PQ magazine, January 2020

PQ magazine January 2020

www.pqmagazine.com / www.pqjobs.co.uk

INSIDE: OUR ANNUAL BUMPER QUIZ! Thanks to our sponsors Win a Fitbit!

THE REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL IN 2020 2020 is going to be a good year for PQs, predicts Hays Accountancy & Finance’s Karen Young. She told PQ magazine that our readers have lots of reasons to feel positive about the year ahead, pointing to strong hiring intentions, increased business activity and salary rises.

The Hays Salary and Recruiting Trends 2020 guide found PQs are much happier with their take home pay, too. Just over one in three PQs (38%) said they were not being paid what they were worth. This compares with 58% of PQs who, two years ago, thought they weren’t receiving fair remuneration for all their hard work.

And PQs want their organisation to be transparent about how pay levels and pay rises are set. Some 46% said this was ‘very important’ to them.

Young stressed that PQ employers need to put practical steps in place that show they have clear promotion and pay structures. Regular career and pay reviews also need to take place.

The average UK salary for a PQ accountant now stands at £28,198, a

PQ magazine

EXCLUSIVE

2% increase on last year’s £27,635.

Finalists can expect average pay of £33,063, a rise year-on-year of 2.7%.

In London, ACCA and CIMA PQ finalists are being paid £44,000. This compares with £38,000 for ACAs working in the capital, and £33,500 for CIPFA PQs at the same level.

At the other end of the pay scale are PQs in Northern Ireland. Finalist salary rates are £29,000 for ACCA and CIMA trainees. For ACA finalists the average annual salary being paid is £28,000.

CIPFA PQs earn around £26,000.

The survey found the work-life balance is also important to PQs. Unfortunately fewer PQs rated their work-life balance positively this year.

Young stressed: “Employers should make flexible working a key focus in their policies and promote to their current workforce and through job adverts to aid attraction and retention.”

Interestingly, when it came to top benefits, getting more than 28 days’ holiday ranked higher than financial support for professional studies!

• Go to page 18 for the Hays salary survey and more insight into the data.

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comment PQ

CONTENTS News 06How long? 176,000 PQs still

not qualified after five years

09The environment ‘We must act now to save the planet’

10ACCA IT woes Problems at exam halls across the country

12Tech news Our digital update Features, etc 04Mind your Ps&Qs Tutors would use technology more if they had access to it; and the best of PQ’s social media 13Annual quiz Test your knowledge and win a Fitbit!

14Edtech Strategy How this new initiative could impact on you

15Awards 2020 It’s your very last chance to enter, so get to it!

16The year ahead Professional bodies’ CEOs make their predictions for 2020

18Salary checker Are you getting paid what you should be?

20CIMA spotlight Keeping your skillsets up-to-date and relevant

21CIMA case study Top advice on how to get a pass

22ICAEW focus Tips on how to get ahead in the new year

23CIMA exams How to pass in the shortest possible timeframe

24CIPFA spotlight Get the festive break that you deserve

January 2020 25The troubleshooter Value

added explained 27ACCA report It’s up to all of us to fight corruption 28Profile We trace Stephanie Millward’s inspirational story 29Careers Life at Impala Energy; getting to net zero carbon; and our book club review 30Fun stuff – and our giveaways The columnists Robert Bruce The audit market: let’s focus on making things better 6 Prem Sikka Don’t expect the new government to change anything 8 Zoe Robinson Students must take responsibility for their studies 10 Mike Day A growing community that’s well worth joining 12 Subscribe to PQ magazine It’s FREE – go to www.pqmagazine.com JANUARY 2020 ISSUE Total Distribution

25,266 Publisher’s statement: We send both a paper and digital issue to a controlled database each month.

The above figure is the combined total of issues sent out this month.

Free to subscribers who fulfil our terms of control Annual subscription: £35 (£50 overseas)

And now to save the planet...

