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Every article from your latest print edition of CA Magazine

July 2008

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Editor's desk: Final salary or final warning?

A pension is one of the most important investments you can make, so it's important that schemes are safe. But are they being protected to the point of extinction?

In my view: Managing risk is top of the agenda

Lorraine Bennett looks at the increasing challenges facing auditors and audit committees as the credit crunch bites

President: Good leadership is good business

More work can be done to help CAs promote ethical behaviour in business

Lords warn on CGT

The changes to the rules on residence and domicile in the 2008 Finance Bill were poorly handled and may have damaged the UK's international competitiveness, according to a report from the House of Lords Committee on the Finance Bill

Downturn could lead to boom in fraud, expert panel head fears

The economic downturn may increase the risk of corporate financial crime, warns the independent watchdog the Fraud Advisory Panel

UK companies pay more tax than Europeans

Large British companies pay more in corporate taxes on the wealth they create than their competitors in Germany, France and Switzerland, a UK government study has found

Deloitte search on for Scottish graduates

Deloitte has been named as the best graduate employer in finance and professional services at the Target National Graduate Recruiter Awards, taking the award from PwC which has held top spot for the past three years

Rights issue fix

Alistair Darling, the chancellor, says that tough rules announced last month for anyone “short selling” shares in a rights issue are temporary and he is seeking dialogue with the City to find a lasting solution

Bob Keiller of PSN named Ernst & Young Scottish Entrepreneur Of The Year

The rapid growth of Aberdeen-based Production Services Network has been recognised in the award of Entrepreneur of the Year to its leader Bob Keiller, in the annual Ernst & Young awards

Blin a winner at inaugural Scottish Accountancy Awards

PricewaterhouseCoopers supremo Frank Blin was last night recognised for his outstanding contribution to the profession at the inaugural Scottish Accountancy Awards

CA Magazine 'excellent'

CA Magazine received an "award of excellent" at the Communicators in Business UK awards in Brighton on 23 May

Pensions rules 'block rescues'

Regulations intended to protect pension schemes and their members are preventing company rescues, according to the professionals who specialise in turning around troubled businesses

Letters

This month's letters: Lack of experience at the top of our banks

Office Auntie

When job title conflicts with status

Zurich is cool, and gnome mistake

Baghdad is the city with the worst quality of life, fair enough, but can Zurich really have the best?

Triple triumph

Three Cartwright brothers fitted into one canoe for the Great Lakeland Challenge

Fit to run Scottish sport...

Ian Beattie is a fit chap, but then he would need to be

Good month, Bad month

Robert Burns and Mervyn King

They say, We say

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair

Book of the month

Driving down cost, by Andrew Wileman (Nicholas Brealey Publishing)

Travel

Superjumbo incoming

Driving test

It's not just Enrons and BCCIs that test a CA's standards - everyday matters such as mileage claims can do so too

Green light on carbon

Environmental concern has a high priority - literally, with giant turbines often visible for miles, and metaphorically. WIth many companies taking their responsibilities seriously, Richard Goslan reports on the moves already made and the importance of getting a start for those that have delayed

Green machines

The pressures are mounting - and the car manufacturers are reacting. Richard Goslan looks at the future of motoring from the driver's point of view and the company's, as the costs of doing nothing about fuel consumption and the emissions it produces start to take their toll

Powering down

The scale of computer use by all types of business means that there are serious savings to be made by sensible strategies. Anthony Harrington looks at some approaches to reducing the IT department's power use

Butterfly law

Mark Brumwell recalls the story of the butterfly's wings that changed history to warn businesses that anything they do may now be considered to affect the environment - and they could pay heavily

Sustainable accounting

As environmental matters impinge more and more on business life, they are invariably affecting the accountancy profession

Difficult age

The last Tommy to serve at Passchendaele is 110, but our increasing longevity is not always good news. Robert Outram looks at the problems it poses for company pension funds

Decisions, decisions...

Stephanie Hawthorne offers a guide to the hows and whys of pensions, the choices to be made and the sources of help and information

Wake up...

...to the dangers of dormancy in multi-employer pension schemes, says Garry Cullen, because it could carry a considerable cash penalty if one of the businesses involved stops accruing benefits

Uncertain destination

You wouldn't plan a trip abroad as casually as most people make the decisions that will determine their life after retirement

Pensions puzzle

As the financial scene darkens, the problem of accounting for final salary pension funds in a way that does not tempt companies to close them becomes more crucial

Handling our heritage

Caring for a huge list of disparate items from buildings to books requires the best asset management software. Robert Outram looks at two non-profit organisations' solutions

City Column: Fair wind for Eurotunnel

Inflation is bad news for most of the City, but Groupe Eurotunnel, fighting back after years of grim news, may do less badly than some

Interview: Jann Brown, Cairn Energy

Cairn Energy's chief finance officer says its worth is in its assets, not its financial position, and her department's job is to facilitate production

Limited lifeline

Banks won't lend because they can't borrow, companies are having to sell prize assets and the US sub-prime crisis is still sending out ripples. Even the Bank of England's intervention is not a panacea

Cash clean-up

Payroll professionals know startlingly little about new anti-money laundering legislation that came into force late last year. Tony Wilson suggests some first steps in keeping on the right side of the law

Fast forward

You can't have instantaneous cash transfers between bank accounts for fear of fraud, but the system has been greatly accelerated

Kick-starting analytics

The Italian football team used analytics in their World Cup victory over France, and again in their Euro 2008 campaign. Andrew Weir and Jeanne G Harris believe the technique is the key to the future for many businesses

HMRC's new powers of inspection

HM Revenue & Customs will have new powers to inspect business premises at short notice if measures set out in the Finance Bill 2008 are enacted

Personal tax agents do IT online

Donald Drysdale looks at the pressure from various directions that will be put on professionals by the changes in tax return deadlines and forms for 2007/08

Practice Web Tower (link opens in new window)