Accountancy Age articles from July 2006

Accountancy Age archives from July 2006

Annual report and accounts: public and voluntary sector.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Accountancy age Annual report and accounts: public and voluntary sector The Home Office is struggling to sign off accounts and even the House of Common has battled to get a clean bill of health from the National Audit Office....

Deloitte sparks iSoft investigation.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Deloitte sparks iSoft investigation Nicholas Neveling The internal investigation into accounting irregularities at iSoft was instigated by auditors Deloitte after the accounting firm raised serious...

Mobile phone giants await 3g decision.
July 3, 2006... Byline: staff Mobile phone giants await 3G decision Mobile phone giants attempting to claim back more than [pounds sterling]3.3bn in VAT on 3G licences will discover on 7 September whether they are likely to be successful in their...

Merging of the heart and sole.(accountancy)
July 4, 2006... Byline: phil shohet Merging of the heart and sole The M&A market is buoyant in all sectors of the profession, but a couple of recent cases are proof that the old warning -- caveat emptor -- should be taken even more seriously when the...

good news travels fast.(investments in mergers and acquisitions)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Andy Morgan good news travels fast Whisper it quietly, but the technology industry is riding something of a wave at the moment. Talk of convergence is everywhere. Investors are scrambling to identify and buy into the winners of...

Training send setting.(Continuing Professional Developmentfor accountants)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Si Hussain training: trend setting Already, during what is the first full year in which CPD is compulsory for all the major UK accountancy bodies, we are seeing some trends emerging in the types of CPD programmes that...

The same songsheet.(International Financial Reporting Standards)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Mark Vaessen The same songsheet Given the magnitude of the change-over to IFRS, overall the transition has gone relatively well, with no real big surprises or shocks so far. But the transition hasn't been painless. A huge...

Captain's Bloga[euro][bar].
July 6, 2006... Byline: Justin patten Captain's Bloga[bar] The phenomena of blogging is beginning to attract more interest within business circles. Blog numbers are rising fast, there is increased media coverage and even accountants, lawyers and...

SEarch Mode.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed SEarch Mode For a FTSE 250 technology company Autonomy goes about its business pretty quietly. Even with a billion pound market capitalisation and a whole gamut of large global companies as clients -- Vodafone,...

Fix it, Find out, Far out.(accountants)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry Fix it Appoint a posture consultant. It's not all about walking round with a book on your head. Most office workers suffer from neck and back pain and simple adjustments to your office equipment could help. ...

Cross atlantic antics.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed cross atlantic antics Sushovan Hussain, chief financial officer of Autonomy, does plenty of traveling back and forth between the company's dual head offices in Cambridge and San Francisco. However his previous...

Cadbury blunder.
July 6, 2006... Byline: antyhony Hilton on the money with Anthony Hilton The chief executive of Cadbury Schweppes, Todd Spitzer, made an important speech at this year's Institute of Directors Conference when he took the need for...

Overdue check-up.(iSoft Inc.)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Philip Smith overdue check-up The troubled healthcare IT service provider iSoft is due to announce its delayed preliminary results next Tuesday (11 July) following the departure of chief executive Tim Whiston last month....

Optimism overcomes jittery markets.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Optimism overcomes jittery markets corporate finance Nicholas Neveling Corporate financiers remain stoic in the face of falling stock exchanges and warnings of a debt market collapse, and are...

When is a tractor not a tractor? asks the taxman.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes When is a tractor not a tractor? asks the taxman TAX Alex Hawkes Another bizarre battle is brewing in the world of tax. Fresh from the hair splitting of Richard, Judy and theatrical artists, HM Revenue &...

Royal Mail Finance Director.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Rachael Singh People and moves... Job to die for: royal mail finance director Ian Duncan looks like the man with the top job this week. The former chief financial officer and senior vice president of the nuclear technology...

Landlords' loss is professionals' gain.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Landlords' loss is professionals' gain Business recovery Kevin Reed Landlords have been getting the rough end of the stick as far as insolvency rules are concerned, but their problems could be a boon to...

