How a D.C. Home Energy Audit Can Increase Efficiency and Save Money

To Lower Bills, a Home Efficiency Exam Is Just What the Doctor Ordered

The day of my energy audit dawned cold and windy, the perfect weather to expose the flaws in my drafty 1937 brick Colonial and its lovely but leaky original windows.

The doorbell rang, and there stood certified energy audit field technician Scott Atkinson, dressed in white with surgical booties over his shoes. He gave me a tote bag of brochures on saving energy as well as a guide to fishing regulations in the District. I had never received a goodie bag from the city. This was going to be exciting.

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Report Says 2 Global Programs To Curb Emissions Fall Short

The Government Accountability Office, in a report issued as negotiators convened the latest round of U.N. climate talks in Poland, has concluded that two key international programs aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions are not getting the job done.

The study, requested by Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.), ranking minority member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and two other House Republicans, highlights problems in the European Union's emissions trading system and in a U.N. program that allows industrialized countries to offset their domestic greenhouse gas emissions.

The GAO said that Europe's cap-and-trade system had created "a functioning market for carbon dioxide allowances, but its effects on emissions, the European economy, and technology investment are less certain."

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EU urges US climate commitment

The EU is calling on President Barack Obama to cap US carbon emissions and sign up to a global system of carbon trading between rich nations.

The European Commission said the US needed to join a carbon market if it was going to raise the huge sums needed for combating climate change.

Rich nations had to raise 175bn euros (£162bn; $321bn) by 2020 for clean technologies, the commission added.

More than half of that cash would go to developing countries, it stated.

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Road to Copenhagen: Can the EU Lead on Global Warming?

The European Union on Wednesday unveiled its far-reaching negotiating platform ahead of this year's effort to find a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. American global warming guru Al Gore, though, thinks that leadership has to come from the US.

Wednesday was a busy day for the global climate. On one side of the Atlantic Ocean, the European Union unveiled its vision for what the next global climate deal should look like -- a deal that is set to be hammered out in much anticipated talks in Copenhagen at the end of December.

On the other, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on climate change which could mark the first small step toward steering the US away from the head-in-the-sand policies pursued by the just-ended administration of George W. Bush. Al Gore, America's global warming Cassandra, was the hearing's star guest. And in his eagerness to urge the Senate to take action, Gore said that he didn't think the EU could play a leadership role when it comes to tackling the problem of climate change.

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Gore Pushes for Climate Change Commitment

It's Icy in Washington, but the Nobel Prize-Winner and Former Vice President Has the Dangers of Global Warming on His Mind

With the Washington, D.C. encased in ice from a winter storm, climate change crusader Al Gore argued for President Obama's economic stimulus plan, saying it will help fight global warming.

Despite the deep freeze outside Capitol Hill, the former vice president urged lawmakers to move quickly to make investments in renewable energy and clean cars to address the "dangerous and growing threat of the climate crisis."

The former vice president appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to promote Obama's economic recovery package. "The plan's unprecedented and critical investments in four key areas -- energy efficiency, renewables, a unified national energy smart grid, and the move to clean cars -- represent an important down payment and are long overdue," Gore argued.

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Ocean climate fix remains afloat

Plans to curb climate change by using plankton to draw carbon dioxide into the world's oceans have been boosted.

A spectacular natural algal bloom in the Southern Ocean helped to "lock" carbon away into deep sea sediments, according to a study in Nature journal.

But the amount of carbon stored was not nearly as high as some artificial "geo-engineering" schemes had predicted.

Plans to "seed" plankton blooms by adding iron to oceans are strongly opposed by many green groups.

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Leading through uncertainty

The range of possible futures confronting business is great. Companies that nurture flexibility, awareness, and resiliency are more likely to survive the crisis, and even to prosper.

The future of capitalism is here, and it’s not what any of us expected. With breathtaking speed, in the autumn of 2008 the credit markets ceased functioning normally, governments around the world began nationalizing financial systems and considering bailouts of other troubled industries, and major independent US investment banks disappeared or became bank holding companies. Meanwhile, currency values, as well as oil and other commodity prices, lurched wildly, while housing prices in Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere continued to slide.

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Fish | Deep-fried kittens

PETA's dangerous new campaign

PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS (PETA) claims 2m “members and supporters”, making it the world’s largest animal-rights organisation.

