Not all accountants are the same. ICAEW chief executive Eric Anstee told us recently that English & Welsh chartered accountants arrive at a decision through a process involving judgement; the typical CIMA accountant will make a decision only after analysing a problem to death. As for CIPFA members, their chief exec Steve Freer tells us that the public sector accountants are particularly well versed in analysing options to be presented to politicians, who make the final decision.
It's tempting for us to say that the best thing about the Office of Fair Trading's recent report on the competition implications of a cap on auditor liability is their source of data: large tracts of their report draw on the annual Financial Director Audit Fees Survey. We're pleased to have been of service, but a little bemused by the results.
Our seventh audit fees survey reveals a quite striking collapse in FTSE-100 non-audit fee income paid to the Big Four audit firms. Partly that reflects the structural changes that have taken place in the profession, most notably the sale of PwC Consulting to IBM (a move that also spared us all from the notoriously ill-conceived but short-lived brand name, 'Monday').
There are a couple of remarkable things about the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US. The first is just how quickly it has been enacted. The bill was introduced into Congress at the beginning of July, and was ratified by President Bush by the end of the month.
Oscar Wilde once took a sideswipe at Charles Dickens when he said, "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." In similar vein, we know there has been a certain amount of chortling at the demise of Andersen. It is certainly a firm with a reputation for being hard-charging, to the extent that it acquired the nick-name "Androids". The damage caused by a handful of idiots - who, by shredding trunk-loads of documents, propelled their stupidity onto the front pages of the business press world-wide - has, so far, prompted little sympathy.
An experienced Credit Controller is required for a hands-on role based in Leominster. The successful candidate will have excellent experience in this area of accounts, along with good experience with complex reconciliation work. This is ... more >
Overseeing the ledger function while taking responsibility for the accounts to trial balance. Duties to include supervision of purchase ledger, foreign payments, sales ledger, cashflow, general ledger, VAT, Intrastat and reporting. You will need excellent ... more >
Due to expansion, an experienced Management Accounts Assistant with costing experience is required for a progressive role based in Redditch. Sage Line 50 is preferred but not essential, as full training will be given. The ... more >
An experienced Payroll/Accounts Assistant is required for a busy and varied role based in Lye, near Stourbridge. The successful candidate will have excellent organisational skills, whilst being extremely accurate and methodical, as high levels of ... more >
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