Accountancy Age articles from June 2006

Accountancy Age archives from June 2006

hindu times.
June 1, 2006... hindu times A high achiever in school, the best performer in 1980 in the Indian Chartered Accountants Institute and the first to hoist the flag of accountancy outsourcing to India, Sunil Goel, 49, has successfully combined his...

External drive.(service industries safety)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Peter N C Cooke External drive My late mother's advice concerning employment went like this: 'Get a good job that has a company car and you will be safe.' Little did she realise just how dangerous that advice was. To put it...

life in luxury.(world cigar conference)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes life in luxury Speaking to the finance director of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, two of the UK's most prestigious hotel brands, over breakfast, you can't help thinking that it would be easy to get used to his...

Emission possible.(supermini-only policy)
June 1, 2006... Byline: John Maslen Emission possible Being green doesn't equal being mean when it comes to company car provision, you just have to use your head. At first glance, making a fleet more fuel efficient would hint at a company...

blazing a trail.(car taxation)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alastair Kendrick blazing a trail The announcement in the last Budget, over the reduction from 2008 in company car taxation for vehicles that have a sub-120 CO2 emission, should be considered a very exciting development. It is...

Remote control.(car fleet management)
June 1, 2006... Byline: John Maslen Remote control There is a strong argument that the true acronym for IT is not information technology, but 'incredibly tedious'. After the opening sales gambit of 'saves you money' and 'saves you time', many finance...

driven up the wall.
June 1, 2006... Byline: John Maslen driven up the wall Executives clocking up thousands of pounds in penalties are causing major headaches for employers, with one high-ranking manager in a FTSE 100 company incurring [pounds sterling]3,400 in...

Net defeat in the Lords.(Andre Agassi, taxation)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Mike Warburton Net defeat in the Lords Andre Agassi didn't want a fight, but he and several others eventually decided enough was enough. With the able support of Tenon Media, he decided to fight back. They enlisted help from...

Liability saga draws to a close.(auditors' limited liability)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Liability saga draws to a close AUDIT Paul Grant After what seems like an eternity of wrangling, constant lobbying and to-ing and fro-ing between the government and the accounting profession, the stage is...

It's a steel for advisers.(Ukraine steel mill KryvorizhStal)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling It's a steel for advisers CORPORATE FINANCE Nicholas Neveling Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal's insatiable appetite for deals and the continuing speculation around the future of FTSE 100 steel group Corus...

Celebrity game, set and tax.(HM Revenue and Customs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Celebrity game, set and tax TAX Alex Hawkes Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, who are anxiously awaiting the results of a tax court ruling, are just the latest in a long line of celebrities to become...

Fears of high-profile insolvencies could prove to be unfounded.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Fears of high-profile insolvencies could prove to be unfounded Business Recovery Kevin Reed The loss of almost 300 jobs at subsidiaries of northern construction business Dew Pitchmastic again raises concerns...

Accountants best for 'hands on' tactic.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Mark Hoban Accountants best for 'hands on' tactic Many members of parliament have little hands on experience of the worlds of business and finance, often relying heavily for information on contacts in their constituencies and...

The Enron effect.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Gavin hinks The Enron effect As Enron's former chief executive and chairman, Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay wait to hear whether they will spend the rest if their lives in jail, it became clear, in the UK at least, that the...

time hasn't diminished the enron effect 'The pendulum has swung too far,' is now the refrain you hear among businessmen and accountants as they consider the regulatory fallout from the collapse of Enron. Even as the corporation's former chairman and chie.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks time hasn't diminished the enron effect 'The pendulum has swung too far,' is now the refrain you hear among businessmen and accountants as they consider the regulatory fallout from the collapse of Enron. Even...

Financial director of the Year: Public Services.(Accountancy Age Awards)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Financial director of the Year: Public Services If ever there was a place for an accountant to make a difference, it is in the public sector where the pressure to manage taxpayers' cash properly is immense. And there is no better job for...

Charities press their case to IASB.(International Accounting Standards Board)
June 1, 2006... Charities press their case to IASB Philip Smith Publish What You Pay, the coalition behind a campaign to increase the geographical transparency of company accounts, is pressing for a meeting with the IASB to push it's point home....

Utilities, oil and gas suffer IFRS burden.(International Financial Reporting Standards)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Utilities, oil and gas suffer IFRS burden Nicholas Neveling Utility and oil and gas companies, already struggling to cope with geopolitical uncertainty and a heavy regulatory load, have had a traumatic...

Commission calls for more stringent EU audits.(EU budget)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Keith Nuthall Commission calls for more stringent EU audits Keith Nuthall Tougher rules on transparency and audits for the EU's E864bn ([pounds sterling]592bn) 2007-13 budget have been tabled by the European Commission....