Much of its popularity likely derives from some important work it has done improving the welfare of farm and research animals around the world. But there is another side to animal-rights organisations. Many of them, PETA included, advocate that animals should not be regarded as property (no pets), and should not be used for food (even milk, honey and fish are out), clothing or research. Those who take such a hardline view are a distinct minority.

Even by PETA’s standards, its latest campaign against fish is particularly troubling. In the past PETA has drawn much mirth for its “fish empathy” campaigns, and at one point tried to have fish sticks banned. But its latest campaign, dubbed “Save the Sea Kittens”, is beyond satire. The sea kitten site aims to rebrand fish in the eyes of younger consumers. “It’s time for a serious image makeover,” an ad says. “And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?”

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How Much Blame Do Boards Deserve?

How culpable are boards of directors in the current economic crisis? —Hugo Beit, New York

Without a doubt and with perfect hindsight, some boards could have acted more boldly in trying to avert the current meltdown. But the real fallacy of corporate governance in this crisis is not what boards did and didn't do. It's what was expected of them.

Not that we're board apologists. Over the past three years our columns have taken boards to task several times. But in this case, we think boards have a right to defend themselves against the scolds who cry: "Where were they?"

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Basel II – capital rules holding back economic recovery

Over the weekend there have been reports that UK banks are finding it difficult to comply with the Basel II capital requirements and balance these with the pressure from the UK government and industry associations to hold lending to industry to pre-crisis levels.

On Saturday, the Daily Telegraph reported that the UK Treasury was considering recommending changes to the Basel II capital requirements following a request from the UK banks’. The banks point out that increased lending requires extra regulatory capital. Just before Christmas, Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC, on behalf of a group of major British banks, sent a letter to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, saying that Basel II requirements were preventing their ability to lend in the current climate. The Treasury is reported as accepting that something needs to be done, even if only temporarily, and that it agrees that the current situation is pro-cyclical, i.e. intensifying the down-turn, but has said that any change would need international agreement.

See full Press Release.

España se compromete a destinar mil millones de euros a la lucha contra el hambre

Los países participantes en la reunión de Madrid reafirman sus esfuerzos para reducir a la mitad el número de hambrientos en 2015

La Reunión de Alto Nivel Sobre Seguridad Alimentaria para Todos (RANSA) concluyó ayer en Madrid con el compromiso del presidente José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero de aportar mil millones de euros en el próximo quinquenio para combatir la hambruna en los países más vulnerables.

Esta cantidad se sumará a los 500 millones comprometidos por nuestro país en la cumbre de Roma celebrada en julio de 2008. Además, Zapatero prometió que la lucha contra la miseria y la promoción de la ayuda al desarrollo serán "ejes prioritarios" de la gestión de España cuando presida la Unión Europea (UE), durante el primer semestre de 2010.

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SEC Nominee Inclined to Go Slow on IFRS

SEC chair-designee Mary Schapiro says she might take IFRS implementation off the fast-track "road map" established by departing Chairman Christopher Cox.

During a confirmation hearing last Thursday before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Schapiro said in response to a question, "I will take a big deep breath and look at this entire area again carefully and will not necessarily feel bound by the existing road map that’s out for comment."

According to media reports, she expressed three concerns about moving from U.S. GAAP to international accounting standards: the cost burden for U.S. companies to make the switch, lack of detail within IFRS opening the door to inconsistent application, and the independence of the International Accounting Standards Board.

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China's Recyclers: Is a Rebound Ahead?

There are signs that China's scrap dealers, hit hard by the downturn, may be recovering as prices pick up and manufacturers cautiously restock recycled products

For years China has been the world's dumping ground. Mountains of discarded plastic bottles, cereal boxes, cars, and other castaway items are shipped there to be melted, ground, or mashed into materials used by Chinese makers of everything from toys to packaging to steel girders. Some scrap dealers, such as paper maker Nine Dragons Holdings, made billions from the business. But the party came to an abrupt halt last fall as scrap prices fell by as much as 70% in the face of plunging demand. A pound of crushed soda bottles fell from 29¢ a pound on the U.S. West Coast to less than a dime as cash-strapped dealers in China couldn't pay up. "Even if you gave them the material for free, they couldn't afford to pay the customs duty," says Kathy Xuan, president of Romeoville (Ill.) plastics recycler PARC.

