16 April 2012 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

Attended a very interesting conference a couple of weeks ago, hosted by Tomorrow’s Company’s Good Governance Forum, of which CIMA is a member.  The theme was Boardrooms and strategic risk – how to avoid ruin and build long-term value.

01 February 2012 by Gillian Lees (3 comments)

Just a reminder that if you haven't had a look yet, check out the new CGMA site at www.cgma.org as there is lots to discover.  My colleagues and I have been spending the last few months, beavering away to bring CGMAs some exciting new thought leadership reports and tools.

15 December 2011 by Gillian Lees (5 comments)

I’ll admit to being somewhat taken aback the other day when somebody said to me, ‘Risk management?  Oh, small businesses aren’t into that’.  It’s one of those comments where you think of a suitable retort hours later.  But rather than pointing out that the likes of window cleaners probably have insurance to cover them for falling off their ladders, thereby managing their risks perfectly competently – I decided to consider what could lie behind such a sweeping statement. 

23 October 2011 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

The CIMA World Conference is now about to start and I am pleased to say that it will see the official launch of a report that I have blogged about a few times already this year.  It's on the theme of long-term business sustainability.

12 October 2011 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

Still thinking about time – as you might remember I have been mulling over what the term ‘long-term’ actually means.  Pretty important for an organisation like CIMA which sets great store by the creation of long-term sustainable success  and also when you consider the core theme of the CIMA World Conference in South Africa towards the end of this month (Business in tomorrow

20 September 2011 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

I am pleased to share with you some new guidance from the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) - Risk appetite and Risk tolerance.  This is one of those topics where it’s easy enough to understand the rationale for knowing what risks you are prepared to take in pursuit of strategic objectives, but putting the idea into practice is another matter altogether.

20 July 2011 by Gillian Lees (3 comments)

Despite the problems at News International, we Brits love our newspapers especially now that some of them are free of charge.  One such is the London Evening Standard which is handed out to commuters on their way home – me included. 

18 July 2011 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

Now it’s normally my esteemed colleague, Nick Topazio who talks about company reporting, but I’ve managed to stick my oar in of late on account of getting involved in governance reporting.

22 June 2011 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

The golf fanatics amongst you will know that Celtic Manor in Wales, UK was the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2010.  Well, on 5-6 July, it will play host to another golf competition - although I suspect that the standard might not be quite so high.

But before we are allowed on to the golf course, over 150 CFOs and FDs from across Europe will be getting together to network and discuss current challenges facing finance leaders at the CFO Event.

19 May 2011 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

The British Museum is an amazing place - well worth a visit if you are ever in London.  Describing itself as a museum of the world for the world, it has a bold global agenda to help us all understand the past and shape our future.  So it made a perfect location for the CIMA bi-annual Howitt lecture 'Global governance - time for a behavioural revolution' which was delivered this year by CIMA's Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the London School of Economics, Wim Van der Stede.

23 March 2011 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

Over the last year, I've been representing CIMA on Tomorrow's Good Governance Forum.  This was formed in March 2010 by Tomorrow's Company in response to questions raised about the effectiveness of corporate governance.  The Forum brings together a number of key companies such as Marks and Spencer, HSBC, organisations and individuals to explore what good governance means and to make practical recommendations to company boards and policy makers.

01 March 2011 by Gillian Lees (8 comments)

I've been thinking a lot about the subject of time recently.  It all started with the UK Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable who launched a review into economic short-termism in autumn last year.  A long-term focus for corporate Britain called for evidence about market short-termism and as I write, the UK Business Department is  ploughing through all the responses with a view to coming up with some firm proposals to address what it feels is a serious weakness of

21 December 2010 by Gillian Lees (6 comments)

Last Wednesday, CIMA's CEO, Charles Tilley and I found ourselves at St James's Palace State Apartments to hear HRH The Prince of Wales and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne speak about the role of business and government in preventing ‘the greatest accounting failure the world has ever seen’. We were joined by 200 representatives from the international accounting and business communities, investors, government, academia and civil society.

06 December 2010 by Gillian Lees (3 comments)

It's been fascinating to hear the views of a couple of captains of industry over recent weeks especially as they relate to the importance of good reporting and the role of the chief financial officer in supporting governance.

18 October 2010 by Gillian Lees (2 comments)

Last week, I found myself on the No5 bus to 'Nations' in the thick of the Tuesday morning Geneva commute.  I was attending a conference on the role of the accountancy profession organised by UNCTAD and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

27 September 2010 by Gillian Lees (8 comments)

Interesting times at HSBC on the governance front with the proposed elevation of the current Finance Director and Fellow of CIMA, Douglas Flint to the job of Chairman.  The importance of the role in shaping the future direction of the banking industry cannot be underestimated and it is a testament to Mr Flint's personal standing combined with his knowledge and experience of the industry that the Board of HSBC unanimously considered him the best person for the job.  I'm sure that all CIMA members, students and staff would want to join me in wishing him well. 

25 August 2010 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

Here's a good opportunity to make a name for yourself and win a trip to Vienna.  The Peter Drucker Society of Europe has launched the first 'Global Peter Drucker Challenge', an international essay competition for students, young managers and entrepreneurs.  As you'll have guessed, the prize is named after the legendary management guru who is regarded as the grandfather of management!

02 August 2010 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

I’ve just been taking a look at an interesting new research report that CIMA has just published.  Reporting and managing risk – a look at current practice in the private and public sectors summarises four case studies at four major organisations: Tesco, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Birmingham City Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).  It packs a lot in under ten pages!

