Accountancy Age articles from August 2007

Accountancy Age archives from August 2007

morality check.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Anne Davis morality check Integrity is central to the identity of professions such as accountancy. Not only are accountants required by their professional bodies' codes of ethics to be straightforward and honest in all...

Pleading innocence.
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Anderson Pleading innocence In the past, if the honest tax payer made an error in excess of [pounds sterling]1m VAT, or an amount which represented 30% or more of the correct tax for the return period, they were liable to...

Raynor gets his Stripes.(Andy Raynor)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS Tenon top guy Andy Raynor has recovered from his trip to see Rod Stewart (see TS last week), to the point where he has treated himself and the family to another gig, this time to see the infinitely cooler White Stripes. TS...

dream come true.
August 2, 2007... Byline: kevin reed dream come true The introduction of pension scheme values onto balance sheets has caused many a headache among finance directors. The only winners from stock market volatility and rising mortality rates seem to be HR...

Moving forward: talent at war.
August 2, 2007... Byline: richard ashcroft MOVING FORWARD: Talent at war You can't open a newspaper, turn on the radio or peruse the latest blog without hearing someone bemoan the current 'war for talent'. Current? People have been talking...

new kid on the block attitude.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: kevin reed new kid on the block attitude Paternoster, which buys out pension schemes, relies on its accountants and actuaries to do the real grunt work behind the scenes. So when the business was just months old it could not...

People and moves...(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: rachael singh People and moves... Job to die for: friendly society lv= fd Friendly society LV= (Liverpool Victoria) has opened up its doors and welcomed a new group finance director in Keith Abercromby who takes our gong...

Raising the game.(FTSE 100 companies, measure of productivity)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Brendan Cahill and Professor Shlomo Maital Raising the game Many FTSE 100 companies are failing their employees and shareholders through allowing themselves to drift with the same productivity, increasing it only slightly -- or...

BRIGHT IDEAS.
August 2, 2007... Byline: damian wild BRIGHT IDEAS John Tate, IT analyst and consultant, Tate Technology In the mad world of the internet where more and more data is available, knowledge is more and more difficult to extract. So if a business...

on the money with Damian Wild.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: damian wild on the money with Damian Wild For all its success and sophistication, the way the private equity industry has handled its profile recently should provide future MBA students with a case study on...

How long will the honeymoon last?
August 2, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling How long will the honeymoon last? tax Nicholas Neveling The relationship between large business and HM Revenue & Customs has, it seems, never been cosier. HMRC has concentrated on building closer...

Arctic triumph looks bad for taxman.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Arctic triumph looks bad for taxman For Geoff and Diana Jones and their company Arctic Systems, the long-running battle with the taxman over how the couple advantageously split the spoils of the business is over. ...

Jinxed Jim.(Friends Provident financial director Jim Smart)(Resolution)
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah jinxed jim Insurance titans Friends Provident and Resolution have revealed plans to merge. The combined company will be known as Friends Financial, with an expected market value of around [pounds sterling]8.5bn....

Charity work needs a little refinement The not-for-profit sector can sometimes find HM Treasury, for want of a better phrase, a little uncharitable, although its aim to increase charitable giving by at least [pounds sterling]700m a year through the Gift Aid system does.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age Charity work needs a little refinement The not-for-profit sector can sometimes find HM Treasury, for want of a better phrase, a little uncharitable, although its aim to increase charitable giving by at...

VAT's the recipe for success.
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS VAT's the recipe for success We've heard of cooking the books, but rustling up a VAT of baby food is just ridiculous. Andrea Rose-Love, a VAT inspector and mum to 18-month-old son Zack, has won a competition to provide...

It's a date then, Darling.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS It's a date then, Darling So the pre-Budget report is going to take place in October, our esteemed new chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed to the expectant masses last week. Moving the PBR forward a few months wasn't...

All the world's a stage.(KPMG's stage production of Much Ado About Nothing)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS All the world's a stage TS is more convinced than ever that inside every accountant lies a burning desire to burst forth into song and soliloquy. This long-held conviction was cemented when we found out about KPMG's...

Hard to Digest.(Reader's Digest's contest)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS You can imagine TS's excitement when a note dropped through the letter box confirming that our 'chance of becoming a prize winner is now 100% confirmed'. You can guess the source. More interesting though, is the author of...

