Accountancy Age articles from October 2005

Accountancy Age archives from October 2005

Workplace bulimics.(workplace management)(Brief article)
October 4, 2005... Byline: Karen Day Workplace bulimics [noun] employees who alternately binge on work then go off sick Yes, that's right, a truly insensitive buzzword with which to stigmatise staff and guarantee a visit from the HR department. ...

CCAB steps up pressure over abstract 40.(Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. The Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies has stepped up its campaign for a decade of tax relief to reduce potentially crippling bills for professional services firms. The CCAB is pressing the Treasury for the...

Death knell sounds for avoidance. HMRC's anti-avoidance offensive will mean schemes are no longer worthwhile by 2008, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 6, 2005... Tax avoidance will be stamped out by 2008, HM Revenue & Customs claimed this week. In an interview with Accountancy Age, Dave Hartnett (pictured below), chairman of HMRC, said it was the department's goal that within three years 'we will...

'Name issue shouldn't cloud merger vote'. ICAEW and CIPFA members should not let the controversy over the name of a merged institute sway their voting choice, the institutes' chief executives said this week, writes Kevin Reed.
October 6, 2005... With the results of the merger vote just three weeks away, ICAEW chief Eric Anstee and CIPFA counterpart Steve Freer said that the 140,000 institute members should focus on the information in the merger prospectus, and not on the new...

Conservative leadership.
October 6, 2005... As the battle between David Davis and Ken Clarke for the Conservative leadership hots up at this week's Tory party conference in Blackpool, the UK's finance directors are still unconvinced that the eventual winner will be able to challenge Tony...

Accountant siphoned off client's cash to live 'high life'. Five-year sentence for stealing from Italian insurer, write Accountancy Age staff.
October 6, 2005... An accountant, who stole more than a million pounds from an Italian insurance company to live the 'high-life', has been jailed for five years. Ian Chaplin, who worked for accountants Fraser Russell, transferred money into his own bank...

IASB raps alternative measures. Leading figures at the International Accounting Standards Board have called for companies to scrap the use of popular alternate profit measures in their IFRS accounts, writes Nicholas Neveling.
October 6, 2005... IASB chairman Sir David Tweedie said that measures, such as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, were 'absolutely ridiculous' and called for them to be abandoned. Fellow board member Tom McGregor threw his support...

Graduates want more than money. Up and coming accountants have rejected claims that money is the main attraction when entering the profession, writes Kevin Reed.
October 6, 2005... Last week's Big Question revealed that 70% of FDs believe new recruits are simply in the profession for the money. But Jenni Chan, one of the 2,000 attendees at the Accountancy Age/KPMG Career's Fair in central London last week, said...

News in brief.(Tesco PLC's Andrew Higginson gets shortlisted for Personality of the Year Award)(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. could face a tribunal)(Siim Kallas of European Commission)
October 6, 2005... Tesco finance director, Andrew Higginson and cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell are among the five luminaries to be shortlisted for Accountancy Age's Personality of the Year Award. The competition is close this year with Neil Wood, FD of the 2012...

E&Y celebrates inflation-busting audit fee growth. Firm's revenues increase to [pounds sterling]945m, largely from growth in IFRS and Sarbox services, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 6, 2005... Audit fees at Ernst &Young grew by between 4% and 10%, while revenues from personal tax remained stagnant, the firm said this week. The vast majority of the company's expansion, which saw overall revenues climb 15% to [pounds sterling]945m,...

New Boots CFO out of a job.(Boots Company PLC to merge with Alliance UniChem PLC and Jim Smart to lose out)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. Jim Smart was appointed as Boots chief financial officer this week, but will stand down in just a few months should the high street chemist complete its [pounds sterling]7bn merger with Alliance Unichem. ...

Investors refute Big Four 'prejudice'.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. Leading institutional investors have rejected claims that 'prejudice' is to blame for the dominance of the Big Four in the FTSE350 audit market. Responding to suggestions that institutions were pressurising...

IFRS corrections come under fire. The first of a new system of corrections to international accounting standards has sparked concern that many companies could be forced to restate their accounts, because of standard-setter's mistakes, writes Paul Grant.
October 6, 2005... The International Accounting Standards Board's first draft technical correction, which proposes altering IAS21 on changes in foreign exchange rates, has a comment period of just 30 days. The correction policy is intended as a fast-track way to...

