| Careers in finance & financial services: finding inspiration in the world of accountancy |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Working as an accountant has provided Ber Carroll with the perfect background for writing novels on the world of international business, where the walls have ears, you're only as good as your next deal and perspective can easily be lost. However, with writing now her main focus,having just published her second book ‘Just Business’, the corporate world is now her inspiration rather than a daily battle. |
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| Cross-border mortgage lending will soon be possible - but will banks release products? |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| The European Commission is likely to issue a Green Paper on the integration of EU mortgage credit markets this summer and finalise its position by year-end. While the Commission’s intervention could have a major impact on the mortgage lending landscape throughout Europe, lenders will still need a strong business case and innovative product offerings to enter new markets, writes Eimer O’Rourke of Irish Bankers Federation. |
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| ECJ’s decisions to have significant impact |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Following on from the judgment issued by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Arthur Andersen case on March 3rd, which confirmed that the Advocate General’s opinion that ‘back office’ insurance services provided by a third-party outsourced agent do not qualify for VAT exemption, the ECJ has made two recommendations in favour of the tax payer. However, the full decision on both issues won’t be made for another six months. |
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| Ex-RSM partners new firm employs 30 people already |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Following on from the announcement in February that three former partners of investment advisory firm RSM Robson Rhodes had left the firm to establish a joint venture with the Chiltern group, the new firm has been called Kinetic Partners. |
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| FGS joins list of PCAOB registered Irish accountants |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Farrell Grant Sparks has qualified for registration with US Accounting Standards Board, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), bringing the total number of Irish registered firms up to seven. |
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| Finance Dublin Conference 2005: regulation to the fore, but overall mood is upbeat |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| While concerns about over-regulation and under-regulation were top of the agenda at the recent 6th Annual Finance Dublin Conference, the overall mood at the two-day event was optimistic, with numerous new opportunities for the sector outlined, by speakers such as Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, and Eircom chief financial officer Peter E.Lynch, (pictured) who delivered a speech on his experiences as CFO of one of Europe’s largest telecoms companies. |
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| Financial services directors to go under the spotlight |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| IFSRA has released a consultation paper to seek the views and opinions of industry participants and the general public on a proposed new regime for determining whether or not directors and managers within the financial services sector have the requisite skills and qualities to perform their functions effectively. Paul Ryan and Tom Carney examine the implications for new and incumbent directors. |
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| Forde appointed new president of IoB |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Donal Forde, AIB’s managing director, has been appointed president of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland, assuming the role from Ted McGovern, chief executive of EBS Building Society. Pictured at the handover of the chain of office in the Institute’s offices in North Wall Quay are (l-r) Donal Forde and Ted McGovern. |
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| Fund administrators find it difficult to recruit the right personnel |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| The recent announcement that PFPC, the US funds servicing company, will consolidate its US and international alternative groups under a single management structure headed by Joan Kehoe in Dublin, will mean that PFPC will increase its Irish work force by 300 to 770. However, this will not be an easy task, as attracting good graduates with the ability to quickly contribute to the business has proven exceptionally difficult, Joan Kehoe tells FINANCE. |
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| Good governance is not a worthy cause – it is simply good management practice |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| A lot of lip service has been given recently to ‘good corporate governance’ as if it was good for goodness sake, but management should, and will only apply themselves to activities that will generate long-term value. Cormac Murphy offers advice on what the Irish financial services industry should learn from the recent ‘governance’ debate. |
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| IAIM member survey: retail assets rise by 17 per cent in 2004 to €22 bn |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Retail assets of Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM) members rose by 17 per cent in 2004 to reach €22 billion, boosted by the contribution from Special Savings Investment Accounts (SSIAs) at €560 million, writes Gary Connolly. |
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| Landmark European Court opinion on VAT planning |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| The ECJ, in a preliminary opinion which has yet to be confirmed by the Court, has confirmed the right of taxpayers in Europe to enter into legitimate tax planning arrangements in the context of VAT. It has however confirmed that this right is subject to the general principle that these rights must not be abused. Pending the final decision of the Court, there must now be uncertainty regarding the legality of the general anti-avoidance rule contained in Irish law in so far as it applies to VAT and other taxes governed by European law. |
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| Media bashing of industry may have serious implications for future development of sector |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| In the rush to criticise recent developments in the international financial services industry, ‘we’ve created a distorted caricature of the industry here which is not deserved – and which can be counter-productive’, David Went recently told attendees at a Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants meeting, on the same day, April 6th, that William Slattery, chief executive of State Street International, delivered the same message at the 6th Annual Finance Dublin Conference, indicating the strength of feeling in the industry regarding the handling in the media of recent developments at General Re. |
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| New funds offer access to property companies not properties |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| Irish investors looking to gain access to Eurozone property markets, without the hassle involved in actually buying a property, may be interested in two new funds recently launched on the market. AIB's European Property Stocks Fund and Eagle Star's Eurozone Property Fund invest in property companies rather than property itself, by tracking the European Public Real Estate Association Eurozone Index. |
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| Personal taxation: is the denial of PAYE credit over the top? |
Issue: 04 / 2005 |
| The denial to certain directors and employees of credit for PAYE deducted from their remuneration is so widely drafted in the Finance Act that it may well be unconstitutional writes Robert Dowley in this month's KPMG Tax Monitor. And not only that, but It may well also be in breach of the Human Rights Act. However, he adds that the affected directors and employees, are unlikely to be able to afford the luxury of a trip to the High Court or the Supreme Court to establish that decision. |
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