Latest Industry News
Latest news from Accountancy Age - UK finance news and jobs for accounting and finance professionals.
Treasury drops Gift Aid tax break reform plans
David Jetuah, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:08:00
Tax policymakers say they will be not be overhauling Gift Aid tax relief as previously announced
The Treasury has backtracked on a possible move to amend laws governing tax
relief on Gift Aid charity schemes. The decision was announced at a high-level meeting last week between the tax
policymakers and charity groups. Charities wanted to see changes, including a possible move to replace tax
relief for higher rate tax payers with an increase in the breaks directly
available to the not- for-profit organisations. "Rushing into major reforms of the Gift Aid risks damaging what is seen as a
very successful system," The Treasury
told
the FT.
BAE brings in Diageo FD as non-exec
Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:02:00
Diageo's Nick Rose joins BAE as a non-exec
BAE
Systems has brought
Diageo
CFO Nick Rose on board as a non-executive director. Rose has served as CFO since 1999, and has non-execed at Moet Hennessy and
Scottish Power. "He has excellent global business expertise and boardroom experience that
will be a great asset to us and further strengthen our board," said BAE chairman
Dick Olver. On Friday BAE paid out nearly £300m in fines to the US and UK authorities in
relation to failing to keep accurate accounting records and making false
statements. Further reading:
GT acquires media auditor
Mario Christodoulou, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 08:59:00
Media accounting specialists Aulren acquired by GT
Grant Thornton (GT) has absorbed a media auditor specialising in movie
royalty accounting, into its operations. The firm yesterday announced the acquisition of Aulren, a firm which
specialises in film royalty auditing. The firm has audited royalty and distribution agreements for major film
studios since 2002. It will retain its name under the arrangement but offer GT’s international
tax consultancy services to its clients. Scott Barnes, CEO of GT, said the acquisition was part of the firm’s strategy
to build on its strengths. “The (Aulren) team gives us a sharper cutting edge overall as we continue to
grow our presence in the sector,” he said. "This business complements our existing service offering to the media sector,
not only in film and television, but also to the music and publishing sectors.”
SAP chairman admits customer trust was lost
Rachael Singh, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:05:00
Remaining management at financial IT business tries to restore confidence after abrupt departure of CEO
The chairman of SAP, the financial software company, admitted the business
has lost the trust of its customers. Chairman Hasso Plattner said he and the management at the company had made
errors, however he added SAP would restore customer confidence, the
Financial
Times reported. Plattner admitted it was a mistake to try to increase support service fees by
up to 22% last year, the middle of the economic crisis, which was met with
severe backlash from user groups. "This is nothing that can be put into Léos' shoes. We have made a mistake… I
was personally involved in decisions about the maintenance fees," said Plattner.
The company later backtracked and charged customers 18% of their licence fee
for the Standard Support package. Plattner confirmed SAP would continue to have two CEOs similar to other
companies such as Microsoft. "Microsoft had its best times when Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates were working
together," he said. Further reading:
EU sees room to improve IASB governance
Accountancy Age, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:22:00
Internal markets man sees change needed to "depoliticise" accounting
Governance of the International Accounting Standards Board still needs to
improve and only when it does will it cease to be a political, according to an
EU official. Reuters reports that David Wright, deputy head of the European Union's
internal market commission said that there was still "much work to be done" on
IASB governance. The agency reports Wright claimed that finalising the governance structure
was a key element in "depoliticising" accounting standards. Wright was appearing before a commission heariong on accounting and auditing.
Governance of the international standard setter was reformed with the
introduction of a monitoring board in January 2009 which introduced a fresh
level of oversight by other regulators. Read more:
Former Kelda FD stands in as chief at Spice
Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:30:00
Martin Towers takes interim chief role at Spice
Former Kelda Group FD Martin Towers is set to take on the interim chief
executive role at
Spice.
Currently a non-executive director at the utility support services business,
Towers has been appointed interim chief until a replacement for Simon Rigby is
found. Rigby led the company from its single contract with Yorkshire Electricity in
1996 to its full listing in 2008. "He has informed the board that he feels the group has achieved a size and
position where it is appropriate for a new style of chief executive to take over
the leadership. As a consequence, Simon has made a personal decision that he now
wishes to pursue his other business interests," said Spice in its statement. "Spice has reached critical mass in its core markets and the future is more
about growing these businesses organically," said Rigby. Further reading:
Vantis appoints Belsman head of tax
David Jetuah, Accountancy Age, Tuesday 9 February 2010 at 09:35:00
Belsman aims to further enhance the firm's private client business, high-net worth offering and corporate and employer services
Vantis has announced Paul Belsman has been promoted to National Head of Tax.
Belsman has been advising entrepreneurial businesses and high net worth
individuals on all aspects of their tax affairs for over 20 years, the firm
said. As National Head of Tax, Belsman will look to continue development of the
firm's private client business, high-net worth offering and corporate and
employer services. David Rankin, managing director of Business Advisory & Tax at Vantis,
said: "I am delighted to announce that Paul has accepted the position as
National Head of Tax at Vantis. "Paul has extensive experience in the industry and is highly regarded by
clients and staff alike. The tax department is a core area of the Vantis
business and I know that Paul will be able to continue to deliver, and enhance,
the exceptional service our clients have come to expect from us." Further reading:
FSA walks away from Grant Thornton
Mario Christodoulou, Accountancy Age, Monday 8 February 2010 at 09:20:00
Government auditor to replace GT
The UK’s financial watchdog is being forced to change its auditor in a move
which will save £100,000 a year,
The
Independent reports. The Financial Services Authority will switch auditor from mid-tier firm Grant
Thornton (GT) to the National Audit Office (NAO), the government auditor. The NAO does not charge for the audit of government departments. Grant
Thornton will finish its present audit before handing over to the NAO. A GT spokesman said "We will complete our last audit: we're not being fired.
This is no reflection on the work we've done." Read the full story:
FSA
switches auditors
Tangent Comms angles for new FD
Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age, Monday 8 February 2010 at 09:59:00
Graeme Harris to step down as FD of Tangent
Graeme Harris is stepping down as FD of
Tangent
Comms, with Kevin Cameron promoted to group financial controller
and company secretary. Harris joined the marketing business in 2005. "I would like to thank him for his hard work and support and on behalf of the
Board and all his colleagues; I would like to wish Graeme every success," said
joint CEO Nicholas Green. The board will appoint an executive FD in the near future. Cameron had served as finance director of Tangent acquisition Ravensworth
Digital Services. Further reading:
Bradford & Bingley accounting in the cloud
Rachael Singh, Accountancy Age, Monday 8 February 2010 at 10:02:00
Troubled mortgage lenders try to save money through online accountancy functions
Mortgage brokers Bradford & Bingley has moved to CODA Financials, the
online accountancy software, in a bid to save the company money. A statement by the company said it had "decided to move to a move cost
effective operating platform for its accounting systems" while still maintaining
"service standards". B&B sold its retail network to Spanish bank Santander last year and its
mortgage division and head-office was taken into public ownership by the
Government in 2008. Tyrone Griffiths, project manager for Bradford & Bingley, said: "These
are challenging times for the financial services industry and we needed a
best-in-class financial management solution that had a proven track record in
our sector, on our chosen platform and was quick and easy to implement." "Cost effectiveness was a key driver in our selection as we wanted to move
our accounting applications from our previous mainframe environment onto a much
more cost effective platform that could seamlessly integrate with our other
line-of-business applications," he added. Further reading:
