Accountancy Age articles from May 2005

Accountancy Age archives from May 2005

Court victory sparks rule rethink. Last week's landmark ruling in the High Court battle between Deloitte and the JDS and Accountancy Age could prove to be a turning point in regulation as the profession's watchdog looks to strengthen its position in public interest cases, writes David Rae.(Deloitte & Touche L.L.P.)
May 5, 2005... The current disciplinary scheme for accountants could undergo significant change as a result of a High Court ruling last week, which lifted a temporary injunction on the body and Accountancy Age granted to Big Four firm Deloitte. Joint...

Key issues that shaped the legal battle.(case of Deloitte & Touche L.L.P.)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Byline: Gavin Hinks. Deloitte's injunction application to stop the Joint Disciplinary Scheme and Accountancy Age from publishing news relating to complaints against the firm and its UK chairman Martin Scicluna rested on two arguments. ...

Acting in the public interest.(Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. and Capital Corp.)
May 5, 2005... When Deloitte sought the injunction against Accountancy Age and the Joint Disciplinary Scheme in February, the coverage was scathing. 'The accountancy profession is at risk of its regulatory process being seen as a mockery,' said The Times. ...

Changes muddy waters at Unilever. Revised accounting rules mean underlying trends will be less clear to investors, writes Alex Hawkes.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Accounting changes at Unilever will reduce the transparency of the consumer goods giant's results, analysts have claimed. The group will issue first quarter results tomorrow amid criticism that accounting changes are making its performance...

Putting on a brave face: model prepares for a L'Oreal fashion show as cosmetics giant takes EUR1bn IFRS hit.(international financial reporting standards)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... L'Oreal saw EUR893m ([pounds sterling]610m) knocked off its 2004 turnover figures last week as it restated results under new international financial reporting standards (IFRS), writes Alex Hawkes. The world's largest cosmetics manufacturer...

E&Y jumps on late disclosure.(Ernst & Young)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Byline: Alex Hawkes. Ernst & Young's defence against a [pounds sterling]2bn negligence claim from Equitable Life is being hampered by poor disclosure on behalf of the mutual's lawyers, the High Court heard. Speaking after the...

Watchdog's bark betrays IFRS fears.(International Financial Reporting Standard(s))(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. Analysts are warning that the FSA's increasingly vocal stance on new reporting standards over the last few weeks could suggest that the City watchdog is worried listed companies are not up to speed on IFRS. ...

Consolidator carved up between Vantis and BDO.(to acquire Numerica)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Vantis and BDO Stoy Hayward are poised to close deals with a total value of [pounds sterling]28m to acquire parts of consolidator Numerica, writes Kevin Reed. Vantis has agreed a [pounds sterling]15.8m deal to acquire Numerica's entire...

Non-exec value proved by best practice report. Report shows boards with more non-execs maintain top quality accounting policies, writes Paul Grant.
May 5, 2005... Companies without a strong team of non-executive directors and good corporate governance practice are far more likely to violate accounting rules, use creative accounting practices and delay the release of bad news, a study has shown. The...

CIMA sticking point in merger.(Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. The ICAEW and CIPFA face a struggle to gain 'vital' support for their merger vote in October, while also trying to convince CIMA on the merits of the plans. Last week, CIMA announced that it would still consider...

Fox struck off over VAT saga.(Value-added tax)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... An accountant who failed to pay almost [pounds sterling]700,000 that he had been entrusted with to settle a VAT bill has been struck off, writes Alex Hawkes. The ICAEW revealed its decision to exclude Albert Fox from its membership for up...

Finance week - Analysts predict take off in BAE's credit rating. Reduced pensions liability under IFRS could improve BAE's standing with credit ratings agencies, writes Nicholas Neveling.(International Financial Reporting Standards)
May 5, 2005... While BAE Systems revealed that its 2004 net debt under international accounting standards would increase, market analysts still reacted positively to the aerospace company's latest disclosure. In its IFRS restatement, the developer of the...

Finance week - Company Reports. William Hill FD receives pay hike for job well done, as Shell reports first quarter under IFRS.(finance director)(International Financial Reporting Standard(s))
May 5, 2005... Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the makers of Nolvadex and Exanta, reported a 34% increase in operating profit at constant exchange rates for Q1 2005. These were the company's first IFRS results. The drug company saw Q1 operating profits...