Non-exec shortfall unabated.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant. The burdens facing non-executive directors under corporate governance rules mean the country's top companies will struggle to recruit new board members, despite large increases in pay, Deloitte warned this week. A...

Relief as EC abandons unpopular financial rules. Legislative cull as Barroso puts focus on proposals likely to gain political support, writes Keith Nuthall.(European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... The European Commission launched a legislative bonfire last week, abandoning a number of financial proposals in a move to simplify EU laws and lessen the impact on industry. Significantly, most of the proposals earmarked for the shredder...

Parmalat future remains in the balance despite equity swap. Fallen Italian dairy giant Parmalat this week persuaded its creditors to swap billions of pounds in debt for equity in a move that will see it resurface on the Milan stock exchange, but it has not yet escaped the aftermath of its 2003 collapse, writes Nicholas Neveling.
October 6, 2005... The group, which fraudulently concealed losses from investors between 1990 and 2002, confirmed that creditors had voted in favour of swapping its EUR20bn ([pounds sterling]13.6bn) debts for equity in Parmalat. It can begin trading publicly as...

Hopes of windfall from eighth directive dampened.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling. The EU's eighth directive may have been hyped up as Europe's version of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but the windfall for accountancy firms that flowed from work on the Sarbox regulations is unlikely to be repeated...

Finance week - Delisting is not on the cards, says Tenon boss. Consolidator denies rumours that it will go private and reaffirms commitment to shareholders, writes Nicholas Neveling.
October 6, 2005... Tenon chief executive Andy Raynor has denied speculation that the listed account-ancy firm - one of only two still trading on the public markets - is planning to go private. Reports suggested that Tenon had approached private equity firm...

Finance week - Company Reports. Brewer reduces pensions deficit and Marconi rewards CFO for cutting costs and improving efficiencies.
October 6, 2005... FTSE250 Marconi CFO Pavi Binning saw his total pay package more than double this year, despite the group losing out on a bid for a BT contract that saw its share price fall from 507.5p to a low point of 298p within two days. Binning earned...

Finance week - Analysis - R&D credits under the microscope. Consultation on the R&D tax credit scheme is likely to highlight the ongoing problems HMRC has assessing eligibility, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 6, 2005... The Treasury's consultation into research and development tax credits comes to an end next week. Consultations launched by HM Revenue & Customs or by the Treasury can pass often without note. This one, however, has some meaty issues...

Analysis - The convergence question. A year on from Ian Mackintosh's appointment as head of the ASB, and the body is still trying to find its place in the standard-setting world. For now, though, its main challenge is convergence, writes Paul Grant.
October 6, 2005... A few years ago, the Accounting Standards Board was one of the most important bodies in the UK profession. Responsible for determining what UK GAAP would look like, its decisions had a major impact on every accountant in the country. But...

Management consultancy - ABI predicts delay to new VAT rules. Threat of [pounds sterling]200m outsourcing bill sparks call to postpone VAT change, writes James Bennett.
October 6, 2005... The government could use its pre-Budget report to delay the controversial new VAT rules for outsourced insurance services, the Association of British Insurers has said. Peter Vipond, director of financial regulation and taxation at the...

Management consultancy - HR is least popular area to outsource.
October 6, 2005... Human resources is one of the least popular functions to outsource, according to KPMG's middle-market survey of businesses with a turnover of between [pounds sterling]5m and [pounds sterling]500m. Only 8% of respondents outsourced HR, while...

Management consultancy - Shout about the positives.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Bennett is the editor of Management Consultancy. At the end of last month, I was delighted to see a consultancy story hit the front page of a broadsheet newspaper. After all, that's where we want the industry to be, at the...

Awards - Personality of the Year. Now is your chance to vote for the Accountancy Age Personality of the Year. The shortlist, chosen by our editorial team, is below. To vote, and for the chance to win a magnum of champagne, go to www.accountancyage.com/personality.
October 6, 2005... Andrew Higginson - Supermarket superman The outstanding and continual rise in the fortunes of Tesco, both domestically and internationally, have been in no small part due to the efforts of group finance and strategy director Andrew...

