Financial Director articles from March 2009

Financial Director archives from March 2009

Trender bender.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Dennis Turner trender bender To get it back on its feet, we need a new economy that doesn't pivot on the sectors that got us into trouble This is not a good time for economists to make predictions. The old adage that...

fsa issues draft pay code.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern fsa issues draft pay code Regulator says it is not interested in resetting pay levels, but insists on risk-adjusted remuneration as standard Last October, Financial Services Authority chief executive...

Letter of intent.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Peter Williams Letter of intent An open letter to Treasury Select Committee chairman John McFall says auditors aren't to blame for the crisis Dear John, In investigating the banking crisis from every angle, you...

carbon accounting checklist.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh carbon accounting checklist KPMG's latest white paper outlines the who, what, why and when of environmental reporting for larger companies KPMG's carbon advisory group has published a comprehensive list of...

Ifac puts down online marker.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh Ifac puts down online marker Web-based tool offers clear guidance on managing companies' sustainability burden The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has launched a web-based tool to provide a...

open sores.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Robert Jaques open sores Open source software is license-free and well built, but training and compatibility issues hide the true cost It's accepted wisdom that there is no such thing as a free lunch. However, the...

kerbyourcosts.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Catherine Chetwynd kerbyourcosts Keeping large fleets on the road is getting increasingly expensive, forcing companies to ditch existing policies and re-examine key cost-control areas to generate greater savings ...

hester appoints Bostock for RBS turnaround role.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern hester appoints Bostock for RBS turnaround role Abbey CFO takes newly-created role to de-risk business, writes Melanie Stern Five months after landing as CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland, Stephen Hester has...

Two cattles FDs herded off.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern two cattles FDs herded off Group FD James Corr and FD of its principal operating entity, Peter Miller, are among the six suspended from Cattles after the lender discovered "a breakdown in internal controls" on the...

Flynn gets ready to join ING.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Flynn gets ready to to join ING Dutch bank ING will get a fresh CFO and CEO team when Patrick Flynn, currently CFO for HSBC's global insurance business, joins the executive board at the annual general meeting,...

live and learn.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Robert Bruce live and learn Dispassionate review rather than a witch hunt will set the stage for better, more sustainable governance It is still, people will tell you, a banking crisis and not a financial crisis. By that...

'Printing money' pushes up pension costs.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern 'Printing money' pushes up pension costs Twelve billion pounds was added to the aggregate pensions deficit of FTSE-350 constituents overnight when the Bank of England started using quantitative easing measures in...

Companies remain unprepared for crisis as business confidence falls.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh Companies remain unprepared for crisis as business confidence falls Confidence crisis Senior executives' outlook on the economy is steadily worsening, figures from KPMG suggest. In the latest quarterly survey...

FD wealth dented by holdings in own companies.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern FD wealth dented by holdings in own companies Finance directors of FTSE-100 companies lost an average [pounds sterling]910,000 in 2008 as the value of personal wealth tied up with their employers fell in line with...

i?1/2butitpours.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Anthony Harrington a[bar]butitpours As the insurance sector heads toward a cycle of hard pricing with premiums set to rise sharply, a deluge of liability claims will have FDs clamouring for cover words Anthony Harrington...

Money for nothing.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Anthony Harrington Money for nothing The carry trade is back in vogue, promising huge prizes and virtually no risk. Unfortunately, only the banks can play, writes Anthony Harrington At first there was one great game in...

Captive audience.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Anthony Harrington Captive audience As the insurance industry moves from a soft cycle to a hard cycle, it is a safe bet that more large and mid-sized companies will be looking to 'self-insure' by setting up so-called captive...

A quantum of easing.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Phil Thornton and Andrew Sawers A quantum of easing With interest rates now at 0.5% -- their lowest level ever -- the Bank of England can't make money much cheaper. All it can really do now is make it more plentiful, write Phil...

more eyes on the prize.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern more eyes on the prize The FSA and the Bank of England could share some duties to provide stronger oversight, now we're junking the hands-off regulatory regime that has purposely dulled their senses, writes...

Reality versus stability.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Peter Williams Reality versus stability Peter Williams listens in as standard setters try to get to grips with the rules on dynamic provisioning Accounting standard setters are under growing pressure from prudential...

henry at home in shell role.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Rachael Singh henry at home in shell role Simon Henry is promoted to the top finance role at Royal Dutch Shell having been with the company for more than 26 years. He joined as an engineer at the Stanlow refinery in 1982 and...

no clowning around.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers noT clo ning around For McDonald's FD Brian Mullens, the makeover of one of the world's most recognisable and globalised brands is a serious business indeed words Andrew Sawers portraits Anton...

life in the fast lane.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers life in the fast lane When we launched this magazine 25 years ago, some high street banks didn't even have a finance director and yet they had all managed to survive for a century or more. Now they all have a...

unemployment doles out more pain.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern unemployment doles out more pain The rate of unemployment reached its highest level since 1997 in the three months to January 2009, rising to 6.5% -- 2.03 million people, the Office for National Statistics says....

frightened Scared Afraid.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers frightened? Scared? Afraid? While reviews get underway into the governance of British banks, the regulator promises tougher action against the whole sector, writes Andrew Sawers "There is a view that people...

News update.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern Barclays banked? Barclays is in talks with the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority as it mulls joining the Asset Protection Scheme -- but maintains that it will "continue to perform well" and that it...

Technical update.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Andrew Sawers Technical update financial services The FSA published the Turner review which promises a much tougher and more globally active regulatory regime for the banking industry. Proposals relating to liquidity and...

Governance rules ok.
March 26, 2009... Byline: Melanie Stern governancerulesok Pulping half the rainforest to print ever more governance guidelines has not stopped companies and directors making bad decisions or committing fraud words Melanie Stern illustration david...