Taking stock - Equitable Life trial.(case of Ernst & Young L.L.P. and Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Just how long will the Equitable Life trial at the High Court continue? Some commentators have argued that there are some less than compelling arguments in the battle between Equitable Life and former auditors Ernst & Young. And the gossip...

Taking stock - Election night is Sutch a bore.
May 5, 2005... Well, tonight's the big night. Finally, after years of waiting, CSKA Moscow meets Parma in the UEFA cup semi-final. TS can't wait. Oh, and there's also the election to look forward to. We'll be there in front of the TV, adorned with Loony...

Taking stock - Feel like packing it in?
May 5, 2005... On Monday mornings, TS can often be seen mumbling into a mug of coffee about its lot in life. Actually, it's not just Mondays, but we're not half as bad as some of you bunch. A survey, commissioned by recruitment company Hudson, has...

Taking stock - Arctic Systems test case.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Tax accountants have been mulling over last week's test case on Arctic Systems. One aspect of the case (see page 11) that remains unclear, intrigued TS: to what extent can the Revenue apply the rules retrospectively? Is the lack of clarity...

Taking stock - Tales of the technophobes.
May 5, 2005... Accountants and technology mix as well cats and dogs, or beer and vodka. And the replies to a recent competition asking for the biggest IT howlers that accountants have suffered or witnessed brought to light some shocking incidents. For...

Analysis - FRRP declares war on suspect accounting. It's time for FDs to dot all the 'i's and cross all the 't's, as the FRRP steps up its scrutiny of company reports, writes Robert Bruce.(Financial Reporting Review Panel)
May 5, 2005... In the past, the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) was not viewed by financial directors as a great threat. Sure, it had teeth, but only if someone lodged a complaint. All that is now changing. Instead of waiting for problems to land...

Tax - Knock-on affect limited in Arctic case. Companies breathe sigh of relief after S660 ruling in the High Court, write David Rae and Alex Hawkes.
May 5, 2005... Accountants have dismissed last week's High Court ruling against family-run business Arctic Systems, saying 'very few' husband and wife companies will be affected. Mr Justice Park ruled in favour of the Inland Revenue (pictured) in the...

Tax - Family-run businesses owed VAT.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Goods purchased by a married couple that are later used for business purposes may be liable to a VAT rebate following a recent European Court of Justice decision, writes Keith Nuthall. Under existing British VAT regulations, capital goods...

Tax - What's not in your wallet?
May 5, 2005... Byline: Gavin Hinks is deputy editor of Accountancy Age. Those of you for whom tax talk is more exciting than an FHM cover featuring Scarlett Johannson will no doubt ponder the question - what will decide my vote? Corporate or personal tax...

Technology - Security concerns outweigh all other IT headaches. High-profile fraud attempts and Sarbox requirements have brought security to the fore, writes Kevin Reed.
May 5, 2005... Security is by far the biggest technology headache for accountants, more so than the implications of IFRS, compliance or systems upgrades, a new survey has revealed. An online poll of 270 accountants conducted by Accountancy Age, found...

Technology - SAP and Microsoft unite to corner software market.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Business software giant SAP has sealed an alliance with Microsoft to co-develop products, in a move that industry analysts have interpreted as a thinly disguised attack on Oracle, writes Robert Jaques. David Bradshaw, principal analyst and...

Technology - IT brief.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Mike Tittensor has won a trip to San Diego, by revealing the 'worst IT mistake' witnessed, or committed by, an accountant. During the closure of a governmental science project, Tittensor attempted to pull together its 'messy' set of accounts,...

Awards 2005 - Business Finance Team of the year.
May 5, 2005... In recognition of the great work carried out by accountants up and down the country, this year Accountancy Age has split our prestigious Finance Team of the Year Award into two. For the first time this year's Accountancy Age Awards will see...

Opinion - The Debate - Mixed approach is way forward. We have to mix and match standards for small and large companies, writes Ian Mackintosh. Wouldn't a big-bang approach be better, asks Richard Martin?
May 5, 2005... The rapid growth of complex financial instruments - particularly derivatives - in recent years, and the risks and risk-management methods they give rise to, have challenged existing financial reporting models. Only now are accounting standards...

Opinion - Small businesses suffer as big companies turn the screw.
May 5, 2005... In any business cash is king. And in this area, at least, the smaller the business, the truer the maxim. The FD of a small catering company best summed up what remains one of the biggest problems facing smaller companies these days, when he...