Well, that was 2019! It was a year when we decided that ‘Accountants will save the planet’, and we campaigned for the accountancy bodies to think more about how they looked after their students’ wellbeing. Our conference with London South Bank University was a big hit and shocked many, including Karen Aldridge from the University of Greenwich! She said she was frankly ‘frightened’ about what needed to be done, and agreed it was time for accountants to act.

PQ magazine would like to thank LSBU Business School Dean Sarah Moore-Williams and Ivor Pingue (see picture) for agreeing with our vision that accountants need to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the climate crisis.

We also understand that ACCA has now got back the results of its wellbeing survey. The message came back (we believe) that students would like to see more guidance when it comes to stress, work/life balance and mental health. ACCA have listened and that’s to be commended. CIPFA, too, will be providing webinars early next year dedicated to students’ wellbeing.

It is the season of goodwill, and we know how much accountants love goodwill! Uniquely, we have all the CEOs of the professional bodies looking ahead to 2020, and their insights make fascinating reading (see pages 16-17). Perhaps more importantly, they are also sponsoring our quiz – this year there are five Fitbit Versas (worth £189 each) up for grabs. It must be time for the office quiz!

Finally, don’t forget that we have extended the PQ magazine awards deadline to Friday 10 January. There really is no excuse not to enter.

Come on, get that nomination to us today.

Graham Hambly, PQ magazine editor (graham@pqaccountant.com)

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PQ email graham@pqaccountant.com

HAVE YOUR SAY What tech?

I read with interest the article ‘CBEs need CBT’, in which Robert Sowerby calls for tutors to ditch the pen and embrace technology in their teaching (PQ, November 2019).

This call is long overdue but I take issue with the reason for this call. Many of us are lecturers in colleges of further education – which, as any of you who teach there would agree, is the poor relation of the education industry.

I wonder how many FE lecturers are able to secure computer equipment for every lesson they teach? Indeed, I wonder how many of us actually have access to computer equipment for even

part of their teaching time?

I teach on AAT courses at the largest FE college in Wales and, like everyone else in the sector, I am constantly frustrated by the lack of facilities available to me and my learners in the classroom.

This is not a criticism of my employer – far from it, we have many wonderful projects running and staff experimenting with new ways of teaching. However, it is a damning indictment of our times that we are forced to produce hundreds of sheets of paper handouts with practice questions and notes when, in an ideal world, we should be embracing the technology so eloquently extolled

by Robert. His call is well meant, but thinking we just don’t want to change and engage with technology is, frankly, just not true.

I look forward to reading the next must-read that is PQ magazine.

Name and address supplied

Our star letter writer wins one of our fantastic ‘I love tax’ t-shirts!

Feedback, please!

I always enjoy the ‘Have your say’ section of PQ magazine and can particularly relate to the two letters in last month’s issue, headlined ‘No time for change’ and ‘Feedback failings’.

I really believe ACCA’s feedback on the exams could be so much better. Students put on themselves under huge pressure to pass and then receive 49. Lack of feedback can be the difference between continuing your studies or quitting.

Failure is never an easy thing, but I think feedback could help students enormously. I have been there and speak from experience!

I have also made complaints regarding the exam centre; at every exam sitting I have to show the chief invigilator how to save my work onto the USB flashdrive and how to delete it off the PC I am using. Training should be given to the invigilation team as technology advances to give everyone a fair chance.

I think with CBEs the right progress is being made.

Name and address supplied

No fun So Dame Sally Davies wants to introduce ‘VAT on obesity’ (PQ, November 2019)? How very dull.

I need pqjobs.co.uk

The tax on alcohol has already led to a vast number of pub closures in the UK; and the taxman also makes a fortune from smokers, too, while at the same time treating them as pariahs.

What’s next? A tax on enjoying ourselves? Pretty soon there will no

fun left in what is a pretty grim and grey world.

I’m probably unusual for my generation in my views – I’m in my mid-twenties – but I’m fed up with being told what to do, what to eat and what to drink. Rant over!

Name and address supplied

social media ROUND-UP It is ACCA exam time, and social media was red hot with PQs describing their experiences.

