Posts by category
No more errors allowed - RTI is coming and data needs to be correct!
13 April 2012
In the middle of helping our customers to do their Payroll year
end procedures, it became apparent to me just how many errors we
can make as computer users keying in our payroll data. Now I'm no
angel, and I confes...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
HMRC going paperless?
19 March 2012
Having read the Employers Bulletin for February 2012 my
attention was drawn to the 'Employers Forms and guidance'. The HMRC
are reiterating their plans to reduce the amount and range of paper
products they currentl...
[read more]
Posted in
Mid-market businesses – are they really a forgotten army?
04 November 2011
It's good to see that the CBI has recognised the importance of
the mid-market (
see industry news article here). It's true what Jon Cridland
says about medium-sized businesses being a forgotten army. There's
alway...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Our Softworld survey says
20 October 2011
We've just returned to the office after a busy couple of days at
Softworld; as we celebrated 20 years we
commissioned a report from the Centre of Future Studies on
The Future of Technology, and how it will impact ...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Softworld 2011 day one
18 October 2011
The emphasis of our day at Softworld has been the launch of our
report with the Centre for Future Studies '
The Future of Technology: transforming mid-market business
operations'. I presented on both the HR & ...
[read more]
Posted in
The Future of Technology at Softworld
10 October 2011
At Softworld next week
we're unveiling the findings of research that we commissioned with
the Centre for
Future Studies. The report, entitled 'The Future of Technology:
transforming mid-market business operations'...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Pensions reform – are you ready?
21 September 2011
Compulsory pensions contributions are coming, and it's going to
have a big impact on all payroll departments. It's going to affect
large companies first when it gets rolled out in October 2012, but
what do you need...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
20 years of innovation
29 July 2011
This year marks our 20th anniversary at Access. It's
been an amazing journey and we've had some great moments, most of
which I've had the opportunity to share - first as a dealer and
latterly as the MD of Access be...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
UK Government opens consultation on mandatory carbon reporting
02 June 2011
The UK Government has now opened its consultation as to whether
it should make changes to the Companies Act to make carbon
reporting mandatory. The consultation paper is looking for
feedback on 4 possible opti...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
The Apprentice: The right way to recruit?
10 May 2011
No doubt lots of us will be glued to the TV tonight as Lord
Sugar 'pulls together Britain's brightest business minds' in the
latest series of The Apprentice. More often than not it's a case of
cringing or rolling y...
[read more]
Posted in Business
I’m the FD & they’ve put me in charge of IT!
19 April 2011
It's a scary place to be: Finance Director/Chief
Financial Officer in a SME! (SME for the purposes of this blog is
defined as an organisation with up to 250 staff and turnover of up
to £25m.)
The FD/CFO on...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Improve customer relationships and staff effectiveness with an integrated approach to CRM
15 April 2011
Many companies in the UK mid-market today strive to improve
customer relationships and provide better customer service through
the use of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
application. For many busines...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
FD Chamber - ‘winning strategies for value building’
06 April 2011
The first FD Chamber
networking meeting kicked off this week at the London
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was a very good session on
winning strategies for value building, with the emphasis on selling
a busi...
[read more]
Posted in Business
The iPad and the IT department
04 April 2011
In my last blog I talked about Apple versus RIM and the
challenges an IT department faces with these two very popular
smartphones. With the emergence of the iPad and the release of the
slightly improved iPad2 I'm l...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Manufacturing Debate to discuss job creation
25 March 2011
Access Supply Chain MD Craig Such gives his thoughts on the
upcoming Manufacturing Debate at Cranfield University where they'll
discuss; 'Can the manufacturing sector create a significant number
of long-term jobs a...
[read more]
Posted in Business
A Budget for enterprise – will it work?
24 March 2011
In a little under an hour George Osborne summed up what he
called a 'budget that encourages enterprise', and he'll be hoping
it works after this year's growth forecast and the next two
subsequent years were all rev...
[read more]
Posted in Business
ASPP is coming
23 March 2011
As of Sunday 3rd April any of your employees whose partner has a
baby or are matched for adoption will be entitled to apply for
Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP).