Big Four partner the latest victim of identity theft fraud.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Big Four partner the latest victim of identity theft fraud Kevin Reed The crisis surrounding identity theft deepened this week, as it emerged that fraudsters had stolen the identity of a Big Four partner in a...

ICAEW resignations top 800 this year.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry and Kevin Reed ICAEW resignations top 800 this year Michelle Perry and Kevin Reed The ICAEW haemorrhaged accountants at the beginning of the year, as 800 members resigned during the first three months of...

Baker Tilly vindicated over Sanctuary audit.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Baker Tilly vindicated over Sanctuary audit Nicholas Neveling Baker Tilly, which was sacked as the auditor of Sanctuary Group after qualifying the group's accounts, has been vindicated for its decision...

Blazing trail.(fleet management)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alastair Kendrick TOP 10 TIPS TO A GREENER FLEET 1 Introduce an initiative of limiting business travel. With all the advances we have in technology today, do you really need to travel so much? Think of your carbon footprint and...

Popularity contest.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Philip Smith popularity contest What's happened? As Big Brother 7 kicks off, main sponsor Carphone Warehouse must be hoping its ambitious attack on the broadband market will last longer than the media careers of the...

Contacts on a plate.(networking)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Khalid Aziz contacts on a plate When it comes to work, hours are getting longer, the lunch break is getting shorter and the pressure is on to be smarter and deliver faster. In this hard-working environment there is a perception...

changing sector.(financial services)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Mark Freebairn view from the board: changing sector We all know that finance is a transferable skillset. Of course, each sector has its own foibles, and it is essential that anyone working within the retail sector,...

cover it, correct it, check it.(employment law)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry cover it... Can't find anyone to insure your pet bear? Look no further than Britishinsurance ,which has just insured for [pounds sterling]1m the young brown Bear roaming Bavaria. German and Austrian...

Grand designs.(Malmaison)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes grand designs Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have a list of 150,000 regular customers. They are referred to officially as 'fans' of the group. 'When you open they want to be in in the first five weeks,' Nisbett...

On the money.(taxation, balance of trade)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: anthony hilton on the money with Anthony Hilton One of the most frustrating things about the media-driven modern world is how emotion and not reason drives debate. There was, for example, a media frenzy a...

People and moves.(appointments )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Katie Holliday People and moves... Job to die for: ICAS executive director The woman with the top job this week is Lesley Glen, who has been appointed executive director of finance, IT and facilities at ICAS. Glen joins...

Will caps fit the bill?(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Will caps fit the bill? Now that the issue over auditor liability has been resolved -- surprise opposition from the House of Commons aside -- the profession will turn the glare of attention towards the debate on...

Star Company.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Star company Who should TS find when we went to Malmaison to interview the hotel group's finance director, but Chrissss Eubank (TS is feeling cocky). Well, we didn't see him personally, but we did spot his...

Keeping UHY in Czech.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Keeping UHY in Czech TS isn't one for repetition in sentences, but was struck by this little nugget that winged its way onto our desktop. UHY Hacker Young's Czech managing partner, Ladislav Hornan, recently met up...

Six and socks.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling After a wild bank holiday weekend, TS woke up on Tuesday morning with a heavy heart and an even heavier head. Inevitably, we were running late and had to rifle through the laundry bin to find anything to wear. ...

Company reports.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling COMPANY REPORTS FTSE 100 Two of PartyGaming's founders, Anurag Dikshit and Vikrant Bhargava, have stepped down from the online gaming giant's board to improve compliance with the combined code....

First with the wrong news.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed First with the wrong news... Not known for attending accountancy jollies, TS nonetheless decided to put on the glad rags and pop along to the Park Lane Hilton for the Taxation Awards. The great, the good -- and...

Internal audit role at the home office.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed During quieter moments, when TS is pondering working as an accountant rather than writing disparaging things about them, we scour the job ads in the Age for anything tasty. Last week, we saw an absolute scorcher. ...

Taxman and chancellor urged to speak to europe.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Taxman and chancellor urged to speak to Europe The new president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation has issued a call for Gordon Brown and the tax authorities to co-operate with their European neighbours, as...

Act more like a regulator, FRC told.(Financial Reporting Council)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Act more like a regulator, FRC told Paul Grant Investors have demanded that the Financial Reporting Council act more like an independent regulator, amid continuing fears over accountants' influence on the...

Thumbs up to transparency.(corporate accounting)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks thumbs up to transparency Improvements in clarity and openness of annual and consolidated accounts for European Union businesses have been approved by the EU Council of Ministers. The change amends the fourth and...

demands for narrative guidance.(business reviews)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Demands for narrative guidance Paul Grant Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth are pressing hard for the government to provide clear guidance for companies producing business reviews -- to avoid the...

