Accountancy Age articles from April 2007

Accountancy Age archives from April 2007

Sparks set to fly at BP AGM.
April 3, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Sparks set to fly at BP AGM David Jetuah Senior BP executives are bracing themselves for a grilling at the oil giant's AGM today. BP's directors may be forced to address the thorny topic of fair value...

Talent wars.(employee recruitment)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Andrew Garner Moving forward: Talent wars There was a fascinating article in the Financial Times the other day, the main contention of which was that the 'war for talent' was in many respects a misrepresentation and...

Relax.(stress management, travel tips)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: michelle perry relax Easter's almost upon us and you still haven't organised a family break. In fact it's begun to raise your stress levels -- all in the name of de-stressing. Apparently one day off or out is enough to refresh...

Healthy ATTITUDE.(finance director Colin Gentile's management of St George's NHS Trust)
April 5, 2007... Byline: kevin reed Healthy ATTITUDE A London hospital getting to grips with its books doesn't seem a particularly remarkable story, and is unlikely to make a storyline for Casualty. Indeed the government has said on many occasions...

Nothing deferred about corporation tax.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Nothing deferred about corporation tax Tax Nicholas Neveling The cut in corporation tax may be more than a year away, but company earnings could benefit from the 2% reduction to 28% much earlier than...

A standard that nobody likes.(International Accounting Standards Board's segmental reporting standards)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj A standard that nobody likes Audit Penny Sukhraj Is there anyone who supports the IASB's new standard on 'segmental reporting'? Senior figures at the body may well be asking that, after investors...

Embrace Islam.(investments from Middle East)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Darshan Bijur Embrace Islam It was the rate cuts that grabbed the Budget headlines with much debate and comment around whether 2% was enough to restore the UK's tax competitiveness and who would be the winners and losers. ...

Out of the Stone Age.(electronic tax filing)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Aplin Out of the Stone Age Last week, Accountancy Age reported that the UK's largest accountancy firms are about to switch to online filing of SA returns and noted that e-filing has to date been driven by smaller firms....

Compliance fears see CFOs shun outsourcing.
April 5, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Compliance fears see CFOs shun outsourcing David Jetuah Fears of a backlash from potential compliance and regulatory issues are hitting companies' efforts to outsource their finance and accounting...

On the money with Damian Wild.(litigations and reputation)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: damian wild on the money with Damian Wild I'll tread carefully for the next few hundred words as libel is as tricky a subject to discuss as it is expensive to defend. Recent weeks have seen a glut of...

Tax on your iPod.
April 5, 2007... Byline: TS Tax on your iPod When TS attempts to take on board HM Revenue & Customs communiques this normally requires sheltering in a dark room with a wet towel around the head due to over-exposure to statutory instruments and...

Of mice and taxmen.(United Kingdom Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs reviews Somerset House as its office)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: TS Of mice and taxmen Earlier this year HM Revenue & Customs announced that it was reviewing its occupation of Somerset House as an office, news that provoked sighs of nostalgia and wistfulness from tax folk with...

A limited future You might have missed the additional significance of Good Friday this year but tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the awarding of the first limited liability partnership certificates. In all, 18 LLP certificates were issued by Companies.
April 5, 2007... Byline: damian wild A limited future You might have missed the additional significance of Good Friday this year but tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the awarding of the first limited liability partnership certificates. In all,...

John says John is not on song.(John McFall asks John Whiting about his views on Gordon Brown's tax changes)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: TS John says John is not on song Media darling John (Dave) Whiting isn't known for his shyness, although his performance around the Budget suggests he's a little hoarse at the mo. Treasury select committee chairman John...

ACCA's like the US.(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: TS TS was so pleased with the news this week that ACCA is to become truly global. And the way they're going about it is to invite members from Singapore, Malaysia and China to participate in the elections for council. And to...

Human rights penalty defeat is 'a good sign'.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Human rights penalty defeat is 'a good sign' Nicholas Neveling The failed attempt of catering company Auntie's CafA[c] to overturn penalties for late tax returns -- by use of the European Convention of...

