Monday 26 March 2012

Changing roles for accountants

In a changing world with customers demanding more added value services and wider advice, management accountants and accountancy businesses may have to re-evaluate what they offer. This is the argument made by Neil Davidson, the managing director (U.K.) of Deltek in an article on the Accountancy Age website. Davidson also argues that this can only be done when a business understands and controls its business data. He says firms must “ become agile enough to offer new value-added services and ditch the archaic pricing strategy of recoverability.” They need to have an “ have an insight into their business processes including engagements, client servicing levels and profitability.” To do this he recommends having good internal procedures to bring together vital information in an integrated software solution and ‘not inputting disparate data into a myriad of spreadsheets.’ For more about the new age of accountancy see the full article at http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/opinion/2156447/stuck-moment

Monday 19 March 2012

Fighting fraud in the public sector

Fraud is definitely not the exclusive problem of the private sector. In this month’s Public Finance magazine, an extensive feature looks at the issues discussed at a seminar hosted by Public Finance and Deloitte. It was attended by 30 key figures from the public finance sector including chief information officers, finance directors and fraud investigation officers . £21.2 billion was lost in 2010 through fraud in the public sector, accounting for ‘55% of all fraud loss in the U.K.’ Such fraud included tax fraud, procurement processes and expenses. Dame Sue Street, from Deloitte, and previously a government permanent secretary, said that a problem area was the reluctance of finance and other departments to ‘report bad news quickly.’ Organisational culture and knowledge share were seen as two key areas to work on in order to reduce the rising incidence of fraud. For much more detail on this key public finance seminar read the article here http://issuu.com/redactive/docs/pfmar2012?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Sunday 11 March 2012

Pensions Conference 2012

Pension professionals need to put the 30th May – 2nd June in their diaries for the annual Pensions conference, bringing together a range of professionals, experts and academics from pensions and finance. The three day event will have a number of workshops and plenary sessions covering areas of change such as ‘The impact of global demographics’ presented by Dr Amlan Roy from Credit Suisse. Also speaking on the economy will be two guests from the Times – Danny Finkelstein OBE and Oliver Kamm. The details of the conference, laid out on ‘The Actuarial Profession’ website, explain that the conference is open to anyone who works in the pension sector or who has a related interest in it. As well as presentation on the economy, the conference should cover ‘ a range of technical matters, softer skills and professionalism topics.’ For more information about the event, taking place at the Metropole Hotel, Brighton, visit the website at http://www.actuaries.org.uk/events/residential/pensions-conference-2012/about

Monday 5 March 2012

Careers in payroll management

Sometimes you just need clear information – particularly when considering a new or sideways move into the finance department. The ‘Planning your career’ section of the government’s Next Step website lays out the details of many career paths in the financial sector. Taking a role of a payroll manager as an example, the website offers lots of details on management responsibilities including ‘supervising and training the payroll team, creating payroll policies and procedures and advising on tax and pay laws.’ It goes on to list the number of organisations that offer qualifications in payroll administration e.g. the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
certificate in payroll administration. Further study could then lead to a foundation degree in payroll management. Typical hours, salary and associated professional bodies for more information are all included. For more details to help you make your next financial move, look at the full website https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/planningyourcareer/jobprofiles/JobProfile0740/Pages/default.aspx