The corridors of power.(Channel Tunnel)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Byline: Jon Ashworth is business features editor at The Times. Perhaps it's just me, but why did anyone ever think that that glorious hole in the ground, the Channel Tunnel, would ever make money? Fifteen years since the giant boring...

Letter - Totally bogus.(Letter to the Editor)
May 5, 2005... I read with dismay the current spate of identity frauds being perpetrated by those submitting bogus information to Companies House (14 April, page 1). I feel that Companies House should get its act together and stop acting the 'wise...

Letter - What about us?(Letter to the Editor)
May 5, 2005... I read with great interest your article on retail's late payment crisis (28 April, page 1). I work for a company called Insul-8 and we are defined as a specialist sub-contractor working ostensibly in the construction industry. There...

Letter - There's still hope.(Letter to the Editor)
May 5, 2005... It was interesting to note in the sympathy that Philip Theo and Ray Cox had for Paul Grand's situation - a lack of employed work (14 April, page 17). After many years' experience in a variety of industries, one would expect to be valued....

Letter - Born cynical: Marvin the paranoid android would also have mistrusted the Revenue over tax returns.(Letter to the Editor)
May 5, 2005... Maybe I am just a born cynic, or else Gordon Brown has instructed the Inland Revenue to withhold tax returns for individuals who normally get refunds as another stealth tax. For the last few years, I have always submitted a tax return and...

Insider - Boarding over the cracks. Hard-working boards with a generous number of non-executive directors consistently outperform rivals when it comes to good governance, writes Steven Young.
May 5, 2005... UK boardrooms have undergone dramatic upheaval since the financial scandals of the late eighties and early nineties cast doubt on accounting's credibility and integrity. As a result, UK boards must aspire to a strict list of best practice...

Insider - Profile: Cobra beer king Karan Bilimoria - Special Brew. Award-winning and pioneering entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria spotted a niche market for Indian beer and exploited it. But what was the key to his success, asks Rachel Fielding? A true business grounding working as an accountant at Ernst & Young.
May 5, 2005... Chartered accountant Karan Bilimoria collects business accolades in the same way some people collect beer mats. Last week, another trophy joined his already crowded mantelpiece, as the ICAEW presented the founder and chief executive of Cobra...

Insider - Overview - A new lease of life. On the frontline: Alison Reed's appointment as FD of Standard Life shows she's still at the top of her profession, writes Gavin Hinks.(finance director)
May 5, 2005... Anyone who thought former M&S FD Alison Reed was all washed up when her departure was announced in November last year will be chewing on their words. The end of her term at Britain's favourite purveyor of cotton underwear may have been...

Insider - Three steps to... Making work matter.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2005... Step 1: Have a 'wow' work vision Imagine a world where work matters, where Dilbert is denied, where we learn something new every day, where we revel in the thrill of changing times, where we brag about what we do. Step 2: Reward...

Insider - Buzzwords - Conclave.
May 5, 2005... (noun) a meeting held to elect a new pope or a gathering of senior managers With 12 million internet citations and more than 100,000 stories in the worldwide media, the coverage of Pope John Paul II's passing must rank as the biggest news...

Insider - The truth behind spin.
May 5, 2005... Byline: Mark McCartney is associate director of Grayling. Adapt, or die. Politicians have had to learn to deal with today's media-dominated and image-obsessed world, or face the consequences. Business people have been slower off the mark....

Services - Adviser: Think ahead on IT spend. Forward planning of your IT strategy can help you surmount fears of disastrous, short-lived technology purchases, write Phil Shohet and Andrew Jenner.(information technology)
May 5, 2005... Growing practices can be limited by the capabilities of their IT infrastructure. Although the primary overhead in every firm is staffing costs, there is often a lack of awareness among partners that there is more to improving gross margins than...

KPMG and E&Y await Resolution on audit work.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling KPMG and E&Y await Resolution on audit work KPMG and Ernst & Young, the auditors of Britannic plc and Resolution Life, who announced their merger last week, must wait until at least August to discover which...

Analysis - When clients attack. Auditing clients with huge turnovers leaves the Big Four open to massive damages claims when things go wrong, as Ernst & Young discovered. The risks involved make finding insurance cover a critical issue, writes Alex Hawkes.
May 12, 2005... It would be interesting to know how Ernst & Young must have felt when, just over three years ago, Equitable Life's claim against the Big Four firm landed on its doormat. Apart from the obvious ('call the lawyers'), the claim for [pounds...