Technology - Microsoft rivals up their game. UK accountants' partnership networks strengthened in anticipation of Microsoft launch, writes Kevin Reed.
October 6, 2005... Software providers have improved their accountants' partnership networks, in a pre-emptive strike against a possible Microsoft network launch in the UK. Four of the major accounting software vendors - Sage, Iris, MYOB and Intuit - have all...

Technology - Softworld helps relieve compliance burden. Accountants and IT decision-makers are set to attend the latest Softworld Accounting and Finance event, in a bid to manage the increasing burden of compliance upon businesses, writes Kevin Reed.
October 6, 2005... Sponsored by Accountancy Age, the show, to be held at the NEC Birmingham between 12-13 October, will feature a host of IT tools designed to help customers manage the increasingly compliance-heavy business climate. ACCA is providing advice...

Technology - IT briefs.(remembering passwords)(usage of accounting software )(accounting standards)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Nearly a quarter of workers have to remember 15 or more passwords, according to a survey of 1,685 US businesses by RSA Security. The researchers claim that this eats up resources because of the level of support calls and the length of time it...

People - ScottishPower pulls plug on Nish Business.(Barclaycard promotes Colin Walklin)(Link Financial recruites Sean Lowther)(Gibbs and Dandy PLC recruites Ami Sharma)
October 6, 2005... David Nish, former finance director of ScottishPower and executive director of its infrastructure division, has been made redundant with immediate effect due to board and company changes. ScottishPower's planned disposal of US subsidiary...

Opinion - Taxman's tentacles and auditor arm-twisting are here to stay.
October 6, 2005... It has been a good month for Ernst & Young, which followed up its Equitable Life victory with a decent set of results this week. But behind the oddly similar headline numbers - fee income up 15%, profit per partner up 14%, chairman Nick...

Opinion - The Debate.
October 6, 2005... The 'big bang' theory Accounting is the language of business and the last thing we want to have is two business languages being applied within the UK, other than for a short transitional period. ICAS does not favour piecemeal adoption...

The corridors of power.(Robert Miller)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Jon Ashworth, a freelance journalist and writer. Sorting through some cardboard boxes in my garage - sorry, freelance writing office - I came across a weathered file marked 'Dunsdale'. It contained a wad of press cuttings from 15...

Letter - 15 reasons for merger.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... The ICAEW's proposals to integrate with CIPFA have now been finalised. We, the undersigned, would like to express our personal support for these proposals and would urge all members of both bodies to read the proposals and then vote to ensure...

Letter - Start at the top.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... In the debate piece Costing the Third World dear (29 September 2005, page 14), a clumsy attempt is made to attribute guilt to the members of the accountancy profession. Equating tax avoidance with an absence of corporate social...

Letter - In the small print.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... I lost a client today to a limited company that is a licensed member of the Association of Accounting Technicians. While I have nothing against this body, I was surprised to note at the footer of the courtesy letter that it is 'sponsored by The...

Letter - Better now than never.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... Accountancy Age seems to have got carried away in its reporting on the Equitable vs Ernst & Young case. In the analysis (29 September, page 10), you state 'E&Y will now walk away now with a mere [pounds sterling]5m bill, the rest being paid by...

Insider - Out for the count. Stakeholders expect real-time reporting that tells them where the business is actually going, says Rod Newing, kicking off our software special.
October 6, 2005... As recently as five years ago, many organisations were still providing their management team with a printed pack of historical data, about three weeks after the month end. Best practice now involves providing near real-time forward-looking...

Insider - Insight: the ICAEW and CIPFA merger vote - First degree Merger. The debate over the pros and cons of uniting CIPFA and the ICAEW has reached a crescendo, just three weeks before members of both institutes cast their votes. Steve Freer and Eric Anstee tell Kevin Reed why they think this merger should succeed where previous attempts have failed.(Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)
October 6, 2005... Back in the late 1960s, as the hippy revolution lost its fizz and the Beatles began to get on each others nerves, all six accounting bodies attempted to merge into three chartered institutes - England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, but talks...