But as Chinese celebrate the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, which started on Jan. 26, there are signs the Year of the Ox may be better for the trash business—and the overall economy. Aluminum alloy produced from scrap in China is now trading at $1,900 per ton. That's well off its August peak of $3,225, but higher than its November lows of $1,600. Waste paper has recovered to $100 per ton, after dropping from $230 to $90 last fall, while scrap plastic prices have clawed their way back to 14¢ per pound in the U.S.

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Companies need to plug skills gaps if they're to survive the recession urges KPMG

Sara Caplan, Associate Partner at KPMG who advises on skills and education comments on the Government’s long awaited assessment of the Leitch review published today.

KPMG believes that British companies need look at the current economic slide as an opportunity to support the right skills training if they are to survive the looming recession. KPMG says that in the last recession, the companies who grew most quickly and survived were the ones that continued to plug their skills gaps.

Sara commented:

“Britain has a long way to go to ensuring that we have an adequately qualified workforce for our future economic and business needs. Our continued investment in skills – now more than ever – is absolutely vital. I learnt in the last recession that it was the smart companies, those who had continued to plug their skills gaps, who survived the recession and grew more quickly”

See full Press Release.

A New Era of Regulation

At offices of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, some staffers are planning Inauguration parties. Their excitement is a harbinger of the sweeping changes in business regulation coming under President Barack Obama, for better or worse.

That an incoming Democratic Administration is calling for tighter controls on business isn't surprising. But this time the pendulum's shift isn't purely ideological. The past year alone has brought the financial meltdown, lead-laced toys, airplanes with dubious inspection records, vegetables contaminated with salmonella, and workers sickened by food flavorings—all of which buffeted businesses big and small. "There is clearly a recognition across the country that the deregulatory era has hurt America," says David Michaels, chairman of environmental health at George Washington University's School of Public Health.

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Clinton Names Climate Envoy

Citing the “complex, urgent and global threat of climate change,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today appointed a special envoy for climate change, who will lead the United States in international climate negotiations.

Todd Stern, a climate negotiator during Bill Clinton’s presidency and more recently a fellow at the Center for American Progress, will assume the role.

“We have no shortage of evidence that our world is facing a climate crisis,” said Ms. Clinton, who went on to attribute a large part of the problem to the burning of fossil fuels.

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Steps to strengthen implementation of supervisory standards and guidance taken by the Basel Committee

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today announced that it is broadening the mandate of its Accord Implementation Group (AIG) from the current focus on implementation of the Basel II framework. The AIG will be renamed the Standards Implementation Group (SIG) and will concentrate on implementation of Basel Committee guidance and standards more generally. The group will continue to be chaired by José María Roldán, Director General of Banking Regulation at the Bank of Spain.

Nout Wellink, Chairman of the Basel Committee and President of the Netherlands Bank, said that "the financial crisis has highlighted the importance of prudent, well-informed standards and supervisory guidance. The SIG will work to promote implementation of all Basel Committee standards in an internationally coordinated and consistent manner."

See full Press Release.

Cambio climático, "irreversible"

Muchos de los efectos dañinos que ha causado el cambio climático en el planeta son irreversibles.

Éste es el pesimista mensaje de un equipo internacional de científicos que afirma que aún si logramos de alguna forma reducir las emisiones de carbono las temperaturas en el mundo seguirán altas durante 1.000 años.

El informe fue llevado a cabo por el Laboratorio de Investigación del Sistema de la Tierra de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos (NOAA), que depende del Departamento de Energía.

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Obama Directs Regulators to Tighten Auto Standards

President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules imposing higher fuel-economy standards on cars and light trucks.

The directives make good on an Obama campaign pledge and signal a sharp reversal of Bush administration policy. Moving quickly on tailpipe emissions and on mileage rules are emphatic actions Mr. Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy.

Mr. Obama announced the actions in the East Room of the White House, saying that his orders were intended “to ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here in America.”