FD admits trust's [pounds sterling]40m debt 'will take five years to clear'.(St George's Hospital Trust's finance director Colin Gentile)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed FD admits trust's [pounds sterling]40m debt 'will take five years to clear' Kevin Reed The [pounds sterling]40m of debt faced by St George's Hospital Trust will not be paid off for another five years, its...

Hartnett targets iPod generation.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Hartnett targets iPod generation Nicholas Neveling The taxman is turning to podcasts to communicate with taxpayers. HM Revenue & Customs will kick off with a series of three podcasts this month --...

ACCA eases international rule.(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)(Brief article)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj ACCA eases international rule Penny Sukhraj ACCA is to open up international restrictions on its council membership. The body is to abolish a long-standing council rule that at least 12 of the 36 council...

Pirelli deflated after tax case loss An offshoot of the Hoechst claims on advanced corporation tax has been given short shrift by the High Court, writes Nicholas Neveling. The claim, by Pirelli, was about the charging of ACT on international dividends. Gr.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Pirelli deflated after tax case loss An offshoot of the Hoechst claims on advanced corporation tax has been given short shrift by the High Court, writes Nicholas Neveling. The claim, by Pirelli, was about...

Tax boss hired wife as adviser.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes Tax boss hired wife as adviser Alex Hawkes and our parliamentary staff The taxman's prosecution office, set up in the wake of the London City Bond scandal, has been plunged into turmoil after the National Audit...

Advisers cry foul over 'HMRC thinks' penalties.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Advisers cry foul over 'HMRC thinks' penalties Kevin Reed Advisers have issued grave concerns that the taxman will only have to 'think' that a tax rule has been broken to issue penalties, and not base the...

FA spurns chance to set up transfer audit unit.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed FA spurns chance to set up transfer audit unit Kevin Reed The Football Association has rejected Lord Stevens' recommendation to create an audit unit looking into football transfers separately from the...

Is finance up to it?(finance departments' IT skills)(Discussion)
April 5, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Is finance up to it? Our experts look at whether finance departments have the IT skills they need to deliver business growth John Tate, IT adviser to the Charity Finance Directors Group We are fortunate...

Water company pledges to plug reporting leaks.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara Buchanan Water company pledges to plug reporting leaks Barbara Buchanan Severn Trent Water has overhauled its reporting controls after pleading guilty to falsely reporting its water leakage and agreeing to pay a...

fed cracks down on banks The Federal Reserve has stepped up scrutiny of investment banks and their potential writedowns in the wake of the credit crunch, writes Barbara Buchanan. The central bank argues that if it is to act as the lender of last resort.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara Buchanan fed cracks down on banks The Federal Reserve has stepped up scrutiny of investment banks and their potential writedowns in the wake of the credit crunch, writes Barbara Buchanan. The central bank argues...

Grant Thornton ready to follow in KPMGi?1/2s footsteps.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara Buchanan Grant Thornton ready to follow in KPMG's footsteps Barbara Buchanan Grant Thornton International has given the strongest indication yet that it wants to follow the path laid down by KPMG and merge its...

Hospital FD brands sentence i?1/2excessivei?1/2.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Barbara Buchanan Hospital FD brands sentence 'excessive' Barbara Buchanan The NHS trust finance director sentenced to 12-months imprisonment for filing fraudulent accounts has appealed against his sentence, saying it is...

The march of private equity.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Bob Hawken IN THE CLASSROOM: The march of private equity Although currently going through a controversial period, with criticism from politicians and lobbyists in several countries, in the last 20 or so years the...

Rapid rotation threatens audit quality.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Rapid rotation threatens audit quality Nicholas Neveling Rotating audit engagement partners on a regular basis has been a pet topic of the Professional Oversight Board's audit inspection unit, with the...

Scouting talent.(Morgan Law Offices)(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... scouting talent Morgan Law, Recruitment Consultancy of the Year 2006, is delighted to announce our sponsorship of the Public & Voluntary Sector Financial Director of the Year award for the fourth consecutive year. The unique challenges...

Fuel's gold.(Cairn Energy PLC's Jann Brown)
April 12, 2007... Byline: david jetuah Fuel's gold A harsh twist of fate dictated that Cairn Energy dropped out of the FTSE 100 on the same day that Accountancy Age met its finance director Jann Brown. Rumours had been circulating that Cairn would be...