There does seem to be problems most Monday mornings, which is a worry! At Bordesley Green in Birmingham the exam was delayed, with one PQ explaining that an hour after the exam started just a quarter of the sitters had begun the paper. At Glasgow a fire alarm made it almost impossible to concentrate.

There were also problems in Reading and in Malaysia (see page 10), where students were told that the ACCA server was “slow or inaccessible”.

Things did calm down after that though! If you want to read our paper-by-paper feedback then check out www.pqmagazine,com.

We also spent two day at the ICB Bookkeepers’ Summit this month. No ‘Luca’ award for us this year, but we tweeted that Training Link had won College of the Year for the eighth time – yes, they really are doing something right!

Last month our talk of calculators certainly got you talking, too! Ryan Franklin said he could not help but be empathetic about the loss of a beloved calculator. He sent us a picture of his trusty Casio companion of many exams, and it’s still going strong. Ali Jaw then sent a picture of his, “still alive & kicking too. Got to love a good old Casio”. Peter Stewart, however, bucked the trend by saying: “The fx-85 GT was always a finer machine.” How dare he!

Finally, well done to LSBF’s SuperTutors, who tweeted out their support for the London Santa Dash 2019 in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. We were there with you in spirit.

PQ Magazine Unit 3a, Kingfisher Heights, 2 Bramwell Way, Royal Docks, London E16 2GQ | Phone: 020 7216 6444 | Email: graham@pqmagazine.com Website: www.pqmagazine.com | Editor/publisher: Graham Hambly graham@pqmagazine.com | Associate editor: Adam Riches | Art editor: Tim Parker | Contributors: Robert Bruce, Prem Sikka, Zoe Robinson, Mike Day, Tony Kelly, Phil Gammon, Edward Netherton | Subscriptions: subscriptions@pqmagazine.com | Origination and print services by Classified Central Media If you have any problems with delivery, or if you want to change your delivery address, please email admin@pqmagazine.com

Published by PQ Publishing Ltd © PQ Publishing 2019

YOUR FUTURE IN ACCOUNTANCY making an informed choice Hear from our industry expert speakers so you can make an informed decision on your future in accountancy.

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PQ news

ROBERT BRUCE The focus should be on making things better The longer you are a journalist covering politics and business, the more obvious it is that almost every policy initiative has unintended consequences. Yet politicians and reformers remain blind to this. It is down to arrogance, ego, and ignoring experience in the field.

And so it is with the reforming zeal blowing through accountancy. Reform is badly needed, but reformers are more motivated by a desire to give accountants a hard time than thinking what the end result should look like.

The need for greater choice in the audit market is an example. But you don’t widen the market by insisting that large firms open up their audits to smaller audit firms through a tendering process. All that creates is the withdrawal of the smaller firms due to the huge costs of tendering.

Nor do you solve the problem by allowing the fiction to grow that auditors are responsible for the behaviour of shambolic managements.

Large firms will avoid the reputational damage of taking on the audits of companies they know are dodgy. Smaller firms may take the fees but not be up to the need for robust auditing. And remember the golden rule for both journalists and auditors: follow the money. Journalists know that this maxim keeps you focused on how some corporate wrongdoing has occurred. And newly qualified auditors know that the real earnings are in consulting. Breaking up the firms will simply mean the cream become consultants and the also-rans auditors. None of this is what is intended.

Robert Bruce is an award-winning writer on accountancy for The Times

FIVE YEARS’ TIME… A whopping 176,000 accountancy trainees are still trying to get qualified five years after they started studying, according to the latest figures compiled by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The accountancy bodies based in the UK and Ireland have just under 600,000 PQs studying their qualifications worldwide, and well over one in four (29.7%) still have their heads in revision texts half a decade after they began their

PQ magazine

EXCLUSIVE accountancy journey. For those who studied accountancy at university or began with AAT it could be even longer.

