The most recent articles from Financial Director

Special feature: Reap the rewards of flexible benefits schemes

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Alex Blythe, Financial Director, Monday 6 July 2009 at 22:30:00

Flexible benefits schemes could provide employers with the means to attract and keep the best talent.

Anyone who thought the recession would put an end to the war for talent has missed the point. While employers are indeed laying off staff, they are also fighting even...

Special feature: Slim pickings – will the arrival of the new public pension scheme be enough?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:14:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Monday 6 July 2009 at 22:14:00

A new public pension scheme offers millions of employees a chance to save. But an untimely introduction and conservative nature may lead to disappointing returns.

The 2012 launch of personal accounts (PA) pension provision for around seven million UK citizens not in occupational pension schemes is getting closer....

PwC sets out carbon reporting template

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:06:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 6 July 2009 at 22:06:00

Auditor’s model puts reporting theory into practice and helps promote standardisation ahead of slated reporting law.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has created a new reporting model designed to bring standardisation to carbon reporting, using a hypothetical IT business to explain how UK-listed companies can apply it in practice....

M&S' Plan A savings not clear

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:57:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 6 July 2009 at 21:57:00

Retailer reports CSR progress, but misses opportunity to raise reporting transparency as initiatives are put on hold.

Marks & Spencer has hailed its Plan A project as having turned “cost-positive” ahead of its 2012 deadline, but has declined to reveal how much of its £200m allocated budget...

Special feature: Happy returns – the increasing popularity of longevity swaps

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:21:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 22:21:00

They're complicated, potentially costly and not without risk. So why are longevity swaps becoming an increasingly popular way to reduce final salary scheme liabilities?

For now, depressed stock market values have effectively shelved any prospects of companies being able to offload their final salary pension schemes through a buyout funded by the major life...

Raise your game – professionalism in government finance

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:05:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 20:05:00

Public sector FDs are leading professionalism in government finance, but must convince the board they are key to meeting business targets.

Mirroring industry after a long history of resting on its laurels, government finance is changing. The government finance profession (GFP) has much to say on the progress it has made...

History lesson: Ex-Midland Bank FD, Michael Julien

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:27:00 GMT

Peter Krijgsman, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 19:27:00

Things were slightly different in the 1980s, but as former Midland Bank FD Michael Julien says, the mistakes surrounding today’s banking crisis are worryingly familiar so what have we learnt?

The form might have changed, but the substance of the mistakes behind the current banking crisis holds nothing new: poor lending decisions, slack management, excessive optimism and too many unfettered...

Be prepared, be very prepared: Useful guides on how to get ready for the economic recovery

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 18:52:00

When the recovery comes - and it will come - companies that prepared during the downturn will come out fitter and stronger. We look at some useful guides on how to get ready for what comes next.

Some day this war’s going to end and when it does businesses will have to convert their recession-fighting swords into recovery ploughshares....

Don't stamp out success by rushing economic recovery efforts

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:25:00 GMT

Phil Thornton, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 18:25:00

Efforts to stabilise the economy are taking root. But those rushing recovery risk trampling it.

The financial markets have called the end of the recession. Commodity prices are soaring, stock markets are up, bond yields are rising, interbank lending costs are falling and sterling is...

Cattles FDs among sacked six

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:09:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 18:09:00

Cattles lays off six senior executives with immediate effect.

Cattles has fired its group finance director and the FD of its principal lending arm with immediate effect and with no compensation for loss of office, following an ongoing forensic...

Final farewell - BP closes DB scheme to new entrants

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:08:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 18:08:00

Pension closures sound the death knell for final salary schemes.

It used to be thought that sheer, raw competition for talent among the oil majors, which constantly poach each other’s staff, would make them the last bastion for final salary...

Economics: Bank on it – the worst of the economic crisis may well be over

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Dennis Turner, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

UK credit availability will have to be rebuilt to stimulate spending – and that means restoring banks' credibility.