'Institutional prejudice' extends to largest AIM audits.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling 'Institutional prejudice' extends to largest AIM audits Audit Nicholas Neveling The competition for the audits of companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market has always been thought to...

Recruitment Consultancy of the Year.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Accountancy Age Recruitment Consultancy of the Year Work. It dominates our lives more than anything else. Absorbs our time, shapes our lives, funds our passions and families, rewards us and builds our self esteem. For the...

New leader, new regime.(practitioners)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Andrew Garner New leader, new regime Five minutes after you have finished rejoicing you have to recognise that you are in a crisis. At first you think you understand why your boss's departure took place, although you can't be...

Finding a successor is a delicate business What is the future in an Eric Anstee-free world at the institute? Too early to tell you probably believe, and you'd mostly be right. But Anstee's departure (though not immediate -- he's still in place until a succ.(Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks Finding a successor is a delicate business What is the future in an Eric Anstee-free world at the institute? Too early to tell you probably believe, and you'd mostly be right. But Anstee's departure (though not...

HMRC gets PAC tax rebuke.(Public Accounts Committee, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
July 6, 2006... Byline: staff ONLINE This week's top stories on accountancyage.com/sector HMRC gets PAC tax rebuke Better efforts need to be made by HM Revenue & Customs in the targeting and scrutinising of tax returns of companies...

FDs urged to improve narrative reporting.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling FDs urged to improve narrative reporting Nicholas Neveling Finance directors have been warned that unless they improve the quality of narrative reporting in their company reports it will become...

Rentokil Initial plc.(Accenture Ltd., iSoft )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling COMPANY REPORTS FTSE250 There may be more trouble ahead for software developer iSoft after it was reported that Accenture was considering using another supplier for its [pounds sterling]12bn upgrade of...

Posture consultants.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Back in our 15 June issue, our colleagues in the sensible part of the paper suggested some things that were as unlikely to occur as Togo (or England, ed) winning the World Cup -- such as Eric Anstee quitting and joining...

Farewell to Nick Land.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Yeah, Nick, yeah! So farewell then, Nick Land, former (as of last week) chairman of Ernst & Young, and now Shell non-exec. TS will always hold a certain sympathy for Nick, who we regarded as one of the truly...

Flexible working hours.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Truly flexible working hours TS knows full well how much the NHS is leaning on you turnaround consultants to try and sort out the financial mess many of its health and primary care trusts are in. So it was a...

Call for single institute in the wake of Anstee's exit.(Eric Anstee's departure from Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Call for single institute in the wake of Anstee's exit Kevin Reed KPMG this week insisted again that institute consolidation is the future for the ICAEW, as tensions within the body following Eric Anstee's...

Avoidance rules 'will be vague'.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks Avoidance rules 'will be vague' Gavin Hinks Definitions of tax avoidance, soon to be published by HM Revenue & Customs, will be deliberately vague, the head of the taxman's anti-avoidance unit has admitted. ...

Swedish tax rules slammed.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Keith Nuthall Swedish tax rules slammed Keith Nuthall The European Commission has formally threatened Sweden with legal action at the European Court of Justice , alleging its accounting rules for foreign European Union...

ACCA followers.(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed They say these things come in threes. So you have to wonder where the ICAEW will be following ACCA next. Last month the institute was named as an associate partner of the World Congress of Accountants. ACCA has been on...

RSM Robson Rhodes ditches Heer's ambitious [pounds sterling]200m goal.(Sukhbinder Heer)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling RSM Robson Rhodes ditches Heer's ambitious [pounds sterling]200m goal Nicholas Neveling RSM Robson Rhodes has had to scrap plans to become a [pounds sterling]200m firm by 2007 and may have to ask...

Lloyd's regime is incomplete.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Lloyd's regime is incomplete, warn experts Nicholas Neveling The new accounting regime implemented by Lloyd's of London syndicates omits key disclosures and reduces transparency, analysts at credit rating...