The ACCA has just over 137,000 who are still part qualified after five years of paying student subs. That’s

TIME REGISTERED AS A PQ IN YEARS

<1 1>2 2>3 3>4 4>5 5+ TOTAL

ACCA 96,17 76,333 54,826 38,800 28,657 137,035 431,821

CIMA 23,72 24,657 16,054 10,137 7,702 35,540 117,817

CIPFA 610 594 621 719 1,027 1,178 4,739

ICAEW 8,312 6,837 5,935 4,745 1,347 1,524 28,700

CAI 1,657 1,476 1,414 1,189 409 647 6,792

ICAS 833 961 914 210 316 254 3,488

a massive 32% of all ACCA PQs. CIMA has just over 35,000 students in the five-year bracket – just over 30% of all its trainees.

CIPFA also has a substantial number of PQs still studying for their professional qualifications after five years. The FRC data shows 1,178 (or 24.88%) of CIPFA PQs in this group.

The CAI, ICAS and ICAEW all control students through training contracts, which normally run for three years, so the number of PQs still allowed to study with them is much lower. The ICAEW has just 5% of its students still studying five years after they started. CAI, the Irish Institute, have slightly more students in this position than their counterparts across the water, with 9.5%, but this figures in falling. In 2016, the CAI figure was 16%.

Dyslexia first Exchequer Accountancy has launched the UK’s first dyslexia-friendly tax return service for the self-employed.

The new service aims to reduce the number of people being fined by the HMRC for errors in their returns.

Research found that over half (59%) of self-employed workers with dyslexia fill out their own tax returns, with a quarter admitting they struggle to understand how to approach the task.

Victoria Delafaille, MD at Exchequer Accountancy said: “Inspired by one of our own employee’s personal experience with dyslexia, she challenged us to rethink the way we deliver tax return service. Her brother is dyslexic and had struggle with his tax return for many years, so we spotted the need for a more inclusive service.”

To access further information visit https://tinyurl.com/yx2tmgvh

Awards deadline extended We have given you just a little bit more time to get your nominations to us for the PQ magazine awards 2020. You now have until Friday 10 January to get those entries in – that’s your new ‘D-Day’! Isn’t it time you put something on your CV to help you stand out from the crowd? Or maybe there’s someone in your office who needs some real recognition. Our independent judges will look at every entry before deciding on the shortlists. Remember, all we need is 250 words for now. Go to www.pqmagazine.com to download the nomination form.

In brief AAT updates CPD policy The AAT has announced immediate changes to its CPD policy for members. The changes include: • All members required to perform CPD can now potentially be selected for monitoring. Each year a percentage of members are asked to provide evidence of the CPD they have undertaken.

• Previous exemptions from monitoring no longer apply. This means members who work for AAT Accredited Employers and 6

members holding full membership with other IFAC-member organisations can now be asked to supply evidence.

• The new policy also specifies the areas where mandatory CPD applies to all licensed members (including anti-money laundering and practice management).

Upskirting accountant guilty PwC accountant Leon Chan, who was caught with 1,700 ‘upskirt’ images on his phone (PQ magazine, September 2019), has

been sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 100 days of the National Probation Service’s Horizon programme for adult male sex offenders. Chan must also complete 60 days of ‘recommended activity’ and is subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The Big 4 firm dismissed Chan earlier this year.

Don’t miss breakfast Skipping breakfast has been linked to lower grades. A new study

into GCSE grades found that whose who ate breakfast regularly perform better in exams, scoring on average two grades above other pupils. The study, by Frontiers in Public Health, found 30% of students rarely or never eat breakfast, and another 20% said they only did so occasionally. You need to feed that brain of yours!

PQ Magazine January 2020

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PQ news

PREM SIKKA A new year, a new government – but same old story The accounting industry is likely to remain under intense public scrutiny.

Despite accounting and audit failures at BHS, Carillion, Thomas Cook and Patisserie Valerie, little has changed.

Accounting for goodwill was a key issue in the collapse of Carillion and Thomas Cook, but has not been followed by changes to accounting standards. Carillion collapsed in January 2018, and public opinion was managed with the promise of a speedy investigation of audit and corporate governance failures. Two years later, reports from the FRC and the Insolvency Service are still awaited.