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China Wind Power: Markets and Strategies, 2008–2020

China is roaring ahead with wind power build-out on its way toward 135 GW of installed wind capacity by 2020 -- a $300 billion investment over the period. These enormous investment levels are intended to clean up China’s energy picture, and to support the development of a globally competitive wind turbine supply chain, from turbines to gearboxes and blades. The bottom line: China’s wind power explosion will have a transformational impact on the global industry. What are the opportunities to participate in China’s wind development? How can you navigate the complex regulatory and financial environment? Which of China’s wind turbine and component manufacturers have the strongest position and which are planning to export?

EER’s new study, China Wind Power Markets and Strategies, 2008–2020, provides critical competitive analysis for those seeking to compete in China’s wind market -- helping to navigate and evaluate opportunities – for those trying to understand the unfolding wind turbine supply industry and its implications for global competition.

See full Summary, in PDF format.

Toward a More Energy-Efficient Future

To the Editor:

Re “Energy Inefficient” (editorial, Jan. 19):

Yes, we must immediately improve efficiency in existing energy technologies even as we engineer new ones. But it’s important to clarify that engineering greater efficiency can’t merely rely on an Apollo-project approach or a fortunate burst of creative genius.

See full Letter.

Time to herald the Age of Responsibility

Historians have divided western history into epochs that represent the cultural, economic and political values of the time. Thus we have the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Age of Reason. How will the first half of the 21st century be defined? Will it be an Age of Reversal, as countries retreat into national solutions behind national borders, taking their memories of prosperity with them? Will it be an Age of Intolerance as immigrants and foreigners are blamed for rising unemployment? Or will it be simply The Decline, as stark as it is terse? It could and should be the Age of Responsibility, as President Barack Obama rightly identified. To make it so will require changed attitudes and co-operative policies in the US and around the world.

What might an Age of Responsibility look like? First, it would be an era of responsible globalisation, where inclusivity and sustainability take precedence over the enrichment of a few. That means a focus on creating growth that includes opportunities for the poor, technological development, microfinance and lending to small entrepreneurs, trade accords that benefit both sides and aid levels that are sufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The first steps are completion of the Doha trade round and a renewed commitment to providing the aid that has been promised.

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Shortlist for Severn energy plans

A proposed shortlist of schemes to harness renewable energy from the tides of the Severn estuary has been announced by the UK Government.

Five projects have been selected from 10 examined over the last six months.

Among these is a 10-mile barrage proposal from Lavernock Point, Vale of Glamorgan, to Somerset, which has come under fire from environmental groups.

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Catalyst Award Winners : Catalyst

Since 1987, Catalyst has recognized 74 initiatives at 69 organizations with the Catalyst Award. Those from 2000 to the present are accessible below. Initiatives from 1987 to 2007 are included in the Catalyst 20th Anniversary Awards Compendium. Significantly, initiatives have evolved from discreet programs to recruit, retain, and advance women to culture-changing efforts that recognize the business imperative for diversity and inclusion.

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Basel II – further proposed changes – but is there time?

Last Friday, the Basel Committee hit risk managers, capital modellers and compliance officers of all financial institutions with three more consultative documents.

1. Revisions to the Basel II market risk framework,
2. Guidelines for computing capital for incremental risk in the trading book, and
3. Proposed enhancements to the Basel II framework were released simultaneously.

Comments on the first two papers are due back on March 13th and on the supervision and disclosure proposals by April 17th.

The three documents are closely linked (some of the press statements look to have suffered from cut-and-paste reuse) and look closely at the use of value-at-risk (VaR). There are proposals for an incremental risk capital charge for unsecuritised credit products, a stressed additional VaR for major events to counter procyclical impacts, and to remove the preferential treatment for portfolios that are categorised as liquid and well-diversified. They also propose that the new charges will take migration risk into account as well as default risk.

See full Press Release.

External audit quality and banking supervision

In recent years, there has been a change in banking supervisors’ reliance on audited information and in the nature of the major external audit firms. The need for bank supervisors to be confident of audit quality has been reinforced by a variety of factors and events. These include concerns about the risk of audit failures, the global expansion of the major audit firms, and increased complexity of both accounting standards and financial instruments. In addition, the challenges associated with fair value estimation processes, which have been amplified by the current market crisis, have similarly underscored the importance of high quality audits. This paper describes the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s understanding of these circumstances and steps it intends to take regarding key findings.

The current market turmoil and demand for increased transparency suggests that reliable, clear financial information supported by quality audits are key elements in enhancing market confidence. Thus, continued involvement by the Committee to promote audit quality is warranted.