All eyes on iSoft as Deloitte probes full-year numbers.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling All eyes on iSoft as Deloitte probes full-year numbers Nicholas Neveling Battered IT company iSoft and its auditors Deloitte will be on the spot next week as the company, which has been plagued by...

ABI warns directors to be forward looking.(Association of British Insurers)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling ABI warns directors to be forward looking Nicholas Neveling The Association of British Insurers has warned that if safe harbour provisions are included in the company law reform bill, it will not...

AIM rocked by wave of suspensions.(alternative investment market)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling AIM rocked by wave of suspensions Nicholas Neveling The Alternative Investment Market has been hit by a wave of suspensions and audit qualifications after a number of companies missed accounts deadlines...

Izza is in pole position.(Michael Izza appointed at Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Izza is in pole position Kevin Reed and Michelle Perry ICAEW chief operating officer Michael Izza has emerged as an early favourite to take over the chief executive role from Eric Anstee, who announced he...

KPMG's ducks.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed There's no ducking the issue While many viewed last week's 'KPMG goes quackers' story as a clever marketing ploy, even more saw it as just plain silly. As you will remember, the Big Four firm sent rubber...

GT ploughs through NFU offshoot's accounts.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed GT ploughs through NFU Offshoot's accounts It wasn't just animals feeling the heat this week as temperatures soared. Forensic accountants are looking into irregularities at Associa, the commercial arm of the...

Taxpayers win partial victory in thin cap case.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Taxpayers win partial victory in thin cap case Taxpayers have won an initial victory over EU corporate lending tax rules. Advocate general Leendert Geelhoed gave his opinion on the thin cap case last week,...

Debate on private equity.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling This week Sir Derek Higgs suggested that the time had come to tighten up the governance of the UK's private equity industry and introduce new regulatory guidelines for AIM. The suggestions are bound to be hotly...

SNP urges corporation tax switch.
July 6, 2006... Byline: Parliament SNP urges corporation tax switch Our Parliamentary Correspondent The Scottish National Party has proposed amendments to the finance bill to allow the devolved bodies the power to vary corporation tax rates....

ICAEW seeks successor.(Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry successor sought: icaew boss's seat after merger vote needs new occupant Executive recruiters Boyden this week outlined the ICAEW's requirements for Eric Anstee's successor. As well as a business background,...

Crisis? What crisis?
July 12, 2006... Byline: damian wild Crisis? What crisis? Tony Osborn-Barker, actuary and strategic asset & liability manager at Deloitte Pensions risk is not necessarily a risk that companies should be taking on. To appreciate that one only...

IRS mess.
July 12, 2006... Byline: TS Spare a thought for Mark Everson, the beleaguered former commissioner of the US Internal Revenue Service. Yes, yes, TS knows it is tricky to have sympathy for the taxman. The IRS is hardly anyone's best friend. But Mr Everson...

Take enron three away.(white collar punishment)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes take enron three away The NatWest Three, if guilty, should be punished. It seems bizarre that such a statement should seem controversial, but we've got ourselves whipped up into such a fever over the UK's...

lessons from the future.(on auditing)
July 13, 2006... Byline: David Phillips lessons from the future For most in the audit profession, the last few years have been a time of great transformation under the twin impact of new regulatory and reporting models. Time is a great healer...

EU's evasion crackdown fails to live up to tough guy image.(European Union)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes EU's evasion crackdown fails to live up to tough guy image Tax Alex Hawkes More questions are being asked about the operation of the European savings directive. When the EU rules, which force offshore...

Is a clear conscience enough?(tax avoidance)(Editorial)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Damian Wild Is a clear conscience still enough? At last week's Insider Business Club discussion on the thorny issue of tax avoidance, I challenged the ever entertaining Mike Warburton on how he might determine whether...