Call to prosecute over audit information.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed and Penny Sukhraj Call to prosecute over audit information Kevin Reed and Penny Sukhraj Withholding information from auditors should be made a criminal offence for third parties, according to suggestions from the...

ICAS is god.(Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: TS In TS' opinion, institutes have always been held in high regard - usually by themselves -but a sharp little birdie revealed that ICAS got the ultimate thumbs up from one set of visitors. Apparently Chinese book balancers made a...

ICAEW accused of selling ACA cheap.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed ICAEW accused of selling ACA cheap Kevin Reed The ICAEW has been accused of selling its qualification cheaply, following an ad campaign that encouraged members from rivals to gain the institute's ACA...

Internet FD is in the money after flotation.
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Internet FD is in the money after flotation David Jetuah Paul Doughty, the CFO of moneysupermarket.com, is nearly [pounds sterling]3m richer after his company's IPO, despite a below-par fundraising. The...

Pressure mounts on Kennedy over non-doms There was pressure this week on financial Treasury secretary Jane Kennedy to disclose details of the review of the non-domiciled tax rules, writes Nicholas Neveling, as the influential Treasury Select Committee ask.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Pressure mounts on Kennedy over non-doms There was pressure this week on financial Treasury secretary Jane Kennedy to disclose details of the review of the non-domiciled tax rules, writes Nicholas Neveling, as...

Vodafone's [pounds sterling]2bn tax decision weeks away.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes Vodafone's [pounds sterling]2bn tax decision weeks away Alex Hawkes Vodafone will find out in the next few weeks whether it must go to Europe to challenge UK-controlled foreign companies rules, in one of the...

NAO says car may be put on books.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Richard Brooks NAO says car may be put on books Richard Brooks The National Audit Office has been forced to admit that it is looking at the disclosure of further previously undisclosed benefits received by comptroller...

E&Y set to gain in Friends deal.
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah E&Y set to gain in Friends deal David Jetuah Big Four auditors are braced for a fresh shake-up in the FTSE 100 as Friends Provident and Resolution gear up to merge. Ernst & Young audits Resolution, which...

Tax gap data 'will reduce avoidance'.(effect on economy might make tax evasion less socially acceptable)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Richard Brooks Tax gap data 'will reduce avoidance' Richard Brooks The government should release its estimates of the tax gap to make tax avoidance and evasion less socially acceptable, the taxman has been told. ...

HMRC blamed for deluge of P45 requests.(Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed HMRC blamed for deluge of P45 requests Kevin Reed The taxman is churning out unnecessary requests for 'unsubmitted' P45s, a payroll consultant has claimed. The government has revealed in a freedom of...

kpmg aids diageo in indian whisky Battle Global spirits giant Diageo, maker of Johnny Walker, has hired KPMG as it prepares for a major tax battle with the Indian government. A team from KPMG's Australia office will fly to India this week to begin work.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age staff kpmg aids diageo in indian whisky Battle Global spirits giant Diageo, maker of Johnny Walker, has hired KPMG as it prepares for a major tax battle with the Indian government. A team from KPMG's...

Long wait for Moore Stephens.
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Long wait for Moore Stephens David Jetuah The warring sides involved in the Moore Stephens case are facing a showdown early next year. Last week Mr Justice Langley struck out a major part of the near...

BT licks lips over [pounds sterling]154m deferred tax credit.
August 2, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah BT licks lips over [pounds sterling]154m deferred tax credit David Jetuah British Telecom will be shedding a corporation tax burden of [pounds sterling]154m next year as a result of the surprise cut in tax in...

the friendly face of office politics.(Chartered Management Institute)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Jo Causon the friendly face of office politics 'Politics' is no longer a dirty word in the workplace. New research by the Chartered Management Institute suggests that 'politicking' is an increasingly important skill for...

Out of print.(online annual report)
August 2, 2007... Byline: Jonathan Hynes Out of print One provision of the Companies Act 2006 is that it allows companies to publish their annual reports primarily on their websites. Lobbied for mainly by companies with large share registers,...