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Solar PV Development Strategies in the US 2008-2020

Through comprehensive analysis of PV market activity in the US, EER’s new study, Solar PV Development Strategies in the US, 2008–2020, provides critical strategic and tactical support for those seeking to compete in US PV markets: developers, IPPs, utilities, manufacturers, installers, and system integrators.

This 260-page study featuring 240 exhibits is comprised of the following six sections and an appendix:

-Executive Summary
-US Solar Power Market Environment
-US Solar PV Market Forecasts 2008-2020
-US Solar PV Development Opportunities
-US Solar PV Development Strategies
-Appendix

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MPs call for nationalised bank accounting review

Treasury committee calls for government to to be more open about liabilities resulting from the bank bail-out and review bank accounting rules

The government should reveal the full cost of its attempts to shore up Britain's financial system, the Commons Treasury Committee has demanded.

The MPs have called for much greater transparency in accounting for the government liabilities taken on by the nationalisation and part nationalisation of institutions ranging from Northern Rock through Bradford & Bingley to the new Lloyds Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and the proposal for the Bank of England to buy up assets.

Sub-committee chairman Michael Fallon said: 'In order for effective scrutiny to be performed by parliament and our committee, the magnitude and nature of these liabilities must be comprehensively disclosed.'

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La crisis pone a prueba el paradigma de la responsabilidad social corporativa

¿La responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) es una moda o un paradigma de gestión, un gasto o una inversión? ¿Debe la RSC contar con normas de obligado cumplimiento para acelerar su incorporación a la empresa o es aconsejable seguir con el modelo actual de voluntariedad, más lento pero fiable? Joaquín Garralda, profesor de Estrategia de IE Business School y director del Centro PwC-IE de Responsabilidad Corporativa (RC), es el autor del libro “Hacia la empresa razonable”. En esta obra, Garralda ofrece una perspectiva general de la RC, además de proponer un modelo de análisis para empresas. El autor ha compartido con Universia-Knowledge@Wharton algunas de las pistas a seguir para lograr que la RSC sea algo más que filantropía empresarial y se convierta en un pilar más de la estrategia corporativa de cualquier firma que busque maximizar su rentabilidad.

Universia-Knowledge@Wharton: En torno a la RC se articulan varios debates, entre los que destaca el planteamiento de si ser corporativamente responsable es una moda o un principio en la gestión de las empresas. ¿Cuáles son los fundamentos de ambas posturas? ¿Cuál es su opinión al respecto?

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George Monbiot: It will take more than goodwill and greenwash to save the biosphere

Shell may boast about tackling climate change, but companies tend always to sacrifice good intentions for hard cash

For a while it seemed that Shell had stopped pretending. The advertisements that filled the newspapers in 2006, featuring technicians with perfect teeth and open-necked shirts explaining how they were saving the world, vanished. After being slated by environmentalists for greenwash, after two adverse rulings by the Advertising Standards Authority, Shell appeared to have accepted the inescapable truth that it was an oil company with a minor sideline in alternative energy, and that there was no point in trying to persuade people otherwise.

The interview I conducted with its chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer, broadcast on the Guardian's website today, contains what appears to be an interesting admission. I asked him whether Shell had stopped producing ads extolling its investments in renewable energy. Van der Veer does not express himself clearly at this point, but he seems to admit that his company's previous advertising was not honest.

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Economic Downturn Begets Fraud

When the economy takes a downturn, fraud increases, according to an online poll conducted by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services (FAS).

When the economy takes a downturn, fraud increases, according to an online poll conducted by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services (FAS).

Nearly two-thirds (63.3 percent) of executives polled during a recent webcast expect accounting fraud to increase during the next two years.

“While fraud is committed during strong economic conditions, it is clearly exacerbated in declining markets,” said Kerry L. Francis, U.S. chairman of the board for Deloitte FAS. “Smaller paychecks, reductions in employee headcount and internal controls, as well as diminished morale, are just a few factors that can open the door to fraud in a down market.”

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UN debates global food cost rise

Just because the issue of food prices has not been in the headlines recently it has not gone away.

Although prices have fallen from the highs recorded during the unprecedented spike at the beginning of 2008, they have not fallen back to where they had been before the crisis began.

