquisitions, according to KPMG's emerging markets international acquisitions tracker.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... Emerging markets are closing the gap on developed countries in the race for international acquisitions, according to KPMG's emerging markets international acquisitions tracker. It reports that deal flow between emerging and developed economies...

Environmental and corporate responsibility is the number-one investment priority for UK.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Environmental and corporate responsibility is the number-one investment priority for UK businesses in the coming year, according to research by Grant Thornton, although many firms claim that investment is limited by cost, logistical constraints...

CIMA's hot ticket.(first in ...: All the latest news affecting accountants in business, including regulations updates)
October 1, 2007... The full line-up of speakers for CIMA's annual conference, "The pace of change", is now available, The programme focuses on the changing world and speakers include John Micklethwaite, editor-in-chief of The Economist; Trevor Williams, chief...

Stephen Wilson FCMA: chief financial officer, UK, Ireland and South Africa, IBM.(ONE 2 ONE)(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... What's new at Big Blue? IBM has shifted towards higher-value-add areas of the IT market over the past few years. We have sold the PC business to Lenovo of China and the printer and hard-drive business to Japanese companies. Instead, we...

Heroes and zeros: Mike Brooks urges the management accounting profession to enlist for the front line in the war against innumeracy and--arguably an even deadlier enemy--"dishonest numeracy".(opinion)
October 1, 2007... It doesn't take much to get my attention. All you have to do is imply that England have a reasonable chance of winning the World CuD (in any sport) or that my house is losing its value, and my antennae will immediately twitch. Which is why...

Total equality management: it's all too easy to fall foul of an expensive discrimination claim, since a complainant needn't prove that they were intentionally treated unfairly. Sue Ashtiany advises firms to tighten up their recruitment practices.(legal briefing)
October 1, 2007... The basic premise of UK anti-discrimination law is simple: recruitment and other employment decisions should not be based on irrelevant considerations. The first important pieces of legislation in this area came in the seventies: the Sex...

Analyse this: it's an unwise plc that fails to engage with the investment community, but many companies still communicate poorly and then wonder why they're given unfavourable valuations. Scott Payton explains what the analysts really want from you--and how best to give it to them.(Alliance UniChem PLC acquires Boots Group PLC)
October 1, 2007... No one could ever accuse Alliance Boots' outgoing chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, of mincing his words. In April he declared that many of the analysts who'd covered the 2006 merger of Boots and Alliance UniChem were "stupid". Why? Because he thought...

National ELF service: Ruth Prickett charts the genesis of an innovative shared service centre providing accountancy services for NHS trusts in north-west England.(National Health Service)
October 1, 2007... The future of healthcare is high-tech, fully automated and will be driven by contracts replacing service-level agreements--and not only on the delivery side. This is why the National Health Service's ongoing modernisation programme has...

Can you keep a secret? As a result of key decisions by the UK's information commissioners, firms competing for public contracts could routinely use the law to extract sensitive data on rival bidders. As "the public interest" increasingly outweighs the case for confidentiality, Neil Hodge considers how to shield your affairs from prying eyes.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on January 1, 2005, public bodies such as NHS trusts and district councils braced themselves for a deluge of public requests for information. Yet private...

Business drivers: Michael Crompton explains how the UK Bus company successfully implemented a CPD support scheme for its financial professionals.(career development)
October 1, 2007... UK Bus is a national transport company that operates more than 8,000 vehicles to exacting schedules, high safety standards and clear customer expectations. In a highly competitive market, the bar on these demands is being raised constantly. ...

Reporting: studies suggest that high-quality narrative reports can give your company a real competitive edge, Garry Honey offers advice on improving how you present non-financial information to investors.(technical matters)
October 1, 2007... The role of the accountant is changing, the skills required are shifting and, with them, so is the definition of professional competence. "No longer bean-counter, but story-teller" is how the Report Leadership group (of which CIMA is a founding...

Month-end reporting: Mike Ashwell offers his guide to making the process more efficient.(technical matters)
October 1, 2007... How often are you asked by local or group management teams to streamline your month-end reporting to give them faster and more accurate results? A further idea of the importance of this topic can be gained by a glance through the latest job...

IAS39: Patricia Teixeira Lopes examines the complexities of the standard using the example of accounting for hedging strategies in the electricity futures market of Spain and Portugal.(technical matters)
October 1, 2007... IAS39, the international accounting standard for the recognition and measurement of financial instruments, is widely viewed as causing particular implementation difficulties. It has caused controversy that's far from being resolved. Electricity...

Insider Dealing and Money Laundering in the EU: Law and Regulation.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Insider Dealing and Money Laundering in the EU: Law and Regulation Author: R C H Alexander Publisher: Ashgate Price: 55 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 978 0 7546 4926 7 While it's not exactly a bedtime read--unless...

Globalisation of Accounting Standards.
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Globalisation of Accounting Standards Editors: Jayne Godfrey and Keryn Chalmers Publisher: Edward Elgar Price: 69.95 [pounds sterling] ISBN: 978 1 84542 852 5 The importance of the International Accounting...