Following the Kingman Review, the FRC is morphing into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority (ARGA). However, it is still too close to corporate interests. The auditing industry still has five regulators – ARGA plus four Recognised Supervisory Bodies, who have no independence from their members.

Nearly a year ago, the Competition and Markets Authority came up with fairly soft proposals for reforming the auditing industry. Big firms and accounting trade associations have used their financial and political resources to stymie and delay reforms.

A report on the future of audit by Sir Donald Brydon is awaited. The ICAEW provided £500,000 for this review. It would be interesting to see how independent the report is and the scale of its recommendations.

Without major reforms the audit industry is unlikely to assuage public concerns about the quality of accounting and auditing.

Prem Sikka is Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex

Who needs friends?

What would you do for your friends?

Let’s hope it’s not to sit an ACCA exam for them! Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened when one PQ student felt he had not done enough work to pass his F3 exam and just ‘panicked’.

An ACCA investigation discovered Hassan Ali Hassan and Mujahid Zuhur Shamsher secretly agreed that Hassan should sit Shamsher’s exam for him at the Strathmore University CBE centre, in Kenya. However, the plan fell apart when the exam co-ordinator quickly noticed Hassan’s

appearance and details differed from those on the university system. And although he tried to maintain the pretence, Hassan eventually confirmed he was impersonating Shamsher. Both students provided statements admitting their guilt the following day. The ACCA Disciplinary Committee then stepped in and both were removed from the student registered and ordered to pay costs.

Meanwhile, Dublin-based CIMA PQ Yash Soni has been caught trying to use a WhatsApp group to

AATs celebrate success

Prize guys: Vale Financial Training recently unveiled its top-performing AAT Advanced and Professional Diploma winners. They were Sarah Burton (Advanaced Diploma) and Ben Stoddart (Professional Diploma).

Sara works for a local accounting firm, Wenn Townsend, while Ben is a management accountant at Linden Homes. The prizes were donated by Allen Associates

LSBF joins prestigious AACSB The London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) has become a member of the prestigious Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). LSBF CEO, Rathakrishnan Goivind said: “We will become part of an excellent network of like-minded institutions and businesses, enabling us to share ideas and exchange best practices. This will provide us with new and innovative ways to reach out to our students and help them make the best of their learning experience.”

discover what was in the Operational Case Study exams.

Soni admitted he had tried to obtain information during the period of a professional exam, which would have given him an unfair advantage. A CIMA disciplinary committee hearing found him guilty of misconduct and his OCS exam was voided. He also received a severe reprimand and told to sit the Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law, before sitting any further CIMA exams. Cost of £330 were issued against Soni.

Still a matter of class, says Yale research Forget about those perfect interview questions, interviewers are still more interested in how you sound than what you say!

Yale University researchers have discovered that in 2019 interviewers still make their hiring decision – based on social class – within a matter of seconds. It appears those with posh voices are deemed to be from a higher social class, and hence more competent.

Yale’s Michael Kraus said: “While most hiring managers would deny that a job candidate’s social class matters, in reality socioeconomic position of an applicant, or their parents, is being assessed within the first second – a circumstance that limits economic mobility and perpetrates inequality.”

• In last month’s PQ we reported how accountancy is fighting the perception that it is elitist (page 1).

Taxwatch Millennials paying more Millennials will pay more in taxes and receive less in state services than any generation since the 1940s, says a newly released book, The Pitch. It says those born in the mid-1990s will lose out because of the fall in the birth rate means a shift in the tax burden.

State handouts for working adults (child benefits and tax credits) and welfare payments have also become less generous. The analysis says younger millennials born in 1996 will pay on average 8

£962,000 in taxes over their lifetime. They will receive services of £1.1m, which represents a ‘welfare dividend’ of £132,000. In contrast, ‘baby boomers’ enjoyed a welfare dividend of £291,000.

Before the digitisation of the system in October 2014 evasion was running at 0.6%, and the figure dwarfs the £14m that the DVLA said would be saved each year by moving to a digital system.

corporation tax in 2018. A note in the accounts say: “As the company is Isle of Man tax resident… the company is subject to Isle of Man income tax at a rate of zero per cent on any profits made.”