Best Use of the Internet: Public Sector.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Damian Wild Best Use of the Internet: Public Sector The public sector, and Whitehall in particular, does not have a fantastic track record when it comes to IT implementation. Ask a management consultant and you will, more...

influence it, ingest it, invent it.(transmission of tax policy with less costs)(Ken McPhail on accountancy)(United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry influence it... A new study on how companies develop and use tax knowledge has launched with the aim of providing recommendations to improve the transmission of tax policy changes to decision makers without...

higher platform.
July 13, 2006... Byline: nicholas Neveling higher platform Ever since she was a teenager Marie-Louise Clayton, the finance director of oil company Venture Production, yearned to work in heavy industry. It is a desire that has stayed with her...

The inside scoop.(Louise Clayton of Venture Production learned taxation at United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling the inside scoop There are not many FTSE 350 finance directors who have an inside view of the machinations of HM Revenue & Customs. One of them is Venture Production FD Marie-Louise Clayton who has benefited...

Coda splits from its scientific arm.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Coda splits from its scientific arm Technology Kevin Reed Where acquisitions have become the norm among business software companies, seeing one attempt to split in two could cause finance directors to...

Paper talk.(Pearson PLC)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Philip Smith paper talk Two games are being played out at Pearson, the international publisher and owner of the Financial Times that will reveal its interims on 31 July. And both centre on one director, Rona...

Lessons from the future.(taxation)(Editorial)
July 13, 2006... NO AVOIDING THE issues Mike Warburton, Senior tax partner at Grant Thornton I always like the definition that Dennis Healy had on what the distinction is between avoidance and evasion. He said that the difference was the...

Is a tougher code required?
July 13, 2006... Byline: John Cowie Is a tougher code required? Sir Derek Higgs believes that AIM companies and private equity backed businesses should be subject to tougher corporate governance rules. Let's examine this notion for a moment. The...

New chief finance officer at Openreach.(appointments)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Rachael Singh People and moves... Job to die for: chief finance officer The job of the week goes to Ray Leclercq who takes on the role of chief finance officer at Openreach, the division that links homes and businesses to...

Rush to take advantage of hybrid capital.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Rush to take advantage of hybrid capital Nicholas Neveling Financial directors are rushing to take advantage of the benefits of hybrid capital -- financial instruments that are a mixture of debt and...

Weigold sells Partygaming shares.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling COMPANY REPORTS FTSE100 Martin Weigold, chief financial officer of online gambling giant PartyGaming, has sold his shares in the company along with the company secretary David Abdoo. Weigold cashed in...

Defining the elephant.(United Kingdom. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
July 13, 2006... Byline: John Whiting Defining the elephant The news that HM Revenue & Customs is planning to publish a set of 'avoidance hallmarks' is to be welcomed. All those involved with taxation would agree that the acceptable/unacceptable...

An ideal location.
July 13, 2006... An ideal location We all know that company executives, and especially finance directors, just love to talk about how good they are when it comes to transparency and governance. That said, TS can just imagine the...

Soaring oill prices.
July 13, 2006... TS hired a car this week and was shocked when it saw half its wage disappear into the petrol station cash register. If ever there was a sign that the oil price was soaring, TS' empty wallet was it. You would think, then, that oil company...

Tax law's written for judges.
July 13, 2006... Avoiding the matter Last week's Insider Business Club, on tax avoidance, attracted the odd cynical remark. John Cullinane, president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Mike Warburton of Grant Thornton, and Chas Roy-Chowdhury were...

Avoiding the matter.(tax law)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Also on the subject of the Insider Business Club avoidance debate, Mike Warburton let slip a key bit of inside information about tax law. Mike said that he had once met a Treasury draughtsman responsible for drawing up the finance bill....

Kings of the Castle.(Association of Chartered Certified Accountants )(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Kings of the castle Our picture shows ACCA conquering another landmass. Not content with spreading its tentacles far and wide, from the beaches of south Asia to the deserts of the Kalahari, chief executive Allen Blewitt has...

Cloud over Alpha Airports lifts.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Cloud over Alpha Airports lifts Nicholas Neveling The stock exchange suspension of Alpha Airports has been lifted after the inflight caterer said it had addressed the problems that saw auditor...