Malmaison could be plc by 2008.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Malmaison could be plc by 2008 Alex Hawkes Malmaison and Hotel du Vin could become a floated hotels group by 2008, it has emerged. The high-end hotels, owned by listed property group Marylebone Warwick Balfour,...

Moulton slams cowardly accountants.(John Moulton)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Moulton slams cowardly accountants Nicholas Neveling Jon Moulton, one of the most influential personalities in private equity, has issued a harsh critique of the corporate finance work done by...

members interests under spotlight.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Members interests under spotlight Paul Grant Members of the public will soon be able to monitor potential conflicts of interest of ICAEW council members and senior staff when a register of interests is...

Annual reports.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Web Sight: annual results Annual results presentations are not what they used to be. These days, you can get a webcast of the salient points of the company's presentation the moment the news is out. Vodafone's...

New deadlines reveal no benefits.(taxation self-assessment)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed New deadlines reveal no benefits TECHNOLOGY Kevin Reed Software companies have been zealous in playing up the benefits of the new self-assessment filing deadlines as a catalyst for reorganising practice...

Thousands join in the 'no' campaign.(taxation self-assessment)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Thousands join in the 'no' campaign Kevin Reed More than 6,000 'no' votes have been cast by tax advisers against plans to bring forward self-assessment filing deadlines. A survey undertaken by more than...

Source of income.(accounting firms may offer more services to clients)
June 5, 2006... Byline: phil shohet Source of income Adding value is a much-used term within practices, but partners often have a tendency to think of this as business advisory services, such as tax consultancy or some other high-level activity. This...

Moved Barbara Woodhouse.
June 6, 2006... moveD: barbara moorhouse Last September, Barbara Moorhouse was recruited as director-general of finance for the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), with responsibility for the department's [pounds sterling]3.3bn budget, and for...

gate keeper.(Ann Beasley)(Interview)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling gate keeper Life as a finance director for HM Prison Service is like working in no other sector, for obvious reasons. Financial management here is often determined by such things as suicides, although the rate...

once the flames Die down.(Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Hugh Thompson once the flames Die down What have Neal Warden, Gerald Williams, Andy King and Harry Roberts got in common? They are all qualified accountants who have in the last ten years become presidents of the...

Deal makers risk collapse.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Deal makers risk collapse corporate finance Nicholas Neveling Corporate financiers are preparing for a hot, uncomfortable summer. Leveraged debt markets -- the lifeblood of private equity deals -- are...

Going public.
June 8, 2006... Going public The commercial sector has long been a popular hunting ground for Britain's public sector to locate new finance executives and, in recent years, the trickle has turned into a steady stream. The so-called...

Corporate late-payers pile pressure on SMEs.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Corporate late-payers pile pressure on SMEs Nicholas Neveling The finance directors of small business are coming under increasing pressure to manage their cash flows efficiently as a result of the...

Taxing questions for the year ahead.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Taxing questions for the year ahead John Cullinane has been president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation for a month. Until now, it has mostly been a question of dinners, speeches and drinks receptions. Now it's...

Best Use of Internet: Practice Award.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Gavin Hinks Best Use of Internet: Practice Award Is your website working for you? Does it engage your clients, attract future clients and add increased value to your services? If it does, then the Best Use of the...

Don't botch the future.(company law)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Craig Bennett Don't botch the future In early May the government tabled amendments to the company law reform bill in response to the public consultation on scrapping the operating and financial review (OFR). It was a...

FRC independence queried.(Financial Reporting Council)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant FRC independence queried audit Paul Grant The Financial Reporting Council, in its current form, has been going for over two years now, but some feel it has been slow in getting into the swing of its...

Foreign tax regimes tempt UK firms.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Foreign tax regimes tempt UK firms tax Alex Hawkes Are companies seeking to move their headquarters outside the UK? The question is vexing many, not least the UK Treasury, which stands to lose revenue, and...

Paper maker bows to FRRP's ruling.(Inveresk)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Paper maker bows to FRRP's ruling Paul Grant Paper manufacturer Inveresk has fallen foul of company accounts scrutinisers after failing to adjust its 2004 figures following an audit qualification. The...

Profit warnings edge NHS IT provider closer to restatement.(iSoft)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Profit warnings edge NHS IT provider closer to restatement Nicholas Neveling iSoft, the battered IT company involved in the NHS's controversial national programme for IT, is expected to restate its...

Chat show pair hire star lawyer for tax song and dance.(Richard and Judy)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Chat show pair hire star lawyer for tax song and dance Alex Hawkes TV presenters Richard and Judy have hired Andre Agassi's lawyer to represent them in their tax battle, Accountancy Age understands. ...

