November 2006

Resolving the tax avoidance issue?

November 28, 2006 Tax and Ethics

Tax avoidance has never been made on the basis of social responsibility, another ill-defined term but on an interpretation of the law founded on the notion that people are entitled organise their affairs to pay the least tax necessary while still complying with the law…. In the interim, Richard Murphy is proposing an argument that, while admirable doesn’t stand up as a practical alternative under the current circumstances: By encouraging avoidance accountants expose their clients to the risk that they will evade tax…. There is no way on earth that a professional accountant can ‘know’ what Richard is seeking to establish and it is, therefore, impossible for a professional to make a determination on the basis he seeks…. But a position that recognises the day to day realities is where one needs to start in formulating a position where avoidance is taken out the picture in a way that’s uniformly acceptable.

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Journal Entries

November 28, 2006 General

Neil’s one of my regular Canadian readers but it’s been a long time since I dipped into his blog…. Most folk when they’ve passed their finals just want to forget study forever…. And they’re refreshingly honest in adjusting to their new found position: I can’t say as I felt more competent than last week, although inside I felt more confident…… I didn’t want to count my chicks before they’d hatched, but now that they’re out there, I need my trusty calculator!

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Revealing tax research from KPMG

November 28, 2006 General

Subtly spinning self-prepared statistics into a title: Regulatory Demands Are Changing the Role of Corporate Tax Departments – to suit a different purpose. The reported facts in which I’m interested in – paraphrased: Tax department priorities changed from tax planning and effective tax rate/tax deferral to compliance and timely financial reporting Difficulties in defining ‘tax risk’ Time pressures are impinging on the ability to devote time to tax planning KPMG’s spin on this: One major inference from the data is that tax executives in 2006, finding themselves burdened by the demands of a highly compliance-oriented environment are not spending sufficient time on tax activities that they believe are most desired by their leadership and are of the most value to their organizations…. So now this becomes a politicking document for less compliance in favour of more tax planning…. Change the climate, you change the agenda.

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Moving on

November 28, 2006 General

See what Rod says about learning inside organisations of that size: The pace of learning within a firm like EY does, however, start to slow slightly as you head into your 4th year with the firm. In my experience, it is generally at the 3 year point when people make a decision between pursuing a long term career in advisory / consulting work, or deciding to leverage their experience into a new career path…. And this is what Rod says about the firm’s position with him as a blogger: To EY’s credit, I have been free to pursue my interest in these technologies and to write my blog as an outside hobby…. Don’t you agree there is something truly admirable that a senior manager from a company like EY who makes a lot of fee income for the firm should be prepared to share his experiences in such a positive way?

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Trusting Microsoft in 2007

November 28, 2006 Innovation

So it was really useful to read Hamish Newlands on Zune – Microsoft’s answer to the iPod :) : …the moron responsible for lauching this piece of crap has a large article about how he is the future of Microsoft, which has to be the career kiss of death…. It makes an excellent juxtaposition to the way BusinessWeek described the ‘moron’ in question: Edgy thinkers [at Microsoft] like J Allard Stop there…. And whatever’s happened to Ray Ozzie, the man charged with all the on-demand, SaaS and other Microsoft business goodies?… ‘The numbers don’t lie’ said one of their PR wonks to me the other day.

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Electronic document delivery lessons

November 28, 2006 General

One of the great benefits of the UK’s idiosynchratic tax system is that we get to see the cock ups made in the US before we get to embark on our own version of client hell…. Rick Telberg’s most recent survey on issues among US practitioners reads very similar to many issues that appeared earlier in the year on AccountingWeb. Remember the IRIS payroll debacle?… Here and there I can detect all sorts of potentially interesting areas where technology and a culture refit would make a massive difference.

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Chocolate, sports, sunglasses and SaaS

November 28, 2006 Cloud Computing/SaaS

This from the Sunday Time Online, describing the experiences of three startups in the UK: Demarquette sacked his first design team after three weeks because they did not understand what he wanted, and he sacked his first accountant because he did not know how to do accounts online…. Then there is mention of Sportsbase.co.uk where the owner says: I have got a great PR firm with me and a great advertising team so it is all moving forward Yeah – and he’s out of cash as well…. She now plans to launch a national publicity campaign backed by opticians to get children to wear good quality eyewear and will be exhibiting her glasses at the optical fair in Birmingham in April I have two words here: MySpace…. They need lessons in getting the biggest bang per buck for the efforts they ARE putting in. No wonder Stefan is so adamant about wanting to position Winweb as an antidote to the business mortality rate.

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Freedom of Information petition

November 27, 2006 Tax and Ethics

Alex Hawkes reports on plans to restrict the Freedom of Information Act: It can reject claims if they are too expensive to answer, and it proposes to include ‘reading time’ in that figure…. The wording is: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Reject the restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act proposed by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. In the details, petition creator and journalist Tom Griffin argues: The proposed changes will restrict the number of requests individuals and organisations can make, and allow Government Department to include ‘reading time’ in fees calculations, greatly increasing the scope for obstruction of legitimate requests…. Indeed, the cost of the Freedom of Information Act is less than was originally projected by the Government, and the transparency provided by the Act can only benefit efficient government.

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UK online business failing consumers

November 27, 2006 Cloud Computing/SaaS

Lee Feldman, the company’s Chief Creative Officer said: We are entering an age where the customers have huge choice and the ability to rapidly compare not only the cost of goods through price comparison sites but increasingly their experiences through online communities and social media sites…. Anywhere in the buying/delivery/return process that you serve your customer better than your competition can set you apart and provides you with the ultimate marketing tool – satisfied customers If you think that’s marketing hype then check out their clients…. Design integration into the design so you can extend the website to include customer interactions, service delivery, benchmarking, practice management and practice development…. That’s different to today’s prevalent thinking where the client comes to you so you can impart some great pearl of wisdom.

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Trust and honour matter

November 27, 2006 Tax and Ethics

Research by Unisys says: The drivers of corporate trust are atypical from the more traditional, measurable factors that influence Wall Street and commercial success. Despite an increased sensitivity to corporate ethics and compliance among corporations today, customer satisfaction, leadership, prudent fiscal management, and customer respect are ranked much higher by business leaders surveyed as the most influential builders and stewards of trust…. Everyone competes on features, but very few people are working on heart and soul. Those that believe in a higher purpose are actually kicking some ass (by helping their users kick ass, as Kathy would say) OK – so she’s referencing technology startups…. While holding the corporate mirror to our face may be attractive: I wish the laird, the gift he gi’ us To see oorsel’s as ithers see us From Robert Burns – I don’t know the poem from which it comes but my Glaswegian mother quoted it to me regularly.

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