Hartnett podcast heralds new era for adviser relations.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Hartnett podcast heralds new era for adviser relations Nicholas Neveling Dave Hartnett, director general of HM Revenue & Customs, has never shied away from criticising tax advisers in the past, arguing...

Go for gold.
April 12, 2007... Byline: ADRIAN MOORHOUSE Go for gold Fierce competition, wining by the smallest margins, achieving goals and targets, establishing long-term and short-term tactics, hard work, perseverance, determination, teamwork, dealing with success...

OILING THE WHEELS.(Cairn India)
April 12, 2007... OILING THE WHEELS Cairn surprised industry watchers recently as it announced that it would stump up 70% of the cash needed to build a pipeline from its Rajasthan development to refineries on the coast. To compound the issue, the conduit is...

Spring.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: michelle perry Spring The flowers are blooming, the lamb's are gamboling, and spring is officially with us. But your office/desk still looks like its stuck in the winter blues. It's time to spring clean. The Voice of Small...

A family matter.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes A family matter The Revenue & Customs Prosecution Office is a new body, so you might have thought that comptroller and auditor general Sir John Bourn would have given it a bit of leeway when he tackled its first set...

The ghost of a chancellor's past Is Gordon Brown about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? No, of course not. He remains a shoo-in as the next prime minister. But he appears intent on alienating large swathes of the business community, stretching.(Brief article)(Column)
April 12, 2007... Byline: damian wild the ghost of a chancellor's past Is Gordon Brown about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? No, of course not. He remains a shoo-in as the next prime minister. But he appears intent on alienating large...

On the money with Damian Wild.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: damian wild on the money with Damian Wild The likes of Accountancy Age and Financial Director have been writing for years how finance directors make excellent chief executives. The April edition of Financial...

Auditors lose their appetites.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: TS Auditors lose their appetites CIPFA bigwigs recently hit the hallowed halls of the National Audit Office for a vigorous debate on the state of the audit landscape. The Internationalising the Accountability...

Foresight foretold.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Ian Carruthers Foresight foretold An auditor general on a 'fiscal wake up tour' -- it couldn't happen here -- or could it? In the US it already has -- David Walker, the United States comptroller general, has recently been...

Lloyds TSB snubs IFRS for embedded value.(International Financial Reporting Standards)(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Lloyds TSB snubs IFRS for embedded value David Jetuah Lloyds TSB has become the second major bank to snub IFRS and publish its accounts -- effectively twice -- under embedded value criteria as well as under...

Irish stew in the name of the law.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: TS Irish stew in the name of the law There was much excitement and envy in Instituteland last autumn when the sensible pages of this august publication reported that Ireland was considering introducing protection for the...

Polished performance.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Polished performance TS Towers no longer has the pleasure of the sandwich delivery bloke turning up. There was an issue with the 'slate' -- I'm sure you understand. However, TS now has the Imelda Marcos-like...

Chasing shadows.(European Court of Justice)
April 12, 2007... Byline: chris morgan Chasing shadows Just what does it take to get HM Revenue & Customs to listen to the law? The European Court of Justice should be a powerful catalyst in the evolution of European Union tax systems to remove barriers...

Taxman grilled over wife's appointment.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: TS TS wishes HMRC's prosecution office luck before the Public Accounts Committee next month. The department's accounts were qualified, mainly over the accounting for lawyers' fees, but it also emerged that the COO had paid his wife...

Byron Grote sighting.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: TS The great Grotewatch has entered a crucial phase, with the lesser-spotted king of crude oil, Dr Byron Grote, preparing to surface today. If he appears at BP's AGM, the Grotester will prove that he's actually a real person, and...

ICAS slams heritage standard.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj ICAS slams heritage standard The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland has slammed standard setters for proposing that charities value the assets they hold for the nation, writes Penny Sukhraj. The...

Company providers 'pose as accountants' to dodge new rules.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Company providers 'pose as accountants' to dodge new rules Kevin Reed Composite company providers have attempted to circumvent new tax rules by claiming that they are accountants. Accountancy firms that...

