Financial Director articles from May 2005

Financial Director archives from May 2005

Editor's letter - If you can't be sure of Shell.(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Andrew Sawers, editor, editor@FinancialDirector.co.uk. Sir Philip Watts is no Robert Maxwell. Shell is no Mirror Group. But the damage caused to shareholding pension funds by the share-price slump following the admission that oil...

Ellis retirement is Tucker's luck.(Mike Ellis)(Mark Tucker)(briefs)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Kevin Reed. HBOS group finance director Mike Ellis (pictured right) is set to retire at the end of the year after 17 years of service. Ellis joined Halifax in 1987 as treasurer and held a number of senior roles in treasury,...

Ready aim fire. Both AIM and the main London Stock Exchange market are seeing an increase in new issue activity. But some big companies are opting for the smaller market.(Alternative Investment Market)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Anthony Harrington. With nine new issues on the main London stock market so far this year, and more than 43 deals on AIM, one could be forgiven for asking, which is the main market, exactly? Both markets are seeing accelerated...

Whose turn next? Auditor rotation is mandatory in Italy and experts believe it helped uncover some of the wrongdoings at Parmalat. Others argue that given the scandal which ensued, it was a pointless exercise.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Richard Willsher. Parmalat is likely to go down in history as Italy's - and probably Europe's - Enron. Its impact will reverberate through political and financial circles for years to come, and not least among audit firms. ...

ASB wants IAS 39. The Accounting Standards Board has decided that IAS 32 and 39 should form part of UK GAAP, thereby putting us further ahead of the IASB programme.(Accounting Standards Board)(International Accounting Standards)(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles )
May 1, 2005... Byline: Peter Williams. Is it a strong signal of support for the international harmonisation of accounting standards, an admission that there is no longer such a thing as UK GAAP, or another move which will increase the confusion around...

Accounting - Between a rock and hard place. Britain's plcs are struggling to find a balance between adhering to reporting regulations and generating wealth for their shareholders.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Peter Williams, a chartered accountant and freelance journalist. There is a growing gap between the standard of the financial reporting process as set out in codes and guides, and the day-to-day reality in Britain's plcs. The...

Corporate governance - Show us the money. Whenever companies announce huge profits, there's a tendency to scream 'fat cats'. The truth is, wealth creation benefits us all.(Financial Reporting Council)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Robert Bruce, a leading commentator on accountancy issues. Oil companies and banks are easy targets for the popular press. Even in bad years, their profits can always be made to sound astronomical. The skill with which the tabloids...

IT strategy - Easy access for all. Providing website accessibility for the blind or partially sighted is more than just an ethical issue. Today, it's also a legal one.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Tom Berry, deputy editor of Financial Director. There are more than two million blind or partially sighted people in the UK, and nine million people with hearing problems. One in four households have a disabled family member. Why...

Economics - Believing in life after debt. On the face of it, the UK's escalating personal debt will threaten many households. But things are not as bleak as they appear.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Dennis Turner, chief economist at HSBC. Nothing has happened since the Budget to undermine the confidence the Chancellor expressed about the UK's short-term prospects. Inflation remains low, unemployment keeps falling and GDP growth...

The Financial Director interview - Change of gear. With a reputation forged rescuing the likes of Laura Ashley and Welcome Break, Richard Pennycook has performed something of a turnaround himself. After working with so many ailing businesses, it's no surprise he has grabbed the chance to "get back to the calmer real world" with the RAC.(Interview)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Sarah Perrin. Three-times turnaround king Richard Pennycook has exchanged unpredictability for stability, and crisis talks with bankers for expansion planning. As group finance director of RAC plc, he enjoys managing a brand that...

Cover story - A Tale of two Cities. Deloitte partner Neil Wood is the FD of the bid team trying to win the 2012 Olympic Games for London. David Leather was the FD of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Here, Leather talks about his experience and offers his advice to Wood, who explains his approach to "an absolutely tremendous posting". Now they're working together, London should be in with a sporting chance.(Financial Director)
May 1, 2005... Byline: David Leather Deputy chief executive and finance director Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is important to realise that work on the 2002 Commonwealth Games began six years in advance. We started as a team of five, and one of...

IAS - Measure for Measure. FDs are coping with international accounting standards, but what about City analysts? The new numbers affect their historic databases and their valuation metrics. Wither the p/e ratio?(International Accounting Standards)(Financial Directors)
May 1, 2005... Byline: Jules Stewart and Andrew Sawers. Starting next year, City investment analysts will face a complex new toolkit for scrutinising company accounts. With the introduction of International Accounting Standards (IAS), the tried and...

Data protection - Protect and Survive. With hackers, terrorist attacks, technical failure and the odd disgruntled employee all modern-day ills, data is a victim. That's why protecting it is vital to a company's survival.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Malcolm Wheatley. The debate over data security has moved on over the past few years. Not long ago, for example, intrusions from hackers were seen as the greatest threat to business data security. But while hackers undoubtedly pose...

Decisions - Share schemes - A Piece of the Action. Despite all the problems that come with offering employee share incentives, eradicating them altogether is not an option companies should consider.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Peter Bartram. When directors of Phoenix Venture Holdings, the consortium that bought MG Rover from BMW, appeared before a Commons Select Committee in March, they were forced to explain why they had issued what amounted to...

Decisions - Getting the best out of people.
May 1, 2005... "People are our most important asset," say the mission statements of countless companies up and down the country. Maybe, but in some businesses it seems as if the photocopiers get more attention than the staff. Part of getting the best out...

Decisions - Pensions - Open and Shut Case. Companies are finding that the cost of winding up final salary pension schemes could put them out of commission - permanently.
May 1, 2005... Companies with final salary pension schemes are firmly positioned between a rock and a hard place, thanks to government legislation introduced in June last year. Paul McGlone, a principal at Aon Consulting, explains that the government's...

Decisions - Retirement benefits for senior executives. With A-Day 2006 set to bring about changes to pension benefits, senior executives must look for new ways to protect their future.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Anthony Harrington. A-Day 2006 will change significant parts of the landscape for senior executives as far as their pension benefits are concerned. As Tim Keogh, European partner at Mercer Human Resource Consulting explains, the...

Decisions - Fund management - The Closed Season. Closing a pension fund to new employees simply changes the risk profile of the scheme. That calls for a different approach in the management of the fund.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Peter Bartram. You've closed your final salary pension scheme, warded off attacks from the unions and stuffed the critical press cuttings in the bottom draw of the filing cabinet. So that's alright then. Well, not quite....

Decisions - Flexible benefits - Not Tied Down. With workers' needs constantly changing, tailored benefits offer real advantages over traditional packages for employees and employers, but many companies are still slow on the take-up.
May 1, 2005... Byline: Roger Trapp. The concept of flexible benefits is a classic example of an idea waiting to happen. The approach, by which such 'perks' as company cars, health insurance, life insurance and pension contributions are given a value so...

Decisions - Work-life balance - Work or Shirk. Just over a year after their launch, flexible working regulations appear to be a success - much to the delight of the government. But what do these family-friendly rules actually mean for business?
May 1, 2005... Tony Blair's Labour government has pushed family-friendly laws to the top of the employment agenda. And, unusually, the government seems to be practising what it preaches, with the prime minister taking paternity leave following the birth of...