Technology - Offshore with care, warns FSA. Despite effective management, offshoring still represents a material risk, writes Kevin Reed.(Financial Services Authority)
May 12, 2005... UK businesses using offshoring to reduce costs on data control are managing the huge risks effectively, according to a study by the Financial Services Authority. But the FSA confirmed that it represents a 'material risk' to market...

Technology - IT briefs.(International HIV/AIDS Alliance)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the European Union's largest HIV/AIDS development organisation, has awarded a [pounds sterling]30,000 contract for accounting and business management software to PS Financials, in an attempt to gain greater...

Management consultancy - MCA predicts 'continued uncertainty'. Report reveals businesses are showing greater confidence in appointing consultants, writes James Bennett.
May 12, 2005... The consultancy industry faces 'continued uncertainty' in 2005, but UK plc is waking up to the idea of using consultants to drive up revenues, according to a report for the Management Consultancies Association. Fiona Czerniawska...

Management consultancy - EDS figures hit by new procedure.(Electronic Data Systems Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... A new accounting procedure has blunted positive quarterly figures for IT services group EDS. The NYSE-listed company posted pro forma net income of $35m ([pounds sterling]18.4m), but the impact of stock option expensing - which it adopted from...

Management consultancy - NHS timetable needs saving.
May 12, 2005... Last month I wrote about the sharing of patient records and how, despite the efforts of consultancy firms, the majority of the UK public is against it on the grounds of privacy. Well fit me up in surgeon's scrubs and call me Mystic Meg, yet...

Opinion - Which way will Johnson jump?(Alan Johnson)(Column)
May 12, 2005... It's commonplace to include the word uncertainty in a newspaper headline, but following ministerial reshuffles this week that's exactly what hangs over the audit profession and its drive for more protection from catastrophic claims for damages....

Opinion.. Audit committees must have more freedom and access to be properly effective, writes Timothy Copnell. George Moore argues more resources are the key.(Column)
May 12, 2005... The current spate of restated financial statements, missed earnings projections and, in the US, material weaknesses in internal controls, has kept the spotlight firmly on the role of the non-executive directors sitting on the audit committee....

Jon Ashworth the corridors of power ...(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... I've often wondered what it must be like to be born into one of the great dynasties. Not having to work for a living might sound attractive, but is often more a curse than a blessing. Some seize the opportunity. Mark Getty of the oil family...

Letters - There's no excuse for being late.(Letter to the Editor)
May 12, 2005... Your front-page story (28 April) amply illustrates the problems of late payment. A survey by ACCA in 2003 showed that even the threat of charging interest - a key part of the late payment legislation introduced in 1998 - had little effect. ...

Letters - A fine mess.(Letter to the Editor)
May 12, 2005... Much has been written about the merger of the ICAEW with CIMA etc - and the reaction of most people is fear that the qualification will be de-valued. Also, the institute actively promotes the robustness and integrity of the qualification and...

Letters - Forum for good.(Letter to the Editor)
May 12, 2005... Your article concerning the Audit Quality Forum has the clear inference, gleaned from investor representatives, that the ICAEW's hosting of the Audit Quality Forum is in some way flawed and that the ICAEW can in some way influence the forum's...

Letters - In the swing. There were quite a few Conservative accountants holding their breath on election night.(Letter to the Editor)
May 12, 2005... I read with interest your article 'An Accountant-Free Zone' (28 April, page 19), which related to the dearth of accountants among sitting MPs and Parliamentary candidates. In your article, you mentioned that the Labour Party was fielding...

People - Gold weighs in at Campbell Dallas.
May 12, 2005... PRACTICE Michael Barry has been recruited by Moore Stephens Corporate Finance as director. Formerly at Venthams, where he led the corporate finance practice, Barry will primarily focus on mergers, acquisitions and fundraising opportunities...

People - New-found friends. Accountancy firm Friend LLP welcomes new members and rewards old ones.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Friend LLP has expanded its business by recruiting and promoting people across all its practice areas. Dawn Walsh, who joined the company in 1992 as a trainee, has been promoted to senior manager in the tax department. Leon Rowly has been...

Awards 2005 - Business annual report award.
May 12, 2005... In an age of intense focus on corporate governance and transparency there's never been more scrutiny on the quality of a company's annual report and accounts. Last year's winner of the Accountancy Age Award for Business Annual Report...