And many of the factors that contributed to the rise then are still driving prices up.

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Global Carbon Sequestration Markets and Strategies, 2009-2030

# Driven by industry and government urgency to preserve coal as part of the global power generation mix, carbon sequestration is poised for significant growth over the next two decades. Globally EER estimates that more than US $17 billion in funding has been earmarked to commercialize CCS. EER’s new study on Carbon Sequestration, to be released in January, analyzes the role of carbon policies in driving sequestration development, evaluates the strategies of oil and gas players, power companies and entrepreneurial upstarts, and measures the sequestration industry’s long-term growth outlook. Click on the following link for the study's Table of Contents and Order Information: Global Carbon Sequestration Markets and Strategies, 2009-2030 Key questions addressed in the study: How is the financial crisis impacting carbon policy and CCS policy development?

# Which oil and gas companies view sequestration as a long term growth opportunity and how are they positioning to capitalize?
# How quickly could sequestration scale? What factors are driving growth?
# How are sequestration regulations evolving in Australia, Canada, Europe and the US?
# What are the economics of carbon sequestration?
# What key project hurdles are sequestration developers facing?

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Downturn may trigger accountancy takeover flurry

Accountancy sector could see some consolidation of small and mid-sized firms with RSM Bentley Jennison likely to be a top buyer

The merger and acquisition market may have stalled amid the economic downturn, but the accountancy sector could experience some consolidation of small and mid-sized firms.

RSM Bentley Jennison, the acquisitive top 20 firm, will likely be among the buyers this year.

In 2004 the firm undertook a merger with Moore Stephens in Birmingham, and acquired BMF group in Milton Keynes, and WBS in Leeds and Harrogate in the same year. Last year it took on the remnants of collapsed firm Wenham Major.

Tony Stockdale, the firm’s national managing partner told Accountancy Age that the firm is currently involved in a number of deals, but he declined to give more details.

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Dr. Lin Jiabin on sustainability in China

Dr. Lin Jiabin, the deputy director of the department of social development research at the state council, on China's environmental policies and current Chinese efforts to address global warming.

When did you start addressing the issue of global warming, and how are you tackling it in China?

DR. LIN: We have made positive efforts to tackle it for about four or five years after the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held. At that time, the pressure on China increased in the midst of rising international concern over the issue. Two years ago, the Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Leading Group and the Global Warming Countermeasures Leading Group were organized in the central government to comprehensively confront global warming, with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao as the head and representatives of each ministry and agency as members.

See full Interview.

Thain hits back at bonus criticism

Given the significant price that John Thain secured for Merrill Lynch shareholders, in this environment and in the context of Merrill´s situation, he should be very well rewarded.

The problem is that his good work was enjoyed by Merrill shareholders, the sellers.

Bank of America shareholders were less well served by their representatives, the management.

John Thain´s deserved bonus should be paid by those he served and benefitted, former Merrill shareholders.

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See article:
John Thain struck back at his critics Monday, defending himself against charges that in his last days as chief executive of Merrill Lynch he paid out secret bonuses.

He also said he would reimburse the $1.2m that he spent a year ago to redecorate his New York office, explaining in a memo to Merrill employees that the expenditures were made “in a very different environment” and “they were a mistake in the light of the world we live in today”. The money, he said, had been spent on “the renovation of my office, two conference rooms and a reception area”.

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Taxman's new international arm to crackdown on evasion

Recently created Business International division includes corporate and tax treaty teams ready to look at multinational tax evasion

HM Revenue and Customs has restructured its international operations, in a move seen as part of a crackdown on multinational tax evasion.

A new division ­ Business International ­ was set up earlier this month and is responsible for global tax. It includes corporate and tax treaty teams that previously worked in separate units.

Judith Knott has been named director of the division. Knott was previously deputy director of HMRC’s Business Customer Unit and has also led the corporate tax team for HM Treasury.

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'One million jobs in wind power' by 2010

One million people will be employed in the world wind-power industry by the end of the decade, despite the impact of the financial crisis, it was forecast today.

Amid predictions that the world would need to install one new turbine every 25 minutes to reach global renewables targets, energy experts at a green summit in Abu Dhabi said the sector had maintained a near 30% annual growth rate in 2008 and was heading for further success.