Small companies suffer working capital pinch.
August 8, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Small companies suffer working capital pinch David Jetuah Small companiesA- working capital reserves are being stretched by their larger counterparts, advisers have said. Siemens financial services...

Thorne quits Ladbrokes.
August 8, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Thorne quits Ladbrokes David Jetuah Rosemary Thorne stepped down as FD of Ladbrokes this week after only 13 months at the group. The company said the move, which took the market by surprise, was not...

Boards lock horns on fair value.(Accounting Standards Board)(International Accounting Standards Board)
August 8, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Boards lock horns on fair value David Jetuah The Accounting Standards Board has urged the IASB to leave off refining fair value rules until the industry has debated the controversial valuation method in full....

Bright ideas.
August 16, 2007... Byline: mark marsh Bright ideas FDA-s of small and medium sized businesses generally control finance, HR and IT, and as a result are often best placed to make policy decisions that can have a direct impact on the environment. ...

Tighten your utility belt.
August 16, 2007... Byline: david gray Tighten your utility belt For finance directors, the responsibility of energy management is just one small element of an already extensive job remit. Utilities costs are unavoidable and necessary to run any...

Working title.(Baroness Noakes)(Biography)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukraj working title sheA-s been a top accountant, overhauled the nhsA- finances, demystified the cost of id cards and helped decloak audit inspection reports for the public. penny sukhraj reports on baroness noakesA-...

Major coup.(debate on identity card scheme)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukraj major coup Noakes hotly debated the contentious identity card scheme, proposed by Labour. The Home Office put the original cost at [pounds sterling]584m. Noakes announced in parliament the true cost, of a...

People and moves...
August 16, 2007... Byline: rachael singh People and moves... Job to die for: FD, University college london Former BBC World Service chief operating officer Alison Woodhams takes top honours for job of the week with her appointment as director of...

Melting point.(accountants and the environment)(Column)
August 16, 2007... Byline: john collier melting point Accountancy Age devoted much of its 5 July edition to the role of accountants in A'preserving the environmentA-. Anyone reading it might be forgiven for thinking that, at long last, the profession was...

Put the brakes on.(Europe-wide efforts to stop carousel fraud)
August 16, 2007... Byline: kpmg Put the brakes on Carousel fraud is a growing problem for the UK and Europe. The Treasury is set to lose [pounds sterling]2 to [pounds sterling]3bn in the tax year 2005/06 according to the Public Accounts Committee....

Green light: Whose carbon is it anyway?
August 16, 2007... Byline: alan buckle green light: whoA-s carbon is it anyway? TodayA-s big businessesA- efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their activities are being driven by more than just an ethical imperative a it makes good...

Another fine mess at hmrc.(overpayment on self-assessment refunds by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling another fine mess at hmrc A letter came into the Accountancy Age offices last week from chartered accountant Steve Reynolds, who explained how a client had received a self-assessment refund of [pounds...

Personality of the Year.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age Personality of the Year The Personality of the Year Award gives our readers the chance to tell us who has had the biggest impact on the profession over the year. Last yearA-s yearA-s winner was Jeremy...

face up.
August 16, 2007... Byline: michelle perry face up The infamous Colin, our cartoon accountant has become the latest victim, ahem, member of social networking site Facebook. Check out ColinA-s A'Accountants Indoor Dangerous Sports ClubA-. See if you can...

BanksA' A'bad attitudeA' to IVAs under fire from practitioners.(individual voluntary arrangement, insolvency practitioners)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed BanksA- A'bad attitudeA- to IVAs under fire from practitioners ivas Kevin Reed Insolvency practitioners have stepped up their attack on banksA- attitude to the individual voluntary arrangement process,...

Vodafone judgment clarifies the offshore subsidiary confusion.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes Vodafone judgment clarifies the offshore subsidiary confusion Alex Hawkes VodafoneA-s tax case before the special commissioners may provide some comfort for finance directors, tax advisers have indicated,...

Activists launch EC law attack on segmental reporting.(Richard Murphy on European Commission law)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Activists launch EC law attack on segmental reporting regulation Penny Sukhraj The holiday season means business life is on hold for many, but it hasnA-t stopped the Tax Justice Network, which has...