In getting the economy moving to end recession, the focus of policymakers has been on stimulating spending. All-time low interest rates and massive fiscal easing are aimed at reducing debt...

Corporate governance shake-up: Investors called to action

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Neil Hodge, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

Shareholders will have to get involved in an overhaul of corporate governance – and that includes holding boards to account.

Hot on the heels of the current Walker review of corporate governance into the UK's beleaguered banking industry and the Financial Reporting Council's review of the combined code on corporate...

Bernard Madoff: Who's bad? Really, really bad?

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

In the week Michael Jackson died, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff received a 150-year prison term for defrauding investors in his securities business, which was found to be a Ponzi scheme.

A former non-executive chairman of NASDAQ, Madoff was sent to a federal prison with no chance of parole. Federal prosecutors estimate client losses at $65bn; incredibly, Madoff’s scheme went unnoticed...

Collins Stewart pins hopes on John Cotter

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

John Cotter, a former CFO for Morgan Stanley’s Singapore business, has joined the board at Collins Stewart as FD, while rumours mount that chairman Terry Smith will depart the stockbroking company.

Irish-born Cotter hails from Royal Bank of Scotland where he was COO for global business unit control. As a financial manager within its global capital markets division, which he joined...

Lynn Fordham becomes CEO in SVG restructuring

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

Finance chief promoted just 12 months into role.

Lynn Fordham is settling into her first six weeks as chief executive officer at private equity group SVG Capital following a surprise promotion to the role, having served as finance...

Editor's letter: Ain't no way to treat a lady

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

I’m just about old enough to remember the days when the Bank of England – the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street – had but to raise an eyebrow and deliver a withering look and recalcitrant bankers would quickly fall into line.

It was a time when the Bank knew the character of a man and didn’t need an inspector’s risk assessment report to know a bad ’un....

Corporate governance: Show and tell – why the internal audit function should be enhanced

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Robert Bruce, Financial Director, Sunday 5 July 2009 at 12:00:00

When it comes to raising the alarm on seeding troubles, internal audit should follow its nose – and use its voice.

There is an assumption within the corporate governance world that independence is absolutely paramount. But there is growing evidence, in the wreckage of the banking crisis, that this may not...

IT strategy: Window shopper – rather than upgrade to Vista, wait for its successor

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:23:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, Financial Director, Friday 3 July 2009 at 12:23:00

Don't bother upgrading to the troublesome Vista – save cash and hassle by waiting for its simplified successor.

If you are a finance director who has recently signed a big fat cheque so your IT department can upgrade your company's PCs to Windows Vista – the latest version...

Accounting: Off balance – the future of off-balance sheet transactions

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:33:00 GMT

Peter Williams, Financial Director, Friday 3 July 2009 at 11:33:00

Few would argue that off-balance sheet finance needs fresh oversight. Perhaps the banks' views are out of kilter.

For a few years it seemed possible that off-balance sheet accounting had finally been vanquished. That view now seems naive....

Ex-ABN Amro CFO found dead

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:44:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 29 June 2009 at 15:44:00

Former chief financial officer of Dutch bank part-owned by RBS found after disappearing with shotguns

The former chief financial officer of Dutch bank ABN Amro has been found dead with shotgun wounds near his home in Surrey, the BBC has reported....

RBS chief's £10m pay deal

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:53:00 GMT

Financial Director, Tuesday 23 June 2009 at 11:53:00

What should Gordon Brown do?

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:40:00 GMT

Financial Director, Monday 8 June 2009 at 10:40:00

The next Chancellor?

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:24:00 GMT

Financial Director, Tuesday 2 June 2009 at 10:24:00

Financial engineering: Keith Cochrane, FD, Weir

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:10:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 25 May 2009 at 23:10:00

Keith Cochrane has spent his tenure at engineering group Weir cutting risk and ensuring stability. After some interesting career challenges, he’s enjoying the serenity.

“Rock solid.” Two words every FD and chief executive would pay good money to hear said of their business and the two words one analyst used to describe Glaswegian...