CA Magazine

November 2008

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Unfair pressure on fair value

The row over fair value accounting has presented international financial reporting with its toughest test yet

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Volatile but vital

Colin McLean agrees that what has been happening in the stock markets is unprecedented but believes that investors should stick with equities

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The return of the rulebook?

Glenn Allison urges caution on the response to the crisis in the financial markets

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Weeks that tested capitalism

The first fortnight of October 2008 will be remembered as among the most volatile in financial market history, when the face of banking in Britain and around the world was fundamentally changed by government intervention

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Goodbye Goodwin

A year ago, Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, had just been named in CA Magazine as the third “most admired” professional by fellow members in practice

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‘Fair value’ defended

Recent calls to suspend fair value accounting would deprive investors of the most relevant information on which to take financial decisions, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

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Call for corporate tax clampdown

HM Revenue and Customs should pursue companies that avoid paying tax on their profits more robustly, the Commons public accounts select committee says

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Directors urged to plan for auditor going out of business

The Financial Reporting Council is advising audit committees to consider the potential effect of an auditor 'withdrawing from the market'

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Experts predict three quarters of contraction

The Ernst & Young ITEM Club autumn forecast sees an economy that deteriorated dramatically in the last quarter and is now in recession

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XL Leisure inquiry

The UK accounting profession’s independent regulator, the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB), is to investigate BDO Stoy Hayward over its role as auditor of the failed holiday group XL Leisure

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Letters: CCH Software making most of MYOB merger

Your article, “Attacking tax”, in the October edition of CA Magazine, provided a thorough overview of the business dynamics of the accounting and tax software sector. Unfortunately, it contained a couple of factual errors about CCH software that I would like to correct

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Movers and shakers

A round up of who's on the move in the profession

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Office Auntie

I can't breathe...

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PwC’s 600 volunteers go for growth…

“You, you and you: you’re volunteering. And you, and you, and you...” And so on for about 600 people

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Book Review

The Ape in the Corner Office by Richard Conniff (Marshall Cavendish, £12.99)

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Accountants can be sexy too... no, really

As they say on these blog things the young people have on the interweb, LOL. It’s variously interpreted as “loads of laughs” or “laughing out loud”

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Watchdog that buried its bone in the wrong place

Do you wonder why the Audit Commission, which does the books for local authorities and the like, has £10m saved up, on deposit in a bond that matures next year?

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Republic takes off

With business carriers such as Silverjet falling apart, the last thing you would expect is a new player launching in the business travel market

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Stand by for the rescue...

The jobs of audit and accountancy firms are changing, as economic and financial markets are rocked – more business recovery and advice work, less in mergers and acquisitions. But they are adapting well and already preparing themselves for the next phase

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After the crunch

When the dust settles, audit firms and clients must reassess working methods

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Aberdeen kept afloat by oil

The energy sector has made the city an exception in the credit crunch – so far…

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Set out your stall

David Reid offers firms an action plan to make sure they are marketing themselves as hard as they can in an ominous economic climate

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In waiting

Succession management is a key issue for accountancy firms large and small. Andrew Munro explains the results of an extensive study into why it can succeed or fail

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Regulation and recruitment

Problems can be similar for companies in varied sectors in a period of turmoil

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The package

The emphasis is moving away from pay to a wide variety of other aspects of the reward CAs receive for work done, from gym access to healthcare to office bicycles. Robert Outram looks at the choices that employers offer and CAs make

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City column: Questions the City failed to ask

Warning signs – even some warning words – preceded the crash but the financial community, its regulators, and the media ignored them

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Interview: Creative tension

When Hugh Mullan arrived at the architecture firm RMJM, the creatives were not at all sure a finance director was a good thing. But his role – and their confidence – grew

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Fragile (handle with care)

People must be treated gently in hard times, for legal as much as human resources reasons. There’s never a good time to tell an employee that their post is being made redundant. But the credit crunch is forcing companies to look at reducing headcounts, and cutting bonuses for those who stay

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Tread carefully

Improved policies and a desire to work together are seen as making an epidemic of strikes less likely

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Microsoft's foot in the door...

The software gian targets the smallest companies with its new accounting software

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Sum city

If you think quarterly VAT returns are a burden…In the second of his articles on how the accountancy world might look in 2025, Donald Drysdale conjures up the daily tax return

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The VAT package

VAT in the European Union is set for sweeping reforms over the next six years, under the so-called “VAT package” to be rolled out between 2010 and 2015

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Five months and counting

The deadline is approaching fast for claiming VAT repayments after HMRC was ruled in the Fleming and Condé Nast cases to have given too little time for mistakes to be recti?ed

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Car park ruling

A case about car parks on the Isle of Wight could impact on local authories’ commercial activities

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HMRC consults on forex rules

HMRC has informally consulted the IAS 39 working group of the International Accounting Standards Board on developing foreign exchange matching rules, releasing draft regulations to members of the group

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Resident or what?

A consultation on HMRC guidance about resident or non-resident tax status is part of the continuing uncertainty on the subject

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Saving staff costs

Cutting the wage bill in hard times can be a lot subtler than simply making people redundant

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Trustees’ guide to trust

How can the people responsible for the pension fund be sure the employer will keep the promises made? Alan Thomson introduces new guidance from ICAS

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Communication guide from TPR

The Pensions Regulator has issued guidance on member communications and an investment guide that can be provided to members

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Fairer value

International standard-setters have been looking at the rules surrounding classification and value of instruments in volatile markets

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Advice to boards on market disruption

The Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) has issued advice for company directors on the likely impact of the current disruption in ?nancial markets in its latest activity report on its review of accounts in the year to 31 March 2008

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Wilmington accepts FRRP criticism

Wilmington Group is to adjust its accounts for the year to 30 June 2007 after a report by the Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP)

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Pension pointers

Buy-outs are increasingly tempting to companies seeking to simplify staff bene?t processes, and Iain Talman offers some guidance for trustees

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Paper back

Donald Drysdale reports on a concession for paper tax returns, the timing of tax rises, and ICAS’s views on fiscal devolution for Scotland

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Call for tighter bankruptcy law

Only those who genuinely cannot pay back their creditors should be allowed to access bankruptcy, ICAS believes

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New to council

Professor Nick Kuenssberg has been appointed as a Public Interest Member to the Institute’s ruling Council. He will take up his post on 27 October 2008

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Success to be repeated

Following the great success of the CA Conference this year, ICAS is delighted to be hosting the 2009 conference at the same prestigious destination, bringing together some of the top minds in national and international business to give a fresh perspective to the challenges facing the business community

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Guidance to help pension trustees with the credit crunch

In the current economic climate, finance professionals face the challenges of running and funding businesses

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Focus on accountability

The accountability and standing of Scottish professional bodies comes under the spotlight at a seminar next month

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Gordon A Macphail

Gordon A Macphail CA has admitted liability to disciplinary action in that he is guilty of professional misconduct in terms of the Institute's Rule 58(1)(a) in respect of his handling of hte estate following the death of a client in November 2005 for whom he acted as financial guardian

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Cartwright's policy role

Bruce Cartwright takes over as convener of the ICAS Technical Policy Committee this month, after six years as convener of the Institute’s Insolvency Committee

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Words from the wise

The new generation of ICAS members had a chance to pick up some tips from more established members of the profession at a unique networking event: the ICAS “masterclass” dinner

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Lesson in career planning

Alan Hartley, finance director with housebuilders MacTaggart & Mickel, has been spreading the CA message to the next generation

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