Here's an example of how it works:
Mrs...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Best Companies recognition - the journey starts here
18 March 2011
When I first found out we'd received a place in The Sunday Times
100 Best Companies to Work For list for mid-sized companies and
Best Companies One Star Accreditation, it's a bit of an
understatement to say I was t...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Technology – an enabler for the charity sector
15 March 2011
I had the pleasure of presenting at the Charity Finance
Directors Group IT Conference last Tuesday and meeting some of
the delegates. It never ceases to amaze me the great work
that's undertaken by the not-for...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
It just gets easier in Access Payroll
11 March 2011
Things are hotting up in the support department at
Access; we're ready and waiting for calls from our customers, now
that the new versions of payroll are being distributed.
In support we understand that payroll y...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
CBI urges government to do more for mid-sized companies
08 March 2011
The Director General of the CBI, John Cridland, recently stated
that the government should concentrate on the mid-market if it
wants to use this month's Budget to boost growth and job creation.
Access chairman and ...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Supply chain trends
07 March 2011
As we move out of recession we've started to see a return to
investment in supply chain solutions. Companies are purchasing new
systems to help them return to growth. In the downturn we found
that many manufacturer...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
The Apple vs Rim debate
28 February 2011
The Apple vs RIM debate has been running for many years amongst
IT managers and it's fair to say that historically BlackBerry has
been device of choice for most IT departments. It has to be said
that Apple's recent...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
UK firms battling with up to 60 regulations
24 February 2011
A new report confirms what UK business owners will already know:
the amount of red tape they face is excessive, confusing and very
time-consuming. Our Customer Services Director Kevin Misselbrook
posted a response ...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Payslips - for your eyes only
23 February 2011
As bosses' worst nightmares go, it's got to be up there: a
member of staff 'accidentally' opens a colleague's payslip left in
the wrong pigeonhole and within minutes, poisonous whispers of who
earns what are tradin...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Access: well prepared for payroll season
15 February 2011
The payroll season - as we like to call the payroll Year End
here in Access' support team - is almost upon us. For Access this
process starts well in advance of April. In fact the wheels start
turning (once we catc...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
FEE issue factsheet on integrated reporting
10 February 2011
You might have noticed the term integrated reporting being used
increasingly these days; it's certainly a topic of growing
importance. The Sustainability Policy Group at the
Fédération des Experts Com...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Access chairman Paul Druckman with his business outlook for 2011
27 January 2011
Let me firstly explain that I'm not an economist or a
futurologist, simply a businessman who has many connections to
those with intellect and foresight!
There are all sorts of trends that consultants and the
eco...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Age is a state of mind
25 January 2011
It was interesting to read in the press last week the mixed
feelings about the abolition of the default retirement age (DRA).
From Wednesday 6th April, the DRA will be phased out and will be
completely abolished by...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Abolition of Default Retirement Age
24 January 2011
The Government announcement on the abolition of the Default
Retirement Age was covered on Personnel Today last week. Our Head
of HR Jo Sims posted a response to the article which you can read
here.
[read more]
Posted in Business
Government needs to commit to mandatory carbon reporting
19 January 2011
Business Green has reported that business leaders and MPs are
supporting an Early Day Motion calling for mandatory carbon
emissions reporting rules. You can read our Customer
Services Director Kevin Misselbro...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Challenge & opportunity in 2011: A view from FD of the Year
05 January 2011
With the new year finally underway, doubtless we'll all be
contemplating what the next 12 months will hold for financial
directors. We will see the continuation of the challenging economic
environment, which c...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Integrated reporting: broadening the application
06 December 2010
I was recently invited to speak at the Harvard Business School
on the need for organisations to embrace integrated reporting on a
global scale. The two-day event, entitled 'A Workshop on Integrated
Reporting: Frame...
[read more]
Posted in Business
HR legislation changes in 2011
24 November 2010
As we draw closer to the end of the year, it's worth keeping an
eye on some of the legislation that will affect your HR department
in 2011. There are many changes on the way, some which are just
proposals and some ...