Insider - Software special: e-filing - A question of e-volution. This January's e-filing problems were only the latest - and perhaps the most serious - setback to a system that everyone wants to see work. The government says this January will be better, but accountants need convincing, says Gary Flood.
October 6, 2005... In January, thousands of UK citizens sat down at their computers and tried to file their self-assessment forms electronically, as suggested by the government. They left their computers not knowing if they'd met the deadline and avoided the...

Insider - Software special: passwords - Security Lapse. Do you have a grip on your organisation's IT security? If not, you could be breaching internal audit policies, writes Calum Macleod.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Calum MacLeod is European director of Cyber-Ark Software. Maybe it's the popularity of confessional talk shows, but it seems that many IT heads have suddenly decided to bare their souls and come clean about the problems keeping them...

Insider - Overview - In with the new. On the frontline: two competitors have emerged in the hunt for Nick Land's replacement, writes Karen Day.
October 6, 2005... While Nick Land, the bullish chairman of Ernst & Young, was cracking open the bubbly after the collapse of the Equitable case, two candidates were quietly being put forward in the race for his successor. Jock Lennox, global leader for...

Insider - Overview - Wrapping up loose ends.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... In most organisations the IT function is still represented at board level by finance. One might expect the order, discipline and rigour exemplified by finance to be reflected in all aspects of their IT responsibility. But our research suggests...

Insider - Overview - Buzzwords - Workplace bulimics.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... (noun) employees who alternately binge on work then go off sick Yes, that's right, a truly insensitive buzzword with which to stigmatise staff and guarantee a visit from the HR department. While this phrase invokes unsavoury and rather...

Insider - Overview - Three steps to... Reducing staff turnover and boosting morale.
October 6, 2005... Step 1: Do your homework An effective, validated and legal pre-employment test will help screen out people with a bad attitude. These typically take about 20 minutes and reveal more about that candidate then you will ever get in an...

Taking stock - Ulster is still rocking.(Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy annual conference)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... TS is pretty upset to see the festival season over for another year. This weekend, we had to take off our tight-fit drainpipes along with the skull and crossbones ripped T-shirt and place them into storage. But it seems that the Northern...

Taking stock - Can cook, will cook.(Anna Venturi )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... As we were strolling into the office one afternoon, after an eight-course meal at the chef's table at Gordon Ramsay's, TS reflected on the numerous jollies we have attended. Although corporate golf and the white-collar boxing fad had their...

Taking stock - Conkers at dawn.
October 6, 2005... Thursday brings one of the great occasions in City life - the Taylor's Port/PwC conker cup. Taking place at the Great Eastern Hotel, and organised by Lovell's, the competition was first held last year. TS understands that Chris Dickson, of...

Taking stock - Bumper results!(KPMG Consulting Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... At KPMG's London alumni cocktail party last week, the assembled masses had plenty to talk about. After all, it's been quite a summer. The firm survived a life-threatening mauling in the US over tax shelters and has taken the controversial...

Taking stock - Awarded!(Building Public Trust awards)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Last week's Building Public Trust awards to celebrate corporate disclosure - now an annual event at a swanky London hotel - did not quite go the way host Pricewater-houseCoopers would have hoped. Not only were the judges unimpressed by much of...

ABI predicts delay to new VAT rules.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Bennett ABI predicts delay to new VAT rules The government could use its pre-Budget report to delay the controversial new VAT rules for outsourced insurance services, the Association of British Insurers has said. ...

SHOUT ABOUT THE POSiTIVES.(services of Management Consultancies Association)
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Bennett SHOUT ABOUT THE POSiTIVES At the end of last month, I was delighted to see a consultancy story hit the front page of a broadsheet newspaper. After all, that's where we want the industry to be, at the...

The convergence question.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant The convergence question A few years ago, the Accounting Standards Board was one of the most important bodies in the UK profession. Responsible for determining what UK GAAP would look like, its decisions had a major...

R&D credits under the microscope.(research and development)(powers and duties of HM Revenue and Customs)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Alex Hawkes R&D credits under the microscope The Treasury's consultation into research and development tax credits comes to an end next week. Consultations launched by HM Revenue & Customs or by the Treasury can pass often...