Insider - Do you believe the hype? Love it or hate it, marketing is an essential tool for any business, writes Nicholas Watkins. But how do you assess its true value?
May 12, 2005... While chief executives and accountants debate the return on company investment and productivity, the activities that generate business rarely appear to come under such scrutiny. Marketing, which sets out to generate profit by anticipating and...

Insider - Profile - Suits him. Phil Dutton, FD of Matalan's billion-pound business.(finance director)
May 12, 2005... Phil Dutton is proud of the suit he's wearing, so proud in fact, that as he poses for photographs, he carefully undoes a button on his blazer and opens it up to show me the label - it's Matalan, of course. Retailing at a very affordable...

Insider - Insight: anger management - Temper your Temper. The stresses and frustrations of the modern business world can leave even the mildest-mannered amongst us red-faced with rage. Cary Cooper looks at how to keep your head and positively channel these feelings to solve the problems rather than exacerbate them.
May 12, 2005... When did you last lose your cool? Probably more recently - and frequently - than you care to admit. It's not really surprising. After all, modern business life is full of irritations ripe for conflict situations, like sleepless nights, missed...

Insider - Insight: risk management - Running risk. As the issue of risk moves up the corporate agenda, the financial services sector has made great strides in turning risk management into a discipline in its own right. But shouldn't non-financial companies be following suit, writes William Perraudin.
May 12, 2005... Firms have been measuring and managing their risks for a long time, but there have been so many innovations and developments in this field in the past four years that it is tempting to regard risk management these days as a new science. ...

Overview - Advantage Vantis. On the frontline: Vantis' purchase of rival Numerica puts it ahead of the competition, writes Gavin Hinks.
May 12, 2005... And then there were two. Vantis' purchase of all the share capital in Numerica last week saw the end of the consolidator triumvirate and the beginning of a new era with just two listed accountancy operators. This deal may not be on the...

Overview - Three steps to ... Dealing with dilemmas.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Step 1 Get yourself connected How can you generate empathy in an atmosphere of suspicion? Show you can listen and look as if you might be the one to help them. Keep confidences and choose your words carefully. Step 2 Get signalling ...

Overview - Buzzwords - Muppet shuffle.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... (noun) The re-deployment of incompetent staff to less dangerous roles This is not a term likely to be used in annual reports, but a crucial aspect of corporate governance nonetheless. A muppet shuffle refers to the process whereby...

Overview - OFR makes business sense.(operating and financial review)
May 12, 2005... No doubt many UK firms still view the extra reporting requirements of the operating and financial review as an onerous burden. However, it is important to take a broader view. New OFR rules were set in motion last month, and UK-listed...

Services - Adviser: Revolutionary rhetoric. Thanks to the internet, the unthinkable has happened and companies can outsource their back office functions. It is an opportunity not to be missed, says Mark Holland.
May 12, 2005... Over the years there have been many 'revolutions' - the industrial revolution, the information revolution and so on. At the time it is hard to detect the 'revolution', and it is only with the benefit of hindsight that you can see the change...

'Sterling' work as police crack down on identity theft.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Byline: Alex Hawkes. The Metropolitan Police and Companies House this week gave fresh impetus to attempts to prevent fraud, announcing an initiative to stop fraudsters hijacking accountants' identities. Accountancy Age revealed last...

Pensions confusion over IFRS. Fund managers fear chaos as standards force investment rethink, writes Nicholas Neveling.(International Financial Reporting Standard(s))
May 12, 2005... Pension fund managers may be forced to rethink key investment decisions because international accounting standards have thrown the strategies used by quantitative funds into turmoil. The introduction of IFRS will cause huge swings in...

Reshuffle casts doubt on liability reform. A concerned accounting profession is seeking assurances that auditor liability reform remains on the agenda following Tony Blair's ministerial reshuffle, writes Paul Grant.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Alan Johnson, the former minister for pensions, will have the ultimate decision over whether auditors receive protection from catastrophic litigation after he was named as the secretary of state in charge of industry. But concerns are...

OFR rules finally emerge, but question marks remain. Definitive standard issued by ASB, but critics still not satisfied, writes Paul Grant.(Operating and Financial Review)(Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Rules that govern a mandatory Operating and Financial Review have finally been published by the Accounting Standards Board, but are still attracting criticism. The ASB this week issued its definitive standard for companies that have to...