[read more]
Posted in Legislation
The changing face of work
05 November 2010
A couple of days ago, I attended a round table on 'The Future of
Work', organised by IBM's mid-size enterprise team. I was one of a
small group of people selected to discuss what the future workplace
would be like,...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Sustainable business means profitable business - lecture by GE leader
03 November 2010
I was honoured to be invited to a select audience to hear a
lecture from the CEO of GE, Jeff Immelt, hosted by the Prince of
Wales and his University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability
Leadership last week (...
[read more]
Posted in Environment
Mid-size FRSME nears take-off
01 November 2010
Following on from
Kevin Misselbrook's blog last week, a draft of the Financial
Reporting Standard For Mid-Size Entities (FRSME) is now available
for download from the ASB website. There will be a consultation
per...
[read more]
Posted in Business
New financial reporting standard for SMEs likely to be delayed
28 October 2010
Plans to move away from UK GAAP and embrace International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for SME companies look likely
to be pushed back - originally the intention was to retire UK GAAP
in July 2013.
The A...
[read more]
Posted in Business
CO2 emissions - the next step?
25 October 2010
At Access we're currently prototyping some exciting new
technology that will enable companies to provide their customers
with the carbon cost of the items that they sell. In a
business-to-business scenario this mea...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Environment
Government spending review
23 October 2010
The Government Spending Review has seen widespread cuts being
brought into force and time will only tell what this really means
for British businesses. Below are some of the key points delivered
by Chancellor Georg...
[read more]
Posted in Business
The iPad is a business tool
20 October 2010
There's been much debate about whether the iPad is a business
tool or not; well from my point of view it most definitely is. I've
personally been using the iPad since the day it was launched and
for me it's become ...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
What makes an outstanding FD?
05 October 2010
I read an article recently in
Accountancy Magazine on a survey entitled 'What makes
an outstanding FD?' It argued that UK financial directors should be
looking for investment opportunities in the current economic
...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Preparing for VAT change
01 October 2010
We're just three months away from the VAT rate rise to 20 per
cent. No-one likes a VAT change, but it's easier to prepare when
you know how. Here are my top tips for ensuring a smooth transition
to the new rate in ...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Legislation, Technology
Manufacturing growth continues
20 September 2010
As we continue to wait to find out if we're on the edge of a
double dip recession, it looks like the manufacturing sector is
continuing its growth - although at an admittedly slow, but steady
pace. It may not be re...
[read more]
Posted in Business
When Dashboard data just ceases to be data anymore
13 September 2010
Recently, I was asked to spend some time at one of our clients:
Shelterbox (www.shelterbox.org). To be
honest I'd never heard of them, let alone knew anything about what
they did. What I did know, however, was that...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Does the NIC holiday affect your business?
06 September 2010
The NIC holiday for start-up businesses, which was announced as
part of the coalition's emergency budget, begins today and, if
you're a business owner, or run the company's payroll, you're
probably wondering how th...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Why did we add ribbon technology to Access Dimensions?
01 September 2010
The ribbon allows for a more familiar, modern, working
environment. Commands are organised into groups along the ribbons,
allowing easy access to related features with fewer mouse clicks.
It may also expose feature...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Finance Directors Annual Conference
31 August 2010
On Wednesday 6th October, I'm chairing the Finance
Directors' Annual Conference at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel in
London. This conference is an opportunity for all finance directors
to come together, learn about l...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Are you registered with the CRC scheme?
23 August 2010
There's now less than 40 days remaining until you have to
register for the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)
scheme. Although the scheme was launched in April, only 20% of
companies affected had regist...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Legislation
Can I Excel with my dashboards?
17 August 2010
In the first two blogs of this three part series, I looked at
some of the basic principles surrounding the introduction of
dashboards into your business and how to gain adoption of those
dashboards by your peers.&n...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Financial reporting regime has to change
10 August 2010
We place so much weight on the information within financial
reports, from an institution looking to invest to a business
embarking on M&A activity. Unfortunately these reports are
compliance driven; based on th...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Access Customer Webinars
09 August 2010
Following your feedback we've recently introduced Access
customer webinars, to ensure you're kept up to date with the latest
features and products within our portfolio. The topics we've
covered so far include Acces...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Google Chrome is it worth all the fuss?
02 August 2010
I've tried a few browsers, both at home (on Win XP) and at work
(on both Vista and Windows 7) and decided I wanted to use something
new, having grown tired of the standard browser we all know and
'love'.