07 July 2010 by Gillian Lees (5 comments)

I've just attended the inaugural lecture in a series hosted jointly by CIMA and Tomorrow's Company, the agenda setting 'think and do' tank.  The Tomorrow's Value lecture series invites some of the most senior figures from the global business world to explore what we mean by value in the wake of the financial crisis that has led many to question the fundamental basis on which the market economy operates.

22 June 2010 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

Another exciting new development on the sustainability front.  In a previous post, I mentioned the Prince of Wales' Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and its mission to to develop the new approaches to accounting and reporting that are needed to ease the transition towards a sustainable economy.

25 May 2010 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

Another milestone will be passed this week on the epic journey of corporate governance when the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issues its revised corporate governance code for UK listed companies.  This follows a year-long review and reflects governance thinking in the light of the global financial crisis.  For another example of a post-crisis code, take a look at the King III report from South Africa which I looked at in a previous post.

20 April 2010 by Gillian Lees (8 comments) I've heard a number of folks asking whether many organisations had listed volcanic eruptions on their risk registers.  Well, it's a fair bet that most hadn't.  Even airlines, which I'm guessing would be well aware of the risks of volcanic ash to their jet engines, would have been doing well to identify a risk event along the lines of 'unpredictable Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, erupts and leads to the complete closure of airspace for at least six days and very possibly more'.

24 March 2010 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

Here's a bit of exciting news related to some of our recent work on sustainability.

 

08 March 2010 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

If you need to understand fraud risk better, you might be interested in a new book A Short Guide to Fraud Risk.  CIMA has been involved in the writing of this book in that my former colleague and fraud risk management specialist, Helenne Doody, edited it and there is also a foreword from CIMA's Chief Executive, Charles Tilley.

23 February 2010 by Gillian Lees (8 comments)

You might be aware that the Prince of Wales takes a keen interest in environmental issues.  What you might not know though is that, back in 2004, he established the Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) to develop the new approaches to accounting and reporting that are needed to ease the transition towards a sustainable economy.

19 January 2010 by Gillian Lees (7 comments)

After a few drafts and re-drafts, I am happy to say that the report that I have been working on has just been launched.  Enterprise governance - restoring boardroom leadership looks at what boards need to do to be more effective - and how management can support them in that task.

18 January 2010 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

Now for a boast...

15 December 2009 by Gillian Lees (10 comments)

The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has now issued its consultation paper on revisions to the UK Combined Code on corporate governance.  And the first point to note is that the 'Combined Code' name is to be dropped to be replaced by the more sensible 'UK Corporate Governance Code'.

08 December 2009 by Gillian Lees (4 comments)

In a week that has seen the start of the Copenhagen Summit (COP15), CIMA has published Accounting for climate change.  This looks at how management accountants can help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

25 November 2009 by Gillian Lees (2 comments)

I am looking forward to meeting lots of CIMA members in Sri Lanka on Thursday 3 December at the Technical Symposium which is taking place at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo.

17 November 2009 by Gillian Lees (2 comments)

Next week will see the publication of the final report of the Walker Review of corporate governance in the banking industry in the UK in the light of the financial crisis - the global nature of both the industry and the crisis it managed to create is such that the conclusions will be studied closely across the world.

29 October 2009 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

I've just been reading an interesting White Paper published by Harvard Business School - Perspectives from the Boardroom 2009.  I'll admit to having been a bit discouraged by the 20 pages of closely typewritten text - good insomnia cure at first sight, I thought.  But don't let that put you off.

27 October 2009 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

An article from today's Times just caught my eye - Business looks to the numbers man for a leader it can count on in times of trouble - and it's good news for you CIMA folks out there.

13 October 2009 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

If you want a good understanding of what corporate governance is about, you could do a lot worse than read the excellent King III report which has been published recently by the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa.

09 September 2009 by Gillian Lees (2 comments)

CIMA hosted a very interesting round table today on board effectiveness.  Chaired by the CIMA Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the LSE, Wim A Van der Stede and led by Jonathan Hayward, Director of Independent Audit, there was a mixture of executive and non-executive directors with one company secretary, all from FTSE350 companies.

29 July 2009 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

One of the key messages that comes up time and time again in relation to the economic and financial crisis is that there was a major failure in the governance of risk, especially in the banking sector.

So it is no surprise therefore that the UK Walker Review (see www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/walker_review_information.htm) into the governance of banks devotes a whole chapter to the topic.

30 June 2009 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

It's always the same.  Major corporate problems raise questions like 'where was the board?' or 'why didn't the shareholders complain more about what was going on?'  And then there is a great flurry of governance activity designed to improve the effectiveness of non-executive directors (NEDs) and encourage shareholders to take a more active interest in the companies that they 'own'.  This is certainly what we are seeing at the moment with the Walker Review of corporate governance in financial institutions and the Financial Reporting Council's review of the UK Combined Code.

18 June 2009 by Gillian Lees (0 comments)

I have just had an interesting day chairing the CIMA Charities Conference - funding for the future.  Delegates comprised CIMA members who had come from a diverse range of charities and who had valiantly made it into CIMA's HQ at Chapter Street despite the strike on the London Underground.  We spent the day looking at improving governance, coping with the downturn and tackling fraud.  Here is a flavour of the feast. 

18 May 2009 by Gillian Lees (3 comments)

In all the discussions about the governance failings that contributed to the financial crisis, one particular issue crops up frequently.  That is, that board directors need to be able to ask awkward,challenging and even 'stupid'questions of management to ensure that the strategy is robust. 

23 April 2009 by Gillian Lees (1 comment)

One of the pressing questions of our time is how do you run a bank without it all ending in disaster?  In response to the current financial crisis, many reasons have been suggested as to how we got into this mess - banks became too big, risk management and regulation were inadequate, products were impossibly complex and the bonus culture created a climate of greed and excess.  I could go on.  But the challenge now is to find a way out of it.