The most recent articles from Financial Director

slashing deficit

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:41:00 GMT

Financial Director, Saturday 27 February 2010 at 11:41:00

VIDEO: How to cut costs and influence people

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:55:00 GMT

Financial Director, Friday 26 February 2010 at 10:55:00

FDs are leading the charge to find growth while still balancing risk management

Melanie Stern, editor of Financial Director magazine, talks with Robert Allison, managing director at Expense Reduction Analysts, about some key ways FDs can cut costs while encouraging growth amid a...

Slashing the deficit

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:31:00 GMT

Financial Director, Thursday 25 February 2010 at 13:31:00

Slashing the deficit

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:03:00 GMT

Financial Director, Thursday 25 February 2010 at 10:03:00

Overview: How the main political parties plan to kick-start growth

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:14:00 GMT

Peter Bartram, Financial Director, Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 11:14:00

With the economy set to be a major battleground in the forthcoming general election, what are the main political parties promising and what effect, if any, will they have on FDs?

They’ve worked their socks off keeping businesses afloat and money moving round. Now finance directors could rightly expect to see some sort of reward (or relief) from the government....

Will a global bank levy mean more alms for the rich?

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:13:00 GMT

Phil Thornton, Financial Director, Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 11:13:00

Will Gordon Brown and Barack Obama’s big talk around a global bank levy turn into legislation that will create a pool of capital for good causes, or will it be more of the same for bankers?

England and America, as George Bernard Shaw said, are two countries separated by a common language. But when it comes to banking regulation, these countries, host to the world’s two...

Guest Column: Charities could benefit from the experience of FD volunteers

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:08:00 GMT

Joe Ghandhi, Financial Director, Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 11:08:00

Rather than giving cash, FDs can help charities achieve their mandate by volunteering their time

Having spent close to 20 years in the charitable sector, my observation is that we have a lot to learn from the private sector and the rigour with which it...

Decisions Supplement - Longevity Swaps Primer

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:15:00 GMT

Lucy Quinton, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:15:00

For a full PDF of the supplement, click here

Limping along like a sick dog, defined benefit pension schemes have truly suffered over the past few years. And that poorly pooch is set to see its health worsen....

FTSE-100 must halve emissions

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Government will miss crucial reduction targets if top companies don’t do more to reduce their carbon emissions

FTSE-100 companies are falling far short of reducing their emissions to meet target reductions set out in the Climate Change Act, according to figures released from the Climate Disclosure Project...

Corporate Governance: Do non-audit services create a conflict of interest?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Robert Bruce, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

The hand-wringing over audit firms undertaking non-audit work for clients is unwarranted, say FDs

There are some issues in corporate governance that seem impossible to pin down. One of these is the question of whether the provision of non-audit services to a client alongside...

Accountancy fraud hits record high in 'naughty noughties'

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Lucy Quinton, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

KPMG’s latest Fraud Barometer reported that the UK accounting industry was badly affected by fraud in the last year with £1.3bn of fraud committed in 2009....

Market Comment: Greece fears heighten euro anxieties

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

David Kern, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

The market mood has failed to rally despite growth in major economic regions, while uncertainty in the eurozone rages on. Without external help, the crisis in Greece could threaten stability in the entire region

The market’s mood has worsened in spite of impressive growth figures in the US and China. Share prices have fallen after a strong January bounce....

CFO decisions slowed by collegiate attitude in recession

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Lucy Quinton, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

European chief financial officers took longer to make crucial decisions amid the recession because they have become more inclusive of other executive opinions but they were also slowed down...

SEC backs climate change reporting

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

US businesses will now have to make specific provision in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the impact their activities have on the climate....

Greece economic bailout seems unlikely

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Staff writers, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Greece’s economic crisis looks set to stumble on as its European counterparts fail to offer any monetary support and its finance minister refuses to acknowledge that it needs to implement...

CRC still too complex and ineffective

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Carbon reduction legislation lacks punch while its protagonists lack leadership

The current Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation does not go far enough and is too confusing for businesses. That is the verdict from Smart Carbon Research (SCR) which says more...

Diageo CFO goes non-exec at BAE

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Cue witticisms about the dangers of mixing guns and booze as Diageo group chief financial officer Nick Rose joins the board at BAE Systems in a non-executive director role....

Fifth audit committee role for Ann Godbehere

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Former interim CFO at nationalised Northern Rock built an impressive, high-level portfolio of non-executive and audit committee roles. Adding Rio Tinto is par for the course

FTSE-100 mining group Rio Tinto has scored a coup in securing financial services heavyweight Ann Godbehere as a non-executive director and a member of its audit committee....

Wolseley ousts Steve Webster from post

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Lucy Quinton, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Steve Webster led an acquisition frenzy at plumbing group Wolseley but was cut loose when the money and deals dried up. We look back at his tenure

The plug was pulled on Steve Webster's time at FTSE-100 plumbing and heating business Wolseley this February, bringing his 15-year career there to an ignominious close....

Editor's Letter: Extracurricular activities

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

In this month’s issue of Financial Director we seem to have a lot of stuff about FDs doing something other than their job....

Other FD news - March

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Kevin Reed, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Most of the UK’s top businesses are unhappy with the level of management information they receive from the finance function

A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers of more than 100 of the top 200 FTSE companies found that 63% regard the finance function as playing a lead role in the strategic planning...

March News Update

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Staff writers, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Exiting recession Britain has barely limped out of recession, failing to hit its 0.4% growth target but exiting technical recession by growing 0.1% between October and December 2009....

Raising hope for Haiti

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

Behind the media frenzy of record-breaking donations and titanic NGO operations, UK charity FDs manage through various obstacles to mobilising cash, keeping the books and planning for long-term rebuilding

The utter devastation suffered by Haitian citizens after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on 12 January rendered the biggest humanitarian response ever recorded, reports claim....

Are changes to high-earner tax relief a sign of more to come?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 20:00:00

The partial withdrawal of tax relief on high-earner pension contributions is unavoidable. Now they’ll be sharing more of their pot with the government For a full PDF of the supplement, click here

The Chancellor’s assault on pensions as a reward mechanism for high earners might have seemed like a brilliant political wheeze in the wake of public outrage over the pensions shenanigans...

FSA extends executive vetting

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:00:00 GMT

Neil Hodge, Financial Director, Monday 22 February 2010 at 18:00:00

Regulator tightens control over top executive appointments and approval for their work in subsidiaries

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has reviewed the structure of its “significant influence controlled” functions after finding they are “not currently sufficiently detailed” to allow the regulator to segregate and...