Financial Director articles from January 2008

Financial Director archives from January 2008

Awinterofdisccon tent.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Peter Bartram Awinterofdisccon tent Companies are generating increasing amounts of information, much of it stored on portable electronic devices. But where is that data going and who is seeing it? words Peter bartram ...

investorsi?1/2 chronicles.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Wilf Altman investors' chronicles Hedge funds play an increasingly important role in the fortunes of public companies. But the powerful figures that run them are often very private individuals. So, what makes them tick, asks...

riskybusiness.(Discussion)
January 3, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers riskybusiness A Financial Director web seminar, The Concept of Corporate Risk, sponsored by Oracle, invited a panel of experts to discuss the issue of managing strategic risk Andrew Sawers Risk is inherently...

First strike.(MPC)
January 3, 2008... Byline: Dennis Turner first strike The MPC's decision to cut rates is an attempt to pre-empt any talk of an economic collapse in 2008 It is a long time since a year ended in such confusion and nervousness. The MPC completed its...

Tall story.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Robert Bruce tall story Narrative reporting should tell the full story of corporate success. But some companies have lost the plot Over the past few years we have seen a trend towards many different ways of measuring...

Time to join us.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Peter Williams time to join us Notwithstanding an EC carve out, the SEC's stance on IFRS will help establish a single global standard Christmas came early for the International Accounting Standards Board. It could...

Companies write to orders as reports grow.(Survey)(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... Byline: David Rae Companies write to order as reports grow The average length of a company annual report has increased to an all-time high of 89 pages compared with 85 in 2006 and a mere 45 pages in 1996. Much of the increase in size...

Competition needed for agencies' credibility.
January 3, 2008... Byline: David Rae Competition needed for agencies' credibility What better time to publish an in-depth appraisal of whether credit rating agencies are meeting the needs of the markets? Unfortunately for the Institute of Chartered...

readall aboutit.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Charlotte Moore readall aboutit As FD of the Financial Times, Scott Henderson isn't overly concerned about the current financial turmoil. Why should he be if it continues to fill column inches? words Charlotte Moore...

CULTURECLUB.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief article)
January 3, 2008... Byline: Peter Bartram CULTURECLUB BT may not be everybody's favourite telecom company, but at least it hasn't downloaded its customers' details to a disc and put it in the post. As far as we know. The main reason for this is...

Prince's green guidelines.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh prince's green guidelines Royal report outlines a practical framework to help take complexity and cost out of sustainability reporting Hailed as the simplest environmental reporting framework for businesses...

Report puts risk in its palce.
January 3, 2008... Byline: David Rae report puts risk in its place Risk is inherent in any business decision and affects all sectors. Here we highlight the 10 most important The coming 12 months look set to provide finance directors with a...

Looking forward to 2008?(Interview)
January 3, 2008... Byline: FDs Looking forward to 2008? In our annual round-up of opinions of the FDs we interviewed in 2007, we find broad agreement that 2008 is going to be a tougher year. But the trick will be to not talk ourselves into recession ...

Green roi a grey area.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh Green roi a grey area Business needs greater incentives and product choices to promote green investment High costs, a limited environmental product range and an unclear return on investment (ROI) for...

Central banks act but signs are inauspicious.
January 3, 2008... Byline: david kern Central banks act but signs are inauspicious Gloom and apprehension is expected at the start of 2008, in spite of recent growth. Worsening recession fears coincide with surging inflationary pressures, which could...

Heads up.
January 3, 2008... Byline: David Rae heads up Whatever the trends for 2008, technology is set to have a significant impact on business performance Predicting the future does not come without its problems. As history often proves, there are far...

bucking the trend.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Tony Harrington bucking the trend Risk averse FDs certainly cannot afford to be complacent over the current volatility in the foreign exchange markets. But fears of a further collapse of the US dollar remain unfounded, writes...

Measuring the value crunch.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers measuring the value crunch The current market turmoil will have brought little festive cheer as companies struggle to determine fair value As we hit 31 December, many companies will need to put a fair value...

beyond the pail The HMRC data disaster brought to mind a bucket. A bucket full of water. And a bucket full of holes. And a bucket full of water and holes and which, therefore, leaks remorselessly. But no matter how much the bucket leaks, it never empties.(Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
January 3, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers beyond the pail The HMRC data disaster brought to mind a bucket. A bucket full of water. And a bucket full of holes. And a bucket full of water and holes and which, therefore, leaks remorselessly. But no matter...

Technical update.
January 3, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers Technical update financial reporting The Financial Reporting Council has cautioned that more difficult economic circumstances in 2008 raise the risks relating to financial reporting and corporate governance....