Car tax evasion triples An estimated 634,000 cars, van and lorries are now driving on UK roads untaxed. That means the proportion of drivers evading road tax has almost tripled since the paper disc was abolished, costing £94m in lost public finances.

Isle of no tax One Irish subsidiary of LinkedIn paid no corporation tax in 2018, despite posting a profit of nearly £70m. LinkedIn Technology’s latest accounts show an increase in profits to £67.1m for the year. Despite this, it paid no

HMRC arrests fall Fewer people are being arrested for tax evasion. Figures show HMRC made 782 arrests in the 12 months to March 2019.

This compares with 877 a year earlier. The number of arrests has now fallen every year for four years.

PQ Magazine January 2020

green news PQ

‘Act now to save the planet’

Easyjet plans for net zero Easyjet recently became the world’s first major carrier to try to offset all carbon emissions from its flights. The budget carrier outlined that it will help stop deforestation in the Amazon, instal solar panels in India, and reduce wood-burning water sanitation in Uganda. All this will cost around £25m a year, until 2022. CEO Johan Lundgren promised the firm would shoulder the cost, rather than making passengers pick it up.

Love the insects Financial markets will collapse if we don’t protect the natural world, said Professor Jill Atkins. The keynote speaker at the ‘Accountants will save the planet’ explained we are in the sixth period of mass extinction. This one is different, however, as we are the culprits this time! The author of the ‘Business of Bees’ pointed to fact that a million species of insect have been destroyed. If we go on as we are, then our time on this planet is truly numbered, she added.

Accountants can help to save the planet but they can’t do it on their own, says Professor Richard Murphy (pictured).

A star turn at the recent ‘Accountants will save the planet’ conference, Murphy said we need consistent accountancy rules that force companies around the world to become net zero carbon compliant. That way, he explained, we can force companies to save the planet, too.

For Murphy, accountants will

then become the biggest agents of change to help transform the world economy.

But we have to change the rules of accountancy. He pointed out that

right now there isn’t a single proposal to bring climate change onto the balance sheet of any company. “That is shocking, we have to recognise we are living in a climate crisis,” said Murphy.

Currently, what we have is soft voluntary standards. Only by introducing compulsory standards and law changes will we engender real change, he suggested.

• Check out more wise words from Murphy in our video interview – see https://vimeo.com/377541943

Even investors want clearer reporting Companies are falling short of investor’s expectations for clearer reporting on climate crisis issues, according to a new report, ‘Climate-related corporate reporting’, from the FRC Financial Reporting Lab. So what do investors want? Well, they outlined that they would like companies to articulate: • How boards consider the topic of climate change.

• Whether, and how, the business model may be affected by climate change, whether it remains sustainable, and how the company may respond to the challenges posed.

• What the opportunities and risks are, including the prioritisation of risks and their likelihood and impact.

• What changes the company might need to make to

strategy to capitalise on a changing climate and related opportunities.

• What scenarios might affect the company’s sustainability and viability.

• How the impact is measured and how the company measures climate-related challenges and the success of its strategy through strategically aligned, reliable, transparent metrics and financially-related information.

FRC’s CEO Jon Thompson said: “As societal and investor expectations evolve, alongside the regulatory environment, it is clear companies need to rapidly increase their transparency and improve their reporting to meet this demand.”

Go to https://tinyurl.com/yy5vbrgq for more.

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PQ news

ZOE ROBINSON Students must help themselves

During the recent election campaign the Conservative Party pledged £2 billion for the FE sector and promised to raise starting salaries for teachers to £30k. The Labour Party suggested they would pay £7.2bn to effectively write off student debt. Spending money on education was seen as a vote winner, but getting value from that spending is another matter.

The HEPI and Advance HE 2019 Student Academic Experience Survey suggests ‘teaching quality’ is the main factor for students who perceive positive educational value, closely followed by ‘course content’. Perhaps no surprise, but the main determinant of teaching quality was staff who encouraged students to take responsibility for their own learning.

