Financial Director articles from January 2009

Financial Director archives from January 2009

CFO pay growing faster than CEO's.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern CFO pay growing faster than CEOs' The number and complexity of demands made on chief financial officers has grown faster than those faced by chief executive officers, resulting in a greater rate of pay increases...

Macho risk-taking caused financial crisis, research suggests.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Macho risk-taking caused financial crisis, research suggests An ingrained culture of excessive risk-taking and the encouragement and reward of this modus operandi -- fuelled by a macho culture among many City...

Experienced CFO hooks up with Virgin.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Experienced CFO hooks up with virgin After a year without a group CFO, Virgin Media's new finance man Jerry Elliott has taken the reins as the company cuts 15% of its workforce. Elliott hails from educational...

CFO Brooks exits Schroders.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern cfo Brooks Exits Schroders FTSE-100 fund manager Schroders has made one of its non-executive directors its new chief financial officer after Stephen Brooks stepped down in December. Kevin Parry, former chief...

feeling exposed.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Peter Williams feeling exposed Creative accounting won't have anywhere to hide, nor will the companies it sustained in the good times As the tide of prosperity recedes further out of sight, previously submerged wrecks can...

blind spots.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Robert Bruce blind spots By obsessing over cash, FDs could be missing other, equally poisonous risks to their business If there is one thing we are all supposed to have learned from the credit crunch, it is that short...

New deal.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Dennis Turner new deal We will still need a new set of drivers for the economic landscape that emerges from recession The start of 2009 brought confusion rather than clarity to the economic outlook. There has been bad...

the world according to zirp.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Phil Thornton the world according to zirp The Bank of England is considering the previously unthinkable: a zero interest rate policy. But there are still plenty of options available to the MPC to try and kickstart lending,...

breach bum.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Robert Jaques breach bum With data, tempers and reputations lost through human error or laziness, foolproof security is crucial In recent years there has been a disturbing string of high-profile blunders that has seen...

Paid back with interes.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers Paid back with interest The cut in Bank Rate to 1.5% may be grabbing all the headlines -- but there is a wide range of interest rates in the UK 0.20% First Reserve NatWest savings account AER -- NatWest...

Pre-packs opened to scrutiny.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh Pre-packs opened to scrutiny New guidelines for one popular insolvency option will improve transparency and help protect creditors' interests Pre-packaged company administrations, or pre-packs, have hit the...

scraping the bottom of the barrel.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Elizabeth Jeffries scraping the bottom of the barrel Oil prices of $150 a barrel now look like a distant, scary memory. But so-called 'peak oil' theorists believe those days could return, given the dearth of new supplies versus...

When pre-packs work.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh When pre-packs work Companies that have benefitted from the pre-pack administration process include: Buy-backs by incumbent managers or owners l Officers Club -- Pricewater-houseCoopers managed to sell...

Sleepless nights for manufacturing as recession nightmare intensifies.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh Sleepless nights for manufacturing as recession nightmare intensifies Confidence low The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reports that confidence among the manufacturing and services sectors in Q4 was the...

Soldiersofmisfortune.(Survey)
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Soldiersofmisfortune In our second survey of economic sentiment, FDs provide a haven of confidence amid a bereft corporate landscape. They tell us they're ready to fight recession words melanie stern ...

fsa probes profit warnings.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Neil Hodge fsa probes profit warnings Lawyers warn that companies failing to comply with the regulator's disclosure regime will incur tough penalties In its concerns over the rising number of profit warnings, the Financial...

Downandout.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers downandout It's been a dire year for the FTSE-100, with just seven companies raising their share prices in 2008's value exodus, while others dropped out of the index altogether words charlotte moore The...

source of concern.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Anthony Harrington source of concern The reputational fallout from the Satyam accounting scandal could be a hammer blow for the Indian IT outsourcing industry, writes Anthony Harrington A dark cloud has been thrown over...

Real economy plunge threatens new collapse.
January 29, 2009... Byline: David Kern Real economy plunge threatens new collapse Real economic activity plummeted at a frightening pace in the aftermath of Lehman Brothers' demise, halting the recent easing in financial tensions. A new financial crisis...

are we there yet ?
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers are we there yet ? I-spy something beginning witha[bar] It's going to be a long, arduous road to recovery, writes Andrew Sawers Exactly when economic recovery will start is the question all but the most...

fuel price rise hits shares.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh fuel price rise hits shares Carbon efficiency study highlights a direct correlation between fuel price volatility and share price fluctuations A 1% increase in fossil fuel prices can push a company's share...

FDs to whip green it into shape.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh FDs to whip green it into shape FDs need to empower the IT department to help reduce the company's carbon footprint Finance directors responsible for their company's IT strategy need to help IT directors...

Car emission cap delayed to 2015.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh Car emission cap delayed to 2015 Finance directors hoping to upgrade their fleets to low-emission vehicles could find their choice limited for longer than expected, following a European Parliament vote to delay...

thompson prepares for battle.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh thompson prepares for battle Formerly FD of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Jon Thompson takes over from Trevor Woolley who has worked at the Ministry of Defence since 1975. Thompson, who is...

fear of flying.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers fear of flying Yet another ordinary day and, so far, the third perfectly ordinary takeoff of the day for the crew on board US Airways flight 1549. Suddenly, around 90 seconds into the flight and at some 3,000 feet...

treasury to turn brown to gold.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern treasury to turn brown to gold Gordon Brown's calendar and sense of self must be out of whack. His latest bank bailout, a scheme announced on 19 January to insure UK banks against the risk of "exceptional future...

Update nibs.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Zirp time? The Bank of England cut Bank Rate by 0.5% to 1.5% on 8 January, saying that "the world economy appears to be undergoing an unusually sharp and synchronised downturn". It added that sterling's...

Doesyourfacefit?
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers Doesyourfacefit? Our second look at what makes a great FD finds success comes more easily if you are in the type of business or situation that suits you best words Andrew Sawers Last month we trawled...

Technical update.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers Technical update Auditing Big Four auditors met with the Treasury to discuss the possibility of bank audits throwing up 'going concern' issues that could trigger a run as seen with Northern Rock in 2007,...