"It has been another record year for the industry. People say these growth rates can't go on forever, but they keep on going on," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council. There had been "dramatic" increases in the US and China, with the former overtaking Germany as the country with the most installed capacity, he told the World Future Energy Summit.

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Outsourcing: time to return to the source?

Firms should not become over-reliant on outsourcing

As a fellow accounting professional and promoter of outsourcing, I support the view that all firms need to be true business advisers. Outsourcing supports this. But it is in no way a service that replaces the firm. We do not recommend that clients outsource all their compliance work ­ some should be retained in house due to its nature and also provide the ‘fodder’ for trainees to understand the basics.

Outsourcing allows efficient delivery of basic compliance processing and is a far from simple economic decision. Rather it is a service that supports the longer term structural need of firms through enabling local staff to continue in a client-facing capacity and remain focused on value added services.

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View from the board: end of the line

No matter how bullish I am about the recruitment market for finance chiefs (and for the record, I am still confident that it will be a better market than in most other functions) some people will find themselves on the wrong end of a conversation about redundancy or their business will go into administration

Now ignoring the frustration, the loss of pride, the financial and personal issues – how much of an impact is this going to have on you professionally? Well, the answer is, hopefully, very little.

The redundancy process will be painful and it is likely it will create a fear that it marks you out as a worse candidate. It is essential to remember that the rest of the market – and most importantly your future employers – will not take that view. Pre-2000 I would have had a different attitude but one of the few good things that came out of the collapse of the dotcom bubble was a radical reappraisal of the impact of redundancy on your CV.

Prior to that period, having a gap on your CV was frowned upon. It raised questions and no CV should ever raise questions!

See full Article.

ICAEW gets tough on training

Institute members fined for not keeping up with their CPD obligations

The ICAEW has fined members for the first time for failing to meet the requirements for continuing professional development.

Under CPD rules, made compulsory by the institute in 2004, members have to provide evidence that their accounting skills have kept pace with their clients’ needs.

Rajbir Singh Sohal of Coventry and Martin Lewis Dawe of Isleworth were reprimanded and fined for not meeting CPD requirements between 2005 and 2006. Sohal was fined £1,000 and paid costs of £1,348. Dawe was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,198. Dawe was also stripped of membership after failing to pay.

See full Article.

The CIO: friend or foe?

The IT department's notorious inability to see the business angle could soon be history

It is fair to say that the relationship between many finance directors and chief information officers (CIOs) has long been characterised by mutual suspicion, misunderstanding and even hostility. In fact, it has long been argued in some quarters that there should be an open season when FDs can hunt CIOs down and put a stop to all their techno-tomfoolery.

The justification for this harsh stance towards acronym-spouting, binary watch-toting technology professionals is, of course, cold, hard cash.

Return on investment for the wheelbarrow-loads of money that goes into IT has often been creatively referred to as a bit of a grey area. Spending on roll-outs of some ‘must-have’ technology has, for many companies, been accompanied by little or no quantifiable business benefits.

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Firms keep staff in dark over economic planning

Some 84% of firms say they have not consulted staff when putting together a strategy to deal with the economic crisis

Four in five accounting firms have devised strategies to deal with the economic downturn but have failed to consult staff about their plans, according to a survey.

Of 200 firms surveyed by Kato Consultancy, 84% said that they had not consulted staff when putting together a strategy to deal with the economic crisis.

Yet the firms still expected their partners and staff to work more effectively to help them weather the downturn.

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Scientists solve enigma of Antarctic 'cooling'

Research 'kills off' climate sceptic argument by showing average temperature across the continent has risen over the last 50 years

Scientists have solved the enigma of the Antarctic apparently getting cooler, while the rest of the world heats up.

New research shows that while some parts of the frozen continent have been getting slightly colder over the last few decades, the average temperature across the continent has been rising for at least the last 50 years.

In the remote and inaccessible West Antarctic region the new research, based on ground measurements and satellite data, show that the region has warmed rapidly, by 0.17C each decade since 1957. "We had no idea what was happening there," said Professor Eric Steig, at the University of Washington, Seattle, and who led the research published in Nature.

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Five years in FRC hotseat enough for Boyle

Institute members fined for not keeping up with their CPD obligations

The ICAEW has fined members for the first time for failing to meet the requirements for continuing professional development.