It would be interesting to ask those studying accountancy the same question. My guess is there would be a different response, but is it a fair question for part-time students? Do accountancy students simply have too little time to study on their own and so don't value taking responsibility for their learning, instead requiring it to happen as if by osmosis?

Which of course, would be great if learning worked liked that! Students may be shown a simple process or given a crystal-clear explanation by the tutor, but the consolidation of that information will require them to take responsibility and work alone.

As educators we are acutely aware of the balance between instruction and learning; in theory there may be an optimum mix, but finding it in practice is a continual challenge.

Zoe Robinson is Learning and Programmes Director at Kaplan Financial

Chaos at Reading Pavilion There was ‘exam chaos’ in Reading on the first day of the December ACCA exams.

The Pavilion (a theatre) seemed unable to cope, as the system crashed every time students were logged onto their PCs. One student we heard about didn’t start her 9am exam until midday, and there were still two students waiting to sit after her!

To add to the problems the lighting at the venue was ‘terrible’, with students saying they struggled to see their keyboard letters. The constant stream of students starting and finishing exams throughout the morning made concentration difficult.

These UK students were not alone, as we were told there were problems in Malaysia, too, and at more than one centre. As one PQ

expected’. AAA had more marks for ethics this time around and students struggled to finish SBL. One APM sitter on Open Tuition’s noticeboard explained that it was their eleventh attempt at the exam – yes, 11! And most APM sitters just didn’t know if they had done enough to pass.

• For our paper-by-paper feedback go to www.pqmagazine.com

Job of the month

Having a ball: BCASS students enjoyed a get-together recently, letting their hair down at the annual event which took place in Birmingham How is 2020 going to be for you career-wise? Well, PQ magazine has again joined forces with LSBF to offer you a unique insight into how you can fast-forward your career in accountancy.

Our free half-day conference will help you make an informed decisions about your future.

KPMG’s audit-only apprenticeships KPMG UK is launching a new audit-only apprenticeship.

Aimed specifically at creating the next generation of auditors, the new programme will recruit around 140 apprentices into the audit practice in 2020. Places on the five-year programme will offer apprentices the chance to work towards a Level 7 ACA or CA certification – qualifying them as an auditor. The launch follows a successful pilot, which has seen 70 new apprentices join the UK firm. In what was the single biggest recruitment drive in KPMG history some 1,000 experienced auditors and 1,000 graduates joined the audit practice in 10

said: “The ACCA need to do something with their IT team in every region.”

There were also other stories of computers not working for several hours at other centres across the globe, and no heating and a failed boiler at another hall in the UK. Turning to the exams themselves, ATX stood out as ‘a horror movie’, while TX was ‘easier than

Studio 104 is looking for a commercial accountant to join its team. You will be working from its Waterloo studio and must live within commutable distance. The salary range is £35,000 to £38,000, depending on experience. You also get 25 days’ holidays plus bank holidays. The candidate needs a minimum of three to five years’ experience in a commercial or finance role. To apply submit your CV and covering letter to Sheetal Shah at sheetal@studio-104.com.

Your future in accountancy We are working with both the AAT and ACCA, and recruitment consultants Hays Accountancy & Finance will also be there to show you what you could be worth!

We are also trying something

2019. KPMG head of audit Jon Holt said: “Starting out in audit is a great career choice as it provides a broad education into how business works.” He went on: “No two days will be the same as they help us run the rule over a large variety of different organisations.”

Steady as she goes EY has reported UK fee income grew 1.5%, to £2.45bn, in the financial year ended 30 June 2019. Despite a challenging business environment, revenues in transaction advisory services and tax grew strongly by 9% and 8% respectively. However, average distributable profit per partner fell from £693,000 last year to £679,000 in FY19. During 2019 the firm hired 918 graduates and apprentices. EY also

different – it’s on a Saturday! The date is Saturday 8 February, to be precise. Remember, last year’s conference was sold out. Book your place at web.lsbf.org.uk/yourfuture-in-accountancy

has ambitious growth plans for its Scotland practice, with aims to grow its four offices north of the border by 25% in 2020.