Bad planning.(John Viola of Vm Media's tax affairs)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: TS A good spot from TSA- friends over at Financial Director. John Viola, a director of tax planning consultants VM Media, was disqualified from acting as a director for seven years by the Insolvency Service for, wait for it,...

A point of interest.(compound interest, Sempra Metals Ltd.)
August 16, 2007... Byline: clive goodwin A point of interest The basis on which interest can be recovered by a wronged party has undergone a fundamental change. Compound interest is a commercial reality that must be recognised by the courts. In a...

seven up?
August 16, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes seven up? It is the bid battle of the year. ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, is mulling not one but two takeover bids, one of which values the group at more than E71bn ([pounds sterling]48bn). In the midst of the...

Court rejects zero tax appeal.(Adesina Olusegun Sokoya)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Court rejects zero tax appeal Kevin Reed and David Jetuah An accountant claiming to have no taxable income has lost a battle to stop the taxman investigating his affairs. Adesina Olusegun Sokoya...

Institute says controversial ad is A'one-offA'.( Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Institute says controversial ad is A'one-offA- Kevin Reed A controversial ICAEW advert, which saw the institute accused of selling its qualification on the cheap, will not be run again. An advert that...

PPF kept in the dark over insolvent businesses.(Pensions Protection Fund)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed PPF kept in the dark over insolvent businesses Kevin Reed Pensioners could face having part of their pensions reclaimed by the Pensions Protection Fund as a direct result of insolvency practitioners failing to...

Government confronts banks in IVA showdown.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Government confronts banks in IVA showdown Kevin Reed and David Jetuah Indebted individuals could be being denied good opportunities to resolve their debt issues, the government has warned in an extraordinary...

Sherlock Hames affair.(Neil Sherlock on Boris Johnson, Tim Hames)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed Sherlock Hames affair What did the luminaries of the profession do before they were famous, TS sometimes wonders? We found out the other day in The Times that Neil Sherlock, KPMGA-s public affairs partner,...

End of the road?(tax and public transport)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: TS End of the road? TS sometimes finds the boss to be less than understanding when we hand in huge bills for late night taxis. Well, how else would we get back to TS mansions after a spot of A'contact buildingA-? The...

Artistic impression.
August 16, 2007... Byline: TS Note to self: A'DonA-t be cheeky about KPMGA-s debut stage production Much Ado About Nothing. TheyA-re a sensitive lot.A- As you might have guessed, TSA- cheekiness relating to KPMGA-s event in the last issue (2 August) set...

you may not be captain planet, butA... When we ran our special issue on the place of accountants in the battle to preserve the environment at the beginning of July, some of our readers were merciless in their criticism. Some accused us of mistakenly elevatin.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age you may not be captain planet, butA When we ran our special issue on the place of accountants in the battle to preserve the environment at the beginning of July, some of our readers were merciless in their...

On the money with Gavin Hinks.(Bob Mellors of SportsDirect)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age on the money with Gavin Hinks I feel the need to return to the subject of Bob Mellors, the embattled finance director of Sports Direct. First he was in the news because he wasnA-t allowed...

IT awards judges unveiled.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling IT awards judges unveiled Nicholas Neveling The judging panel for the 2007 Accountancy Age Awards will include former governor of the Bank of England, Eddie George. Lord George was governor from...

Rover probe costs hit [pounds sterling]10m with no end in sight.(BL PLC. Land Rover)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Rover probe costs hit [pounds sterling]10m with no end in sight Penny Sukhraj The cost of the probe into RoverA-s collapse has reached [pounds sterling]9.6m, with government officials refusing to put a...

Royal Mail posts limited financial results Royal Mail has hit back at critics accusing it of deliberately delaying the release of its accounts, writes Nicholas Neveling. It has promised to publish figures released to regulator Postcomm by the end of thi.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Royal Mail posts limited financial results Royal Mail has hit back at critics accusing it of deliberately delaying the release of its accounts, writes Nicholas Neveling. It has promised to publish figures...

Divine intervention.(Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical on tax evasion)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Divine intervention Tax havens and wealthy evaders are to come in for stinging criticism from Pope Benedict XVI when he publishes his second encyclical, writes Nicholas Neveling. The encyclical, the most...