Student one2one: Gajen Ganandran, financial analyst, group reporting, production and analysis, Aviva.(study notes)(Interview)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You have a degree in computing from Imperial College, London. Why did you decide to become an accountant? I was recruited by Aviva in 2005 as a financial system administrator working on the group's global...

Topcima: Shuaib Masters offers his initial observations on the Merbatty pre-seen scenario and what issues you might be asked to discuss on exam day.(study notes: PAPER P10)
October 1, 2007... A luxury boat is widely seen as an expensive toy for rich individuals or companies. It often competes for their disposable income with the likes of jets, helicopters and fast cars. The probable reason for the growth in the Merbatty Boat...

Topcima: Tim Stewart suggests how to make the optimum use of your remaining revision time--and how best to approach writing your case study report.(study notes: PAPER P10)(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you have spent the past few weeks researching millionaire growth projections in China or the latest materials technologies for boat hulls, you are probably a TOPCIMA candidate immersed in your preparations for...

Financial analysis: Francis Braganza explains how to prepare a cash flow statement, using November 2005's question as an example, with dates advanced two years.(study notes: PAPER P8)
October 1, 2007... It is said that the aim of cash flow reporting is to explore ways in which the underlying liquidity of a reporting entity can be revealed in accounting terms. Profit is regarded as an indicator of financial success, but, as anyone running a...

Exam notice.(study notes)(Public notice)
October 1, 2007... Visit www.cimaglobal.com regularly for updates November 2007 exam entry The exams will be held on Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22. Exam entry closed on September 21. In extreme circumstances CIMA will consider very late...

Elections to council 2008.(institute update)
October 1, 2007... Notice is given that, as the term of office of the council member in each of the following electoral areas (see table, below) expires at the end of the annual general meeting in June 2008, elections will be held in February 2008. ...

Great Ormond Street appoints Tilley.(institute update)(Charles Tilley appointed by Great Ormond Street Hospital)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Charles Tilley, chief executive of CIMA, has become a non-executive director at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH). Sir Cyril Chantler, chairman of GOSH, welcomed the appointment. "Charles brings a wealth of...

Notice of election result.(institute update)
October 1, 2007... Filling the casual vacancy for area 12 (South East England), Marcus Hill has been elected for his first term as a member of council, to serve until the close of the 2008 AGM.

North-East Accountancy Awards.(institute update)(Nigel Wright North East Accountancy )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Nigel Wright North East Accountancy Awards took place on June 14, becoming the UK's biggest yearly regional celebration of achievement in accounting. The awards were created by Averil Armstrong, twice past president of the CIMA North...

Diary: forthcoming local events in the UK.(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... CENTRAL LONDON AND NORTH THAMES Contact: area.one@cimaglobal.com. Please book online, where possible, at wwwcimaglobal.com/central londonandnorththames November 7 Information that influences Time: 6 for 6.30pm ...

Charity accountant: Tom Golding explains what a career as a financial manager in a third-sector organisation entails.(so you want to be ...)
October 1, 2007... Management accounting is key to the successful running of any organisation, regardless of its sector. In order for an enterprise to stay on track in the long term, its operations need to be analysed regularly to determine how well it is...

Ben Stephens FCMA has left his role as FD of Arista Tubes to start an online wine business, www.wine2laydown.com.(On the move)
October 1, 2007... Ben Stephens FCMA has left his role as FD of Arista Tubes to start an online wine business, www.wine2laydown.com. Having purchased Arista Tubes from Courtaulds in an MBO, he sold it to Essel Propack in 2004, but stayed to set up new factories...

Nyrstar.(On the move)
October 1, 2007... Peter Coulson ACMA has become group financial controller of zinc-smelting company Nyrstar. He was head of finance and planning at Woodside Petroleum's liquefied natural gas business.

Loewy.(On the move)
October 1, 2007... Jane Latham ACMA has been promoted to the group board of Loewy as group FD. She joined the marketing communications agency in 2004, having held a series of senior accounting roles.

Zambia State Insurance Corporation.(On the move)
October 1, 2007... Gilbert Simatanga ACMA has become audit manager for the Zambia State Insurance Corporation. He was previously a senior internal auditor at the Zambia Revenue Authority.

Headline howlers.(... last out)
October 1, 2007... "Azurite powers ahead with reverse takeover" Azurite Investments. "Human Inference in visionaries quadrant of magic quadrant for data quality tools 2007" Human Inference, "the market leader in the field of solutions that improve...

Press release of the month: Will's bills cause unholy row.(... last out)(British Humanist Association )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... "The British Humanist Association (BHA) has challenged the rector of St Giles in the Fields, London, to justify the way he is trying to raise money from local businesses. The rector, William Jacob, has sent local non-domestic rate-payers a...

A group of volunteers from Ernst & Young took part in a weekend of workshops in dance, drama, poetry, puppetry, music and art as part of leading children's charity NCH's ARTiculation Youth Arts Weekend.(... last out)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "A group of volunteers from Ernst & Young took part in a weekend of workshops in dance, drama, poetry, puppetry, music and art as part of leading children's charity NCH's ARTiculation Youth Arts Weekend. Run in...