Budget tax hikes to hit Big Four HQ moves.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Budget tax hikes to hit Big Four HQ moves Nicholas Neveling Changes to corporation tax and allowances made in the Budget could hit professional services firms, it has emerged. The cuts to capital...

Pressure rises on chairs of audit committees.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Pressure rises on chairs of audit committees Penny Sukhraj Audit committee chairs will come under increased scrutiny, due to new rules introduced as part of the EU's eighth directive. Gerald Russell, a...

US taxman eyes offshore vehicles.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling US taxman eyes offshore vehicles Nicholas Neveling The US Internal Revenue Service is launching a crackdown on special purpose vehicles used to avoid tax in a move that could have major ramifications for...

Taxman 'must define accountants'.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Taxman 'must define accountants' Kevin Reed The government may need to clarify what it means by 'accountants' as part of its crackdown on the composite company sector, a leading adviser has said. ...

'Flawed' map threatens convergence.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj 'Flawed' map threatens convergence Penny Sukhraj The Hundred Group of Finance Directors has said that the international standards setter's approach to standards convergence with its US counterpart is...

Oil major slates firms over IFRS.
April 12, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Oil major slates firms over IFRS David Jetuah A senior finance director has slated audit firms for their inadequate support during the IFRS transition, in a rare public criticism of the big firms by an FD. ...

Offshore amnesty within days.(Brief article)
April 12, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Offshore amnesty within days Kevin Reed The UK's first tax amnesty will be offered to offshore account holders within the next few days, based on the new tax penalty regime. After gaining access to offshore...

Eyes turn east as US targets avoidance.(US special-purpose entities influence UK institutions)
April 12, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Eyes turn east as US targets avoidance audit Nicholas Neveling Tax planners in the US have had a rough time of it recently. The Internal Revenue Service has moved to wipe out tax schemes using special...

People and moves...
April 12, 2007... Byline: rachael singh People and moves... Job to die for: Catalyst corporate finance FD Catalyst Corporate Finance has bagged Roger Swift as its finance director. He joins from investment firm Hotbed, where he spent two years...

Play the loyalty card.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Sven Kuenzel and Ewa Krolikowska Play the loyalty card There are many benefits to the audit firm of having loyal and long-term clients. Loyal clients can be more profitable since the cost of maintaining a relationship...

View from the board: the online accountant.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Damian Wild view from the board: the online accountant What do Vanilla Ice, the managing director of HM Revenue and Customs and Philip Woodgate, a partner at a small firm of accountants in London's West End have in...

Following the crowd.
April 19, 2007... Byline: patrick barrow Following the crowd A luminary once argued that the business of business was business. Beneath the pithy language lies the implicit notion that nothing should be allowed to detract from the purity of commerce...

Lasting impression.(lastminute.com)
April 19, 2007... Byline: paul grant lasting impression The history of online travel retailer lastminute.com has become the iconic representation of the dotcom bubble at the beginning of the new millennium. Riding the crest of the internet wave, it...

Three rules for quality audit.
April 19, 2007... Byline: steve maslin Three rules for quality audit The Financial Reporting Council paper on promoting audit quality provides a sound analysis of the factors that can impact quality in the audit market. Although we welcome the...

Information overload.(accountants)
April 19, 2007... Byline: clive lewis information overload There's a guy who's called in to the radio station I'm listening to. The subject of the call-in is the vast amount of information that drivers have to take in when driving -- but this guy is...

IASB should wise up.(International Accounting Standards Board)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj iasb should wise up The IASB's decision on segmental reporting, which was to adopt the US standard pretty much hook, line and sinker, was a step too far in the convergence debate. There is little point...

NAO faces conundrum over crystal-hall gazing.(National Audit Office)
April 19, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah NAO faces conundrum over crystal-hall gazing public sector David Jetuah The National Audit Office shoulders responsibility for auditing the plethora of central government department and agency accounts, as...

People and moves...(appointments)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: rachael singh People and moves... Job to die for: head of finance at amlin Steve McMurray joins risk management company Amlin as head of finance, reporting to group finance director Richard Hextall. McMurray was previously...