Deloitte pay gaps Deloitte UK has published its 2019 ethnicity pay gap data, as part of a commitment to transparency and to encourage change.

Deloitte’s mean total earning pay gap based on ethnicity is 43.5% (it was 43.9% in 2018), and its median total earning gap increased to 12.8% (10.6%). Deloitte has a 2021 target for 10% of partners to come from the BAME community. In April 2019, just 6% of partners and 11% of directors are from an ethnic minority. However, 25% of the overall workforce have an ethnic minority background.

PQ Magazine January 2020

derby.ac.uk/ACCA

ACCA tuition and revision classes • Courses starting January 2020 for June 2020 exams • Revision classes in May 2020 - included in tuition or available independently • Learn from experienced professionals to improve your ACCA exam technique

Find more information on our website at derby.ac.uk or speak to programme leader Nagin Lad directly: n.lad@derby.ac.uk

Get a step ahead with Xero Advisor Certification Having a sound knowledge of cloud accounting software is invaluable in a competitive job market.

Get the Xero Advisor Certificate and stand out from the crowd.

To get started, speak to one of the education providers or accounting bodies – ACCA, ICAEW, AAT, ICB, IAB, Kaplan, Avado, Premier Training, First Intuition, The Career Academy or Reed.

PQ tech news

MIKE DAY Be part of a growing community that is set to prosper I have just about recovered from Xerocon, which is now the largest conference for accountants in the UK with over 3,000 attendees – from an online accounting software business, no less. But there was something very striking about this year’s event – the sense of community.

There are some pretty rubbish things to contend with at the moment: Brexit uncertainty, the general election, low productivity and poor economic forecasts to name a few.

Nevertheless, I came away from the three days with a really positive outlook. Of the dozens of conversations I had there wasn't a single negative one. Let’s not forget that accountants in practice are very well-placed to have their finger on the pulse.

So in spite of the doom and gloom, one of the positives that is happening is a growing community. There is a wealth of practices that are really grabbing hold of all that advances in technology can bring. Not just the basics of FinTech, but an ever-growing ecosystem of more than 800 applications that tightly integrate with accounting software, whatever colour that might be. More opportunities to improve business processes, management information, decision making and cash flow are at their fingertips – and this community is making the most of it.

There’s also more opportunity to make a difference – which in turn creates purpose. It's clear that accountants have an important role in the outlook and prosperity of UK plc.

It’s a great time to be a PQ! Mike Day, Director, UK Education Sector, Xero

Criminals target new bank Bo, a new digital bank set up by the Royal Bank of Scotland, became an instant target for fraudsters, according to reports in The Times.

Featuring a bright yellow Visa card and a mobile app, some 30% of applications received by Bo in its first two weeks were fraudulent.

The figure underscores the scale of the challenge faced by banks in the digital age, as they try to counter

money laundering and cybercrime.

Bo CEO Mark Bailie revealed that criminals who wanted accounts for money laundering had been blocked. He said it was “interesting how keen the criminals are to get hold of bank accounts”, adding that it happens with all big banks.

The new bank has entirely separate technology systems to the rest of RBS, and is run from London.

Your next reality Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are forecast to add £62.5bn to the UK economy by 2030, according to a new report from PwC. The majority of this 2.4% boost to GDP will come from AR (£44.4bn), with VR providing £18.1bn to the pile.

Both VR and AR will also have a significant impact on the UK workplace, with 1.19% of jobs (400,663 people) utilising the technologies by 2030.

One key area where VR and AR will be invaluable is development and training. It will provide a way to train employees where it not always practical or safe to do so in the real world, saving businesses time and money.

PwC’s Jeremy Dalton says: “VR and AR are finally coming of age and have the potential to provide a significant boost to the UK economy. They will also improve the way organisations operate, make processes faster and more effective, and create incredible new experiences.”

However, Dalton stressed that the technology needs to full support of key stakeholders in order to fully prosper. He wants