WRAPPING UP LOOSE ENDS.(research on income tax)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Chris Edwards WRAPPING UP LOOSE ENDS In most organisations the IT function is still represented at board level by finance. One might expect the order, discipline and rigour exemplified by finance to be reflected in all...

IN WITH THE NEW.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Karen Day IN WITH THE NEW While Nick Land, the bullish chairman of Ernst & Young, was cracking open the bubbly after the collapse of the Equitable case, two candidates were quietly being put forward in the race for his...

Taxman's tentacles and auditor arm-twisting are here to stay It has been a good month for Ernst & Young, which followed up its Equitable Life victory with a decent set of results this week. But behind the oddly similar headline numbers -- fee income up 15%.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Damian Wild Taxman's tentacles and auditor arm-twisting are here to stay It has been a good month for Ernst & Young, which followed up its Equitable Life victory with a decent set of results this week. But behind the oddly...

Personality of the Year.(Personality of the Year - Andrew Higginson )(Olympic champion - Neil Wood)(BDO Stoy Hayward managing partner Jeremy Newman)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Staff Personality of the Year Andrew Higginson Supermarket superman The outstanding and continual rise in the fortunes of Tesco, both domestically and internationally, have been in no small part due to the efforts of...

Delisting is not on the cards, says Tenon boss.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Delisting is not on the cards, says Tenon boss Tenon chief executive Andy Raynor has denied speculation that the listed account-ancy firm -- one of only two still trading on the public markets -- is...

Can cook, will cook.(cookery classes)(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Can cook, will cook As we were strolling into the office one afternoon, after an eight-course meal at the chef's table at Gordon Ramsay's, TS reflected on the numerous jollies we have attended. Although corporate golf and the...

Ulster is still rocking.(management of dress codes)(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Ulster is still rocking TS is pretty upset to see the festival season over for another year. This weekend, we had to take off our tight-fit drainpipes along with the skull and crossbones ripped T-shirt and place them into storage. ...

Conkers at dawn.
October 6, 2005... Conkers at dawn Thursday brings one of the great occasions in City life -- the Taylor's Port/PwC conker cup. Taking place at the Great Eastern Hotel, and organised by Lovell's, the competition was first held last year. ...

Hopes of windfall from eighth directive dampened.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Hopes of windfall from eighth directive dampened By Nicholas Neveling The EU's eighth directive may have been hyped up as Europe's version of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but the windfall for accountancy firms...

Parmalat future remains in the balance despite equity swap.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling Parmalat future remains in the balance despite equity swap Fallen Italian dairy giant Parmalat this week persuaded its creditors to swap billions of pounds in debt for equity in a move that will see it...

IFRS corrections come under fire.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Grant IFRS corrections come under fire The first of a new system of corrections to international accounting standards has sparked concern that many companies could be forced to restate their accounts, because of...

New Boots CFO out of a job.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling New Boots CFO out of a job By Nicholas Neveling Jim Smart was appointed as Boots chief financial officer this week, but will stand down in just a few months should the high street chemist complete its...

HR is least popular area to outsource.
October 6, 2005... Byline: James Bennett HR is least popular area to outsource Human resources is one of the least popular functions to outsource, according to KPMG's middle-market survey of businesses with a turnover of between [pounds sterling]5m and...

Out for the count.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Rod Newing OUT FOR THE COUNT As recently as five years ago, many organisations were still providing their management team with a printed pack of historical data, about three weeks after the month end. Best practice now involves...

A question of e-volution.(technology application of accounting firms)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Gary Flood A question of e-volution In January, thousands of UK citizens sat down at their computers and tried to file their self-assessment forms electronically, as suggested by the government. They left their computers not...

Security lapse.(methods of data secuirty)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Calum MacLeod Security Lapse Maybe it's the popularity of confessional talk shows, but it seems that many IT heads have suddenly decided to bare their souls and come clean about the problems keeping them awake at night. With...

Corridors of power.(management of Robert Miller)(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Jon Ashworth Sorting through some cardboard boxes in my garage -- sorry, freelance writing office -- I came across a weathered file marked 'Dunsdale'. It contained a wad of press cuttings from 15 years ago concerning a certain...