Small firms face merger call.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Small firms face merger call Penny Sukhraj Small firms may need to consolidate to arrest a decline in audit quality, the accounting watchdog has indicated. With the introduction of new accounting rules...

Tax defeat lumbers Shell with [pounds sterling]150m bill over gas contract.(petroleum revenue taxes)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Tax defeat lumbers Shell with [pounds sterling]150m bill over gas contract Nicholas Neveling Oil giant Shell is facing a [pounds sterling]150m tax bill after suffering defeat in a tax case before...

Metronet revelations due this week.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Metronet revelations due this week Nicholas Neveling Details of the financial wreckage at tube contractor Metronet will be disclosed this week when administrators from Ernst & Young file the first...

Watchdog denies blocking transparency.(The Professional Oversight Board)(Brief article)
August 16, 2007... Byline: Penny Sukhraj Watchdog denies blocking transparency Penny Sukhraj The audit oversight body has denied it dragged its heels over greater transparency. The Professional Oversight Board will shortly become subject to the...

Thrust into the limelight.(finance professionals)
August 30, 2007... Byline: karen day Thrust into the limelight Gone are the days when finance professionals were the quiet power behind the throne in public services. Today they have been increasingly thrust into the limelight as the government's...

Special power.(Jon Thompson, finance director of the Department for Children, Schools and Families)
August 30, 2007... Byline: michelle perry Special power Finance directors around the country will squirm with envy when they hear how easy it is for Jon Thompson, finance director of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, to spot flaws in a...

Darlingi?1/2s private equity plans give AIM investors sleepless nights.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Darling's private equity plans give AIM investors sleepless nights TAX Nicholas Neveling Rumours that chancellor Alistair Darling is preparing to extend the taper relief period from two to five years...

An age of entitlement.(Accountancy)
August 30, 2007... Byline: richard ashcroft Moving forward: An age of enlightenment Good news came in August; A-level results have broken records and the pipeline to feed our talent-starved industry is looking healthy. One of our favourite...

Polman position.
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Polman position Since January 2006, Peter Polman has served as executive vice president and CFO for Nestle. He began his career in 1979 with Procter & Gamble in finance and acquired a broad executive experience...

Tax Team of the Year.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Accountancy Age Tax Team of the Year Tax Team of theYear is a new award intended to recognise the contribution that tax, as a service, is making to the growth of firms in the UK. After audit, tax forms the largest chunk of...

Tories go to the extreme.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Tories go to the extreme So a Conservative think tank led by former Tory cabinet minister John Redwood has called for the party to scrap inheritance tax if it comes to power. The proposal is about as...

BDO still sweating on the outcome of US fraud appeal.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Alex Hawkes BDO still sweating on the outcome of US fraud appeal AUDIT Alex Hawkes Firms in the UK are desperately keen on boasting about their US counterparts A- until they hit trouble, that is. KPMG's tax issues...

Citigroup lays out IFRS-US GAAP gulf.
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah Citigroup lays out IFRS-US GAAP gulf David Jetuah Continuing standards divergence may be giving investors differing views about the financial position of major UK companies, a Citigroup study has discovered....

IMS still lacking clarity.(Interim Management Statements)(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Jetuah IMS still lacking clarity David Jetuah Companies' efforts to meet an EU Transparency Directive are producing major inconsistencies. Consultants Radley Yeldar joined experts from Deloitte in highlighting...

Share incentives are not enough to boost employee performance.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Share incentives are not enough to boost employee performance tax Nicholas Neveling Offering share incentives that attract generous tax reliefs is not enough to bolster employee performance, an HM...

To merge or not to merge.(Paul George, director of the Public Oversight Board)
August 30, 2007... Byline: allan blewitt To merge or not to merge Paul George, director of the Public Oversight Board, recently called for the consolidation of small firms undertaking audits in the interests of improving audit quality. He is right...

facts of business life.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Rachel Fielding facts of business life Nine out of ten senior executives with personal experience of establishing and/or managing long term PFI/PPP deals believe that collaborative partnerships are critical to business success...

All talk and no action.
August 30, 2007... Byline: david herbinet All talk and no action To the observer, it must seem like the audit competition and choice debate has been grinding on for a long time. From its first rumblings, to the fervour generated by the Oxera report,...