FAIRWEATHER FRIEND?(George Fairweather)
April 19, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling fAIRWEATHER FRIEND? Whenever a FTSE 100 company receives an acquisition bid, its finance director comes under intense pressure to extract the maximum price from the potential buyer. When the buyer is also the...

M&A market to suffer private equity slump.
April 19, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah M&A market to suffer private equity slump David Jetuah The M&A market could lose a key prop this year as the value of private equity deals slumped. Listed companies have been under the cosh from private...

COMPANY REPORTS.(David Whistance)(Royal Dutch-Shell PLC)(Imax Corp.)
April 19, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah COMPANY REPORTS FSA issues 'due care' fine against FD David Whistance, the former finance director at stockbroker Williams de BroA', has been fined [pounds sterling]30,000 by the Financial Services Authority...

on the money with Alex Hawkes.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes on the money with Alex Hawkes Some business people like the limelight, some don't -- but I wouldn't mind betting that some finance directors are more reclusive than almost any in the business...

The embedded value bandwagon.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Staff The embedded value bandwagon QYou report on both an EEV and IFRS basis and these show very different results. So, can you just talk me through the details here? ATo understand our results you need to look at three...

Budget followup.(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: TS TS has been slated for our coverage of the firms' Budget mentions. Grant Thornton has complained that the firm should have been recorded as 'first equal' with KPMG in the Budget mentions the day after the big event, rather than...

Markets go wild.(international tax)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: TS Those overly-serious people who write for the front of this mag penned a story in June of last year mentioning a review of international tax. You probably noted it on your way to the back page at the time. But what has...

Scam of the century?(online audit teaching software programme)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: TS Scam of the century? SCAM. It's a good name for a credit card fraud scheme hatched in an east London underground car park. It's a stupid name for an online audit teaching software package. This obvious fact,...

Evasion is ingrained in our cultural In his podcast last week, HM Revenue & Customs' effective policy chief Dave Hartnett said the organisation needed to instill a culture in which inspectors didn't automatically assume taxpayers were trying to avoid the.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes Evasion is ingrained in our cultural In his podcast last week, HM Revenue & Customs' effective policy chief Dave Hartnett said the organisation needed to instill a culture in which inspectors didn't...

PwC struts its stuff.(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (London, England))(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: TS PwC struts its stuff Accountancy and the internet have always been strange bedfellows. Apart from HM Revenue & Customs pushing online filing, and a few accounting blogs, it's been hard to get number-crunchers to use the...

Fight, fight fight!(directors' remuneration)(annual reports)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: TS Fight, fight fight! At a recent gathering of wise men discussing stewardship, Granby Oil & Gas finance director Nigel Burton expounded on the tragedy of the year-end report. Burton related how, as FD of a...

Boyle rebuffs calls for EU regulation.(Paul Boyle)
April 19, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Boyle rebuffs calls for EU regulation Penny Sukhraj The chief executive of the UK accounting regulator has played down calls for a regulator to enforce strict application of IFRS. Responding to...

IVA factories face tougher regulation over ads.(individual voluntary arrangement)(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed IVA factories face tougher regulation over ads Kevin Reed The IVA factories hauled over the coals last week for broadcasting misleading radio adverts were warned they could face tougher sanctions under the...

Mazars plans shopping spree after [pounds sterling]90m deal.(Brief article)
April 19, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Mazars plans shopping spree after [pounds sterling]90m deal Nicholas Neveling Mazars is planning a bold acquisition spree as it strives to meet ambitious growth targets, the firm revealed this week after a...

Private equity off OECD radar.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Private equity off OECD radar Nicholas Neveling The taxation of private equity funds appears to have slipped off the agenda of the OECD's review of the risks to global tax revenues. A working group...

Amnesty will apply onshore.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Amnesty will apply onshore Kevin Reed Taxpayers with undeclared onshore liabilities could use the government's new offshore disclosure amnesty to confess to have their penalties capped, it became clear this...

Swiss hunt UK hedge funds.
April 19, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Swiss hunt uk hedge funds Swiss finance authorities are mulling plans to slash tax rates for hedge fund managers in order to lure the booming industry away from the City of London, writes Nicholas Neveling....