Intellectual bullets fired in tax war The UK's escalating battle over tax is set to escalate with the advent of a new weapon. The Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation has revealed its research agenda and appears set to give UK corporates the int.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks Intellectual bullets fired in tax war The UK's escalating battle over tax is set to escalate with the advent of a new weapon. The Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation has revealed its research agenda...

North sea tax blasted.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling North Sea tax blasted Marie-Louise Clayton,FD of oil company Venture Production, has criticised the government for a 'lack of strategic thinking' over its tax increase on North Sea oil, writes Nicholas...

EC Challenges rebel states.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Keith Nuthall EC challenges rebel states Keith Nuthall The European Commission is taking legal action against five member states for failing to comply with EU accounting rules. The moves include: l Taking Austria to...

Taxman promises payout on Aston Martin dealer case.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Taxman promises payout on Aston Martin dealer case Alex Hawkes The government is set to pay out hundreds of millions of pounds to businesses in overpaid VAT, after dropping its request for a 'stay' in the...

Trust moves will breed avoidance.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry Trust moves will breed avoidance Michelle Perry Ill conceived legislation on trusts designed to crack down on tax avoidance will lead to other forms of avoidance in the future, advisers warn. 'I predict...

Suspected abuse of charity tax rules sparks HMRC raids.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Suspected abuse of charity tax rules sparks HMRC raids Alex Hawkes The government is pursuing a fresh crackdown on tax avoidance schemes that may involve the abuse of Gift Aid rules. HM Revenue &...

Gambling giants strike deal on reporting rules.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Gambling giants strike deal on reporting rules Nicholas Neveling The most powerful companies in the online gambling industry have agreed to undertake a collective overhaul of their company reporting in a...

Carter u-turns on self-assessment.(Lord Carter)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry Carter u-turns on self-assessment Michelle Perry Tax advisers breathed a sigh of relief this week on the news that Lord Carter had conducted a swift about-turn on his proposals to shorten self assessment tax...

Devereux sets tax research agenda.(Oxford Business Centre for Tax Research appoints Michael Devereux)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Devereux sets tax research agenda Alex Hawkes The value of deals such as the Ferrovial bid for BAA and whether or not corporation tax is simply passed on in higher wage bills are two issues set to be...

EC reviews energy taxes directive.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Keith Nuthall EC reviews energy taxes directive Keith Nuthall The European Commission is making a bid to standardise energy taxation, by persuading member states to drop their derogations from the EU energy taxation...

Tenon and Raynor end MBO cliff hanger.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Tenon and Raynor end MBO cliff hanger Nicholas Neveling Tenon's plans to delist and operate as a private business came to nought this week as the AIM accounting firm announced that it had failed to...

Treasury 'can't find' GLO data.(group litigation orders )(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Treasury 'can't find' GLO data Alex Hawkes The government has refused to disclose the cost of the group litigation orders because it has too much information on them. In a review of a Freedom of...

Lord Carter backtracks on filing deadlines.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: michelle perry Lord Carter backtracks on filing deadlines Advisers rejoiced on news that Lord Carter this week asked ministers to reconsider his original proposals to shorten self assessment filing deadlines. He drafted new...

FSA moves to cut compliance for small firms.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling FSA moves to cut compliance for small firms Nicholas Neveling High street accountants who provide financial and broking services to clients have received a boost from the Financial Services Authority as...

London on a roll.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton on the money with Anthony Hilton Some people working for companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market have got hot under the collar in the past few days after Sir Derek Higgs, author...

misys the point.(Kenlayinfo.com )(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes What to make of the passing of Ken Lay, former chief executive and chairman of Enron? Kenlayinfo.com is an eery site that gives the case for the defence. The political campaigning website opensecrets.org about money...

IFRS rules are still misunderstood.
July 13, 2006... Byline: Michelle perry FRC unveils audit probe findings The Financial Reporting Council today released its latest report on the standard of audits performed by the Big Four, this year including the mid-tier accounting firms for the...