My main...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
One thousand and counting
09 July 2010
I'm having a good day today, I've just ran the figures for
downloads of our Access FocalPoint
for iPhone app and I'm pleased to announce we've had our first
one thousand downloads. It seems that being able to log e...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Engaging people with your dashboard data
02 July 2010
Perhaps it's because it's so much easier to ask for a piece of
information than it is to go get it yourself, that by encouraging
people to look at dashboards you've created a bit of an uphill
task. In the previous ...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
A budget for the mid-market?
23 June 2010
We have been softened up for weeks that this 'emergency budget'
would be the most austere cost cutting budget in living memory and
all in all George Osborne certainly seems to have delivered on that
promise.
It...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Government Budget should aim to cut business burden
14 June 2010
In just over a week, we'll finally learn what the new coalition
Government has in store for the business community when they
announce the emergency Budget on Tuesday 22nd June.
We've listened to stark warnings rece...
[read more]
Posted in Business
No need to fear the World Cup - embrace it
11 June 2010
With the World Cup getting underway this afternoon it's
inevitable that some of your staff are talking about the one
England game that may cause a schedule conflict; specifically the
third group game against Sloven...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Three golden rules for creating dashboards
09 June 2010
'A picture paints a thousand words' -
apparently a phrase sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte who
said, "Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours" - literally
"A good sketch is better than a long speech...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Access FocalPoint for iPhone: customer information at your fingertips
02 June 2010
One of the first applications that I imagined we could develop
for the iPhone platform was customer relationship management (CRM).
The integration between all of the different services (location,
email, phone, Goog...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
iPhone app - whats the FocalPoint
01 June 2010
Since we were issued with iPhone's at Access I've used mine for
many different applications; finding the latest news, planning
journeys, locating the nearest ATM and I've always found accessing
my emails on the mov...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Hung parliament: what does this mean for the mid-market?
10 May 2010
Today seems to have brought nothing new to the state of the
parliament, despite the meetings being held across the weekend. Now
representatives of all parties have spoken out urging an outcome to
be reached by the ...
[read more]
Posted in Business
The Budget - a personal viewpoint
26 March 2010
Like everyone, I am not pleased about the rise in fuel
prices. Especially as I live out in the country, the car is a
very important lifeline. We are a two-car household so
the increase will hit us ...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Budget 2010 Round-up
24 March 2010
If you didn't get a chance to follow Access' live Budget updates
on Twitter, here's a quick round-up of the main points of
interest for business (courtesy of the BBC):
Economy:
Economy contrac...
[read more]
Posted in Business
Access User Events 2010 - London (The Emirates Stadium)
05 March 2010
Find out what our clients thought of our latest Access event,
which took place at The Emirates Stadium on Thursday 25th February
2010.
[read more]
Posted in Business
New Returns Management module will help guard against fraud
02 March 2010
It's great to finally see the release of our new returns
management software, helping customers keep a close track of
returned items and credit note requests. With fraud and stock loss
a big burden on mid-market or...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Access client event Emirate Stadium - a view from the front
26 February 2010
I was fortunate enough to be asked to both compere and
to present our Access client event yesterday, which attracted
more than 120 delegates. We had practised, reviewed and
revised the presentations thro...
[read more]
Posted in Business
iPhone: a game changer for business
11 February 2010
As a developer, I really enjoy working on the iPhone software
because it's just such an innovative platform. It's
continuously evolving and extending its capabilities, allowing
business users to work in ways ...
[read more]
Posted in Technology
Access acquires mid-market HR solutions provider Select Software
28 January 2010
To find out about our most recent acquisition, please view this
video blog by our chairman, Paul Druckman. You can also read more
in our
press release.
[read more]
Posted in Business
Industry expert Paul Druckman named non-executive chairman of Access
25 January 2010
Hear what Paul has to say on his appointment and why he
thinks mid-market businesses like Access are vital to the British
economy:
[read more]
Posted in Business
Businesses should step up carbon reduction efforts
04 January 2010
Although the Copenhagen accord is not a definitive blueprint for
the global climate change agenda, it will increase the importance
of the issue for national governments. Within the UK, the accord
will reinforce the...