Take the slack.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Dennis Turner take the slack The new kids on the economic block will sustain growth while traditional markets pause to take stock As the UK teeters on the edge of what is expected to be the sharpest economic slowdown since...

pakistan: beyond the headlines.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Jules Stewart pakistan: beyond the headlines With negative western press depicting a country on the brink of social and political turmoil, it will take more than economic stability to restore investor confidence in Pakistan,...

international Rescue.(shortage of skilled finance staff )
January 31, 2008... Byline: Alex Blyth international A shortage of skilled finance staff in the UK is forcing companies to look further afield to find new talent words alex blyth illustration david lyttleton Some may think the word crisis a tad...

Swap shop.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Alex Blyth swapshop FDs are being encouraged to take non-finance roles to broaden their understanding of the business words alex blyth illustration david lyttleton When Tracy Ewen, FD-turned-MD at finance provider IGF,...

Fewer heroes more zeros.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Sarah Perrin fewerheroesmorezeros What do chief executives really want in their finance directors? Four experienced headhunters share their insights into the current demands, and needs, when recruiting FDs words Sarah...

beans, bellsi?1/2.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern beans, bellsa[bar] CFOs want to do more for their firms than number crunching, but a recent study finds CEOs aren't as keen on the value-added finance director, as Melanie Stern finds. In 1984, the year...

Transnational action.(KPMG UK)(Brief article)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Alex Blyth KPMG UK has recently hired 19 new members of staff from the Philippines and Singapore, following recruitment drives in those countries, driven by a dearth of qualified candidates since the global markets slowdown of 2001...

Put IT on hold.(information technology)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Robert Jaques Put IT on hold More pressing concerns about the economy mean there won't be many major IT project rollouts this year Let's get it right out in the open to start with: although this is the IT strategy...

Come up short.(disclosure in annual reports)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Robert Bruce come up short Despite greater disclosure in annual reports, the long and short of it is that they don't really tell us any more I still remember the response of a canny old Scottish finance director to my...

Gloom deepens as bank losses mount.
January 31, 2008... Byline: David Kern Gloom deepens as bank losses mount The liquidity shortages have eased, but solvency and inadequate capital are now dominant concerns, as banks report huge losses. Capital injections from Asia and the Gulf into...

Counting the cost of price fixing.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Neil Hodge counting the cost of price fixing Companies are being urged to comply or pay the price as regulator turns up the pressure on anti-trust abuses Price fixing has only been a criminal offence in the UK for the past...

Profits at risk from supply chain disruption.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Profits at risk from supply chain disruption Supply chain risk is one of the most pertinent issues for businesses and profits in 2008, according to insurer Aon's annual survey of global risk. A higher volume...

Nuclear given clean slate.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh nuclear given clean slate A government white paper sets out proposals for nuclear power plants to provide clean, affordable energy The 'energy gap' is looming large, and FDs will soon feel its vice...

Consumer uncertainty triggers profit warnings alert.(Brief article)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Consumer uncertainty triggers profit warnings alert Profit warnings from UK plcs hit their highest levels in the last quarter of 2007 since the same period in 2001, and could see another bumper year in 2008, says...

keep it in proportion.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Sarah Perrin keep it in proportion Any company that tries to agree an auditor liability cap that is based on any formula other than proportionality may find that it has bitten off more than it can chew, if it can't get buy-in...

Barking lapdog.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Peter Williams barking lapdog The IASB may finally have laid to rest any accusations that it is merely kow-towing to US reporting standards Has the International Accounting Standards Board finally proved it is not a lapdog...

Surprised? partly.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers Surprised? partly By the time Craig Smith took on the finance director role at Management Consulting Group he felt he already knew the company inside out. But as he tells Andrew Sawers, the first day threw up a...

Fed up.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Fed up US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke (pictured) announced a 75 basis points cut in interest rates to 3.5% on 22 January. Commentators were shocked by the Fed's reaction, unprecedented for coming a...

contrary to expectations.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers contrary to expectations In matters to do with markets, I've always been something of a contrarian. Crueller readers will take that to mean that I'm usually wrong. The more generous of you might think that the...

technical update.(capital gains tax)(Brief article)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers Technical update taxation The government had another stab at taking the pain out of capital gains tax by offering an "entrepreneurs' relief", which effectively reduces the 18% CGT rate announced in the last...

High-profile cases.
January 31, 2008... Byline: Neil Hodge High-profile cases l In July 2007 the Office of Fair Trading fined British Airways [pounds sterling]121.5m after the airline admitted colluding with Virgin Atlantic to fix the prices of fuel surcharges. ...

Ops is tops.(Barry Dale)(Brief article)
January 31, 2008... Byline: Alex Blyth Barry Dale Barry Dale, now regional associate with FDUK, providers of short-term FDs, used to be the group FD of an automotive supplier. In his first six years there the company grew from a [pounds sterling]5m...