Under CPD rules, made compulsory by the institute in 2004, members have to provide evidence that their accounting skills have kept pace with their clients’ needs.

Rajbir Singh Sohal of Coventry and Martin Lewis Dawe of Isleworth were reprimanded and fined for not meeting CPD requirements between 2005 and 2006. Sohal was fined £1,000 and paid costs of £1,348. Dawe was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,198. Dawe was also stripped of membership after failing to pay.

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PwC buys sustainability business

Deal part of drive by firm to bolster climate change credentials

PricewaterhouseCoopers has moved to expand its fast-growing environmental consultancy unit by buying advisory firm Sustainable Finance Limited.

The Big Four firm said its latest acquisition will help it identify and mitigate environmental and social risks within clients’ businesses. The firm’s sustainability and climate change services in the UK have trebled in size in the past 18 months.

SFL was established in 2003. Shortly after, it helped to develop the Equator Principles, the international industry standard for managing environmental and social risks in project finance.

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Audit standard watchdog issues 'going concern' guidance

International audit standard setter publishes advice on how auditors can deal with with going concern assessments

Growing anxiety over the use of ‘going concern’ statements has prompted international audit experts to issue new advice in response to the ‘unexpected severity, speed and consequences’ of the credit crisis.

The US-based International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has issued guidance on how auditors should assess whether clients are going concerns.

The IAASB said guidance is needed because the crisis means credit and liquidity have made going concern a much more complex issue.

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Sarbanes-Oxley extends Section 404 survey deadline

Seeks feedback on new audit review rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Economic Analysis has extended the deadline to January 31 for public companies to participate in a survey on the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002.

The SEC is keen to find out how UK companies fared in complying with Section 404. It is particularly concerned about smaller companies which are required under 404(b) to have an independent audit of their internal controls over financial reporting.

The SEC says the cost-benefit study will help it to assess if the additional measures required of companies as part of 404 have helped reduce compliance costs.

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Crash 'n bounce: who'll pick up the FRC ball?

With regulators the world over readying themselves for the interventionist bounce that inevitably follows a market crash, 2009 was already shaping up to be a key year for the FRC, even before the announcement on January 12 of the resignation of chief executive Paul Boyle

The appointment of Boyle’s successor will have a bearing on everything from FRC funding to the future of fair value. More significantly, it may well alter the Council’s strategy of injecting competition into the high-end audit market.

The thinking of the man or woman who takes over is likely to be the single most important factor in determining whether the likes of Grant Thornton, BDO Stoy Hayward and Mazars offer a serious challenge to the Big Four.

With Sir Christopher Hogg also due to stand down this year, the new chief executive will only wield more influence in this debate.

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Sustainable strategies

Peter Robertshaw on why developing a green strategy is vital to your business

There has been vigorous debate about whether green topics will slip off the corporate agenda in these troubled economic times ­ much of it stirred up by Prince Charles’ ‘Accounting for sustainability’ initiative. My background is in the risk management world where savvy risk managers classify environmental concerns as an emerging risk for most organisations. Green issues lead to potential risks and rewards which need to be evaluated so that appropriate strategies can be developed.

Depending on the industry, such issues may already be firmly on the board’s agenda ­ ask BAA and the energy companies. But in today’s ‘inter-networked’ supply chain the majority of businesses are susceptible to reputational risk and brand damage in relation to the green performance of remote global supply chains.

A board must work out the position it wishes to adopt and develop plans accordingly. I have seen organisations falling into four broad categories.

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Fraud on the increase, BDO survey reveals

BDO Stoy Hayward report reveals that company fraud is increasing by 14% year-on-year

Publicly reported fraud cost UK companies £1.19bn last year, a 14% increase year-on-year, according to analysis by BDO Stoy Hayward.

Nearly two-thirds of affected companies were in the banking and insurance sectors, the annual FraudTrack survey found.

Experts believe that corporate fraud will rise in coming months as the economy worsens, following a pattern seen in previous slumps.

‘Our own experience is that FraudTrack only shows the tip of the fraud iceberg. This is just the beginning,’ said Simon Bevan, author of the report and national head of BDO Stoy Hayward’s Fraud Services team.

‘We will see more and more fraud being uncovered in the next two years and some of these will be stunning in their size, such as the recent Satyam case in India.’

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