Financial Director articles from August 2007

Financial Director archives from August 2007

source it out.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Kevin Reed source it out A well disciplined outsourcing project with clear and strict guidelines could actually increase business process controls Control is what it's all about for finance directors. Controlling the flow...

rolling report.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Michelle Perry rolling report Despite technology being available to provide instant financial reporting, finance directors are unconvinced by its benefits There was a time when few dared to buy over the internet despite...

Below the surface.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Peter Bartram below the surface FDs are now used to ticking boxes and managing by regulation. But what lies beneath the veneer of compliance? Another summer, another profits warning. When Sports Direct International, which...

grinding halt.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Jules Stewart grinding halt Economic uncertainty and a growth in the number of bad loans is forcing lenders to re-examine their credit management A cocktail of trends is coming together in the UK economy that is likely to...

pe should 'comply or explain'.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Andrew Sawers PE should 'comply or explain' Private equity firms could be named and shamed as consultation paper calls for greater transparency Less than two weeks after publishing a set of disclosure and transparency...

cashing in.(Company overview)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Peter Bartram cashing in Getting credit managers and their teams more involved in the strategy of the business can reap huge rewards When it comes to convincing an FD about the value of something, there's nothing like a...

helping hand.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Peter Barttram helping hand Time spent chasing invoices could be used more effectively. Getting a third party to collect your cash could be the answer If you think that outsourcing credit management means sending round an...

work nicely.(Company overview)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Robert Jaques work nicely More communication and a better understanding of their roles will help mend the relationship between finance and IT It's widely accepted that the relationship between chief information officers...

local needs.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Dennis Turner local needs A single national economic policy does not take into account the complexities of regional economies Economic policy in the UK is usually debated in terms of the national economy, as though it...

asset converters.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Alex Blythe asset converters The growth of lending against receivables and intangibles illustrates one of many creative ways of raising capital In July this year we had two strong pieces of evidence to support the theory...

hunt on for share owners.(Pensions (Unclaimed Assets) Bill)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Neil Hodge hunt on for share owners With around [pounds sterling]1bn of windfall shares still unclaimed, it's about time companies tracked down the rightful owners Companies are being encouraged to track down the rightful...

intelligent search.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Mark Whitehorn intelligent search The technology exists to filter the vast amount of corporate data into useful business information, writes Mark Whitehorn In the 1980s, as companies started to adopt computerised...

for what iti?1/2s worth.(private equity)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Charlotte Moore for what it's worth Knowing how much to pay for a company was never easy A- and the rise of private equity hasn't helped Words Charlotte moore Among the many forms of financial wizardry, valuing...

get it covered.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Neil Hodge get it covered Credit insurance is often viewed as an unnecessary cost. But it offers companies several commercial advantages too Despite the UK economy being relatively benign over the past five years, with...

Decisions leader.
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae Money makes the world go round, the world go round, as the song from Cabaret put it. How true. But only, of course, if money itself goes round and round. Credit management, long regarded as a backroom job A- the mopping...

world wary.(making sure you get paid for your exported goods)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Neil Hodge world wary Breaking into overseas markets is at the top of many finance directors' priority list A- the hard part can be getting paid With sterling hovering around the $2 mark and the UK economy remaining...

THE LONG VIEW.(Company overview)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Andrew Sawers THE LONG VIEW With pretax profits struggling to reach 2% of revenues, Computacenter group FD Tony Conophy must always be focused on how he can reduce costs Words andrew sawers Portraits Nick Sinclair ...

IO sup leader.(intelligent organizations)
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae data overload Technology is helping FDs to collate financial data from across the organisation. But making sense of it all is the real challenge It used to be that the nearest finance directors got to technology...

choosing your lender.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Alex Blyth Choosing your lender As the market grows, so competition between finance providers intensifies. If you have a good business with assets to finance, you will probably be able to take your pick from many finance...

backingit.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Robert Jacques backing it Recent research by Ernst & Young found that organisations that deliver tangible benefits from IT also have a "sophisticated understanding of the IT organisation and take a flexible view of its...

UK assumptions leave eu behind.(Clinical report)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Tony Harrington UK assumptions leave eu behind Greater disclosure of mortality assumptions means FTSE-100 companies are stealing a march over their European counterparts when it comes to reporting on the health of pension...

offsetting is off message.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Rachael Singh offsetting is off message A whole new industry has been created to serve carbon offsetting needs. But does it work and can it be trusted? It seems that carbon offsetting makes headlines every week. But the...

where your money goes.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Rachael Singh Where your money goes There are four main schemes that companies can use to offset their carbon emissions: n Forest restoration A- the restoration of forests is more than just planting a tree; it is the...

loosen up.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Robert Bruce loosen up Events across the pond are forcing US regulatory bodies to reconsider their rigid governance rules Over the years, everyone in the corporate governance and financial reporting communities has...

us lenders primed for a fall.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Charlotte Moore us lenders primed for a fall Fears of a credit crunch have sparked panic in the world markets. But far from signalling a wider economic collapse it could just be a much needed and long-overdue correction in the...

Vietnam is top destination for manufacturing opportunities.
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae Vietnam is top destination for manufacturing opportunities Companies looking to invest in emerging overseas markets would do well to look beyond Brazil, Russia, India and China, according to research carried out by...

finetuned.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Sarah Perrin finetuned Taking more strategic control of the finance team will provide clarity and help align it with corporate goals words Sarah Perrin Illustration David Lyttleton There's been a lot of talk about...

Bumper year for UK buyout market.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae Bumper year for UK buy out market UK buy outs during the first half of 2007 surpassed that of the same period in 2006 by 31% and reached a total of [pounds sterling]13.9bn, according to figures released by the Centre...

Sarbox compliance seen as a positive move by UK companies.
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae Sarbox compliance seen as positive move by UK companies UK companies coped well with the first year of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and are even beginning to see some business benefits of adopting the onerous regulation....

Green reports.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Peter Williams green reports FDs are set to shoulder the green reporting burden. But first they have to work out what the reports will look like As night follows day it is inevitable that climate change reporting is...

Furse stars in italian job.
August 30, 2007... Byline: n/a Furse stars in italian job sub-prime stakes The London market suffered its worst day of trading in over four years as more than 4% was wiped off the value of shares. The FTSE-100 fell to its lowest level since...

Keep it simple.(EG Solutions take care of everything)(Company overview)
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae KEEP IT SIMPLE When it comes to IT projects, bigger A- and more expensive A- doesn't necessarily mean better If you think that technology is the bane of your life, spare a thought for the employees of...

Technical update.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae Technical update corporation tax Calls from the profession for a simpler tax system appear to have met with sympathy as the ICAEW said that this year's Finance Act is noticeably shorter than previous years. The...

where to begin?
August 30, 2007... Byline: David Rae where to begin? The events of the past three weeks have provided a fascinating and illuminating insight into how things can go wrong in the world's financial markets A- markets which are based on instruments of such...

valuing private companies.(Brief article)
August 30, 2007... Byline: Charlotte Moore valuing private companies Putting a price on public companies is one thing, but assessing the worth of a private company is a more advanced level in the black art of valuation. As the fortunes of private...