ScottishPower pulls plug on Nish.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Rachael Singh ScottishPower pulls plug on Nish Business David Nish, former finance director of ScottishPower and executive director of its infrastructure division, has been made redundant with immediate effect due to ...

Reucing staff turnover and boosting morale.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Rachel Fielding Three steps toa[bar] Reducing staff turnover and boosting morale Step 1 Do your homework An effective, validated and legal pre-employment test will help screen out people with a bad attitude. These...

Get off the fence.(management of small and medium sized companies)
October 6, 2005... Get off the fence Last month, news that the European Commission was to do more to tackle the red tape burden on SMEs was splashed all over the Today programme and national papers. After all, as issues go, the EC and red tape is trotted out...

The 'big bang' theory.(international financial reporting standards)
October 6, 2005... The 'big bang' theory Accounting is the language of business and the last thing we want to have is two business languages being applied within the UK, other than for a short transitional period. ICAS does not favour piecemeal adoption...

Company reports.(sales and earnings of the company)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling COMPANY REPORTS Brewer reduces pensions deficit and Marconi rewards CFO for cutting costs and improving efficiencies Marconi CFO Pavi Binning saw his total pay package more than double this year, despite...

KPMG.(KPMG's London alumni cocktail party)(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: damian wild At KPMG's London alumni cocktail party last week, the assembled masses had plenty to talk about. After all, it's been quite a summer. The firm survived a life-threatening mauling in the US over tax shelters and has...

PwC.(management of Pricewater-houseCoopers)(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: damian wild Last week's Building Public Trust awards to celebrate corporate disclosure -- now an annual event at a swanky London hotel -- did not quite go the way host Pricewater-houseCoopers would have hoped. Not only were the...

IASB raps alternative measures.(International Accounting Standards Board )(Brief article)
October 6, 2005... Byline: Nicholas Neveling IASB raps alternative measures Leading figures at the International Accounting Standards Board have called for companies to scrap the use of popular alternate profit measures in their IFRS accounts,...

Minister delivers on threat to end City bonus abuse. Tax advisers hit out at retrospective and 'draconian' national insurance crackdown, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 13, 2005... The government has extended its tax avoidance attack on City bonuses, outlining a bill to counter the avoidance of national insurance contributions through exotic payment schemes. A government bill was being introduced to parliament as...

E&Y could face biggest-ever JDS fine. Ernst & Young could receive the biggest fine in the Joint Disciplinary Scheme's history as a result of its record on auditing Equitable Life, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 13, 2005... Sources familiar with the case said that the allegations were among the most serious the JDS has bought. The largest fine in the tribunal's history so far is Coopers & Lybrand's, which had to pay [pounds sterling]1.2m in fines and over [pounds...

New row as merger enters final furlong.(Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)(Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy )(Brief Article)
October 13, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. Despite the ICAEW and CIPFA merger plans receiving high-profile backing from 15 senior accountants in last week's Accountancy Age, other professionals have expressed serious concerns about influencing their own staff on...

News in brief.(value added tax, European Union, accountants doubled as investment advisors, Financial Services Authority win court case)
October 13, 2005... France and Spain have been found in breach of European Union law by effectively reducing the amount of VAT due on purchases assisted by government subsidies. The European Court of Justice said the countries were breaking the EU's sixth VAT...

Tax advisers react angrily to HMRC's tax avoidance goal. Courts will be flooded with thousands of NIC cases, writes Alex Hawkes.
October 13, 2005... Senior tax advisers have predicted 'thousands' of national insurance disputes will reach the courts as a result of HM Revenue & Customs' renewed crackdown on tax avoidance. HMRC chairman Dave Hartnett told Accountancy Age last week that...

Oxford to enrol tax experts. Taxation experts from accounting firms could be seconded to offer specialist advice for the [pounds sterling]5m Oxford University tax research centre when it opens in September 2006, writes James Bennett.
October 13, 2005... Last week, The Hundred Group, which represents FTSE100 finance directors, announced that around 60 FTSE100 companies would invest a combined [pounds sterling]5m in a five-year joint project to set up a centre that would focus on taxation...