[read more]
Posted in Legislation
Pre-Budget Report shows commitment to green
10 December 2009
The chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced in his pre-budget
report that the Government is to finance four carbon capture and
storage demonstration projects, doubling its commitment to this
sector. The projects, w...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Legislation
Address HMRC's VAT changes now to avoid disruption to business
01 December 2009
With only four weeks to go until HMRC's VAT changes come into
effect on 1st January 2010, businesses should be preparing now to
ensure a smooth transition. Very little time was given last year
when the VAT on goods...
[read more]
Posted in Legislation
FSN interview at Softworld
27 October 2009
Re-branding and re-positioning a company is not a task to take
on lightly. In our situation, the whole project was about evolution
not revolution, and I think we've pretty much managed to achieve
that. It was certa...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Windows 7 arrives
26 October 2009
It's good to finally see the arrival of Windows 7, a much
leaner, less resource intensive operating system. After
all, the OS is the foundation upon which everything else sits.
In terms of productivi...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Blurring technological boundaries is good for mid-market
08 October 2009
It's been interesting to watch how the boundaries between
personal and business technologies have continued to merge over the
past year or so. I believe this is great news for mid-market
organisations who, in norma...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
PwC calls for FDs to take ownership on carbon emissions
06 October 2009
I couldn't agree more with Pricewaterhouse Cooper's global head
of sustainability, Malcolm Preston (Accountancy Age, 6 Oct
2009) for his view that the finance function should take
responsibility for its organisatio...
[read more]
Posted in Environment, Legislation
Access showcasing Dashboard and iPhone for FocalPoint at Softworld
06 October 2009
Autumn's upon us once again - as is Softworld - how fast
time flies! Access will be attending the exhibition, which takes
place on 13-14 October at London Olympia 2. In fact, it will be our
very first Softworld sin...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Technology
Small Businesses Targeted by UK Government for CO2 Reporting
02 October 2009
Today, the UK Government published detailed guidelines for all
businesses on how to report on their carbon emissions. I was
pleased to see the report covers the scope, data collection,
content, and format of r...
[read more]
Posted in Environment, Legislation
Accountants support carbon reporting principle
25 September 2009
The news that the world's accounting bodies have embraced the
principle that accountants will be reporting on carbon emissions
(see FSN article) is a
demonstration of common sense prevailing. A significant
p...
[read more]
Posted in Legislation
Access supports the Micro Focus 'Make BrITain Great Again' manifesto
21 August 2009
What a terrific, energetic and valuable campaign Micro Focus has
undertaken with its manifesto encouraging the UK government to get
behind the IT industry and give it a boost. This could not have
come at a better t...
[read more]
Posted in Legislation
Customers to benefit from Access brand elevation
03 July 2009
Find out why we decided to rebrand and what it means for our
customers and the solutions we provide:
[read more]
Posted in Business
Businesses face challenge of fundamental changes to tax point rules
03 July 2009
EU changes, due to come into effect from 1st January 2010, will
create serious challenges for software vendors and the business
community alike. The changes dictate that if you invoice
services to another EU ...
[read more]
Posted in Business, Legislation
Is climate change slipping down the agenda?
03 July 2009
It was interesting to see the commitments made at the G20 summit
last week and re-assuring to note that green and sustainable
recovery featured amongst the six pledges made by the world leaders
meeting in London.&n...
[read more]
Posted in Environment
Counting the cost of carbon emissions
03 July 2009
Measuring carbon emissions is a vital first step if a company is
to have any hope of changing behaviour within the organisation.
It's not until we're faced with the hard facts - together with the
cost implications ...
[read more]
Posted in Environment, Technology
Should we account for carbon emissions?
03 July 2009
I thought it might be worthwhile to draw attention to likely
changes to the Companies Act which will include new obligations for
companies to report on their carbon emissions as early as 2012.
This change cou...
[read more]
Posted in Environment
The FD's role in the economic downturn
03 July 2009
The FD's role in the economic downturn
I read with great interest an article on the role of the FD,
expecially in these testing times - visit: Finance: The unvarnished truth to read
the story and m...
[read more]
Posted in Business
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