Bill delays could derail liability changes.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Bill delays could derail liability changes Paul Grant Auditors' hopes for a limit to liabilities could be hit by delays after the company law reform bill met with opposition on several new fronts as it races to...

Taxman breaks filing record.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes Taxman breaks filing record Alex Hawkes HMRC processed a record 10,000 tax returns an hour during the recent PAYE filing period. The figure is due to be released today as part of a series of statistics...

Institute furore rumbles on.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Institute furore rumbles on Kevin Reed While senior members of the ICAEW were hoping that Graham Durgan's unprecedented withdrawal from the presidency would put an end to the furore surrounding the institute's...

Durgan fallout sparks internal controls review.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Kevin Reed Durgan fallout sparks internal controls review Kevin Reed A review of the ICAEW's internal controls is being led by president Ian Morris, in a bid to make sure that the fiasco surrounding a contract awarded to a...

Audit firm numbers slump.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Audit firm numbers slump Paul Grant The ICAEW has revealed that the number of audit firms registered with the institute has dropped below the 5,000 mark as the impact of the audit threshold rise kicks in. ...

ECJ forces review of multi-national tax.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes ECJ forces review of multi-national tax Alex Hawkes The government has re-opened a behind-the-scenes consultation on corporation tax reform, in a move that could see a radical shake-up of the way big blue-chip...

Consolidation the spur to revive Tenon bidding.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Consolidation the spur to revive Tenon bidding Nicholas Neveling The pressing need for consolidation in the mid-tier could be the spark that helps to drag the fading bid interest in AIM-listed firm Tenon...

Project planning.(H. M. Prison Service)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling project planning The public sector's track record when it comes to implementing large-scale IT systems and shared service centres is hardly the best. HM Revenue & Customs' problems with EDS and the NHS's...

red card.(World Cup)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Yvonne Malley red card The World Cup finals are almost upon us and, while they will provide a feast of football, they will also bring headaches for business leaders -- accountancy firms will be affected as much as anyone....

ponder it, play it, preserve it.(web sites)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Perry ponder it... Wages not rising enough? Spare a thought for premiership footballers whose wages dropped for the first time in the league's history. See Deloitte's review deloitte.co.uk play it... Not...

Accountants seek job online.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Tim Elkington surfing for a living: accountants seek jobs online The typical online jobseeker is an accountant. His name is Marcus Lee and he fits to a tee the average profile of the 12 million people in the UK...

The auditor can be right.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes the auditor can be right The news that Baker Tilly had been right to question Sanctuary's accounting ought to cause investors to think harder about auditors. The music group's investors asked precious few...

Footballers' wage dip just a dip.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Footballers' wage dip just a blip Nicholas Neveling Premiership wages may have fallen for the first time in the history of the league, but by 2007 club FDs could once again find themselves battling to...

People and moves.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Rachael Singh People and moves... Job to die for: Coventry building society FD Rob Green bags this week's best job as he is set to join Coventry Building Society, the fifth largest building society in the UK, as its...

Rock of Aegis.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Philip Smith rock of aegis What's happened? The stand-off between Aegis, the UK media buying group, and Vincent Bollore, the French corporate raider and chairman of Havas, the Paris-based marketing group, is set to take a...

On the money.(trade associations)(Brief article)(Column)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Anthony Hilton on the money with Anthony Hilton A friend of mine was recently at one of those meetings in the Treasury where the leaders of the City's trade associations are called in to say what they think...

When a marriage turns messy.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Charlotte Ballard Scott When a marriage turns messy On 24 May 2006 the House of Lords handed down its judgment on two family cases, Miller and McFarlane. 'Wives Win Out', 'Landmark Victory', 'Law Re-Written' have been some of...

Company reports.(Marks & Spencer, Corus, Tesco)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling COMPANY REPORTS FTSE 100 BSkyB chief financial officer Jeremy Darroch will step up to the audit committee chair of Marks & Spencer in September, following a boardroom reshuffle. Darroch, who joined M&S as...

Moved Mary Keegan.
June 8, 2006... moveD: mary keegan One of the highest profile moves from the private to public sector was the recruitment of Mary Keegan to the Treasury in 2004. Keegan was appointed as managing director of financial management, reporting and audit, a...

Whitehead Mann in recovery.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Whitehead Mann in recovery Nicholas Neveling Recruitment specialist Whitehead Mann is expected to end its financial year strongly today when it reports final results. Analysts expect the company to report...

Khan.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Grant Tom's got a fearsome history It's not often you think of accountants as the ruthless and aggressive type, although TS has met some who, after a few drinks, have sought to have 'words' with us about stories we've...

MG Rover.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Byline: Alex Hawkes TS has been doing some calculations. If you assume seven hours in a working day (bear with us, here), there are 25,000 seconds in a day. Work five days a week, and you'll spend 125,000 seconds at work each week. That's...