Roadmap 'all motorways, no exits'. The Securities and Exchange Commission's roadmap for the convergence of accounting standards could suffer due to a lack of detail, as well as potential detractors looking to pounce on any problems from the European experience, writes Paul Grant.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Last month, the US financial regulator and the European Commission agreed on what was hailed as a significant step towards the convergence of US GAAP with international financial reporting standards. It aims to allow IFRS users to file...

Young's to spark rush to AIM.(Young's Brewery)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. AIM could be set for a deluge of applications for a spot on its exchange, after Young's Brewery revealed last week that it was planning to move across from the main boards. The London-based brewer, which has...

News in brief.
May 12, 2005... Despite announcing that March and April were the 'worst nine weeks of trading' Matalan had seen for 20 years (a profits fall of 8.8% on like-for-like sales), the discount fashion retailer's finance director Phil Dutton told Accountancy Age that...

Under siege lab misses accounts deadline again. After two extensions from Companies House, Huntingdon Life Sciences fails to file accounts, writes Paul Grant.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Animal experimentation labs, Huntingdon Life Sciences, is facing fines from Companies House after failing to file its 2003 accounts within the due deadline, as it sought to protect its auditor from protest action. The company could face...

Market uncertainty over Unilever's future.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Byline: Alex Hawkes. Accounting changes at consumer goods giant Unilever will 'reduce the longer-term knowledge base' about the company, according to industry analysts. The positive first-quarter figures, released by the group last...

Taxes may force Betfair offshore. Betfair, one of Britain's leading online betting shops, is considering the relocation of its operations offshore, if the Treasury changes the laws on gross profits tax and revenues for gambling companies, writes James Bennett.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Betfair, a major sponsor of horse racing, has been handed a licence to operate its exchange in Malta. While the company said it had no current plans to move offshore, a spokeswoman explained that the Malta licence could be a possible 'fall...

EGM called over auditor confusion.(Brebner, Allen and Trapp)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. Confusion surrounds the role of Brebner, Allen & Trapp, auditor of troubled cash shell Easier, after angry shareholders claimed they had not been informed of the auditor's appointment. Neville Buch and Gilbert...

Equitable must re-examine evidence. Equitable Life's solicitors Herbert Smith have been forced to re-examine documents to establish if they are relevant to its case against former directors and auditors, writes Alex Hawkes.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Ernst & Young, the insurer's former auditors headed by Nick Land, argued in the High Court that Herbert Smith was refusing to release documents that it should legally have disclosed. After discussions between the legal parties and comments...

Finance week - Global interests cloud BAT's reporting. Tobacco company warns that account comparisons with 2004 will become 'more demanding', writes Nicholas Neveling.
May 12, 2005... British American Tobacco, the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer, and owner of the Lucky Strike and Pall Mall brands, is battling with the presentation of its accounts under IFRS. Announcing the company's 2005 Q1 results, its...

Finance week - Company reports. Reckitt Benckiser goes ahead with pay increases, despite strong opposition from shareholders.
May 12, 2005... Anglo-American saw its turnover for 2004 increase by [pounds sterling]143m after restating its accounts under IFRS. The turnover of the global mining giant (pictured) increased from $26.1bn ([pounds sterling]13.8bn) to $26.3bn under the new...

Taking Stock - Taxman torn off a strip.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Over the last few years, TS has observed, from afar, the rise of strip clubs being used as a form of corporate hospitality. Frankly, TS has never ventured into one, much preferring the fuggy atmosphere of our friendly local to pry...

Taking Stock - Bargain shopping.(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Given that TS's wage is roughly equivalent to that of police dogs, shopping for a good bargain has always been something of a necessity. In fact, we can often be found down the local retail park of a weekend, shouting 'two t-shirts for a...

Taking Stock - Fabulous no more.(Joanna Lumley )(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Because of her excessive drinking and unashamed hedonism as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, Joanna Lumley has always held a special place in TS's heart - until last week that is. At a glamourous media awards ceremony attended by TS, (we're...

Taking Stock - EMAG general secretary charms trial participants.(Equitable Members Action Group)(Paul Braithwaite)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2005... Paul Braithwaite, the general secretary of the Equitable Members Action Group (EMAG), has been charming participants in the Equitable Life trial. Braithwaite, TS has discovered, posted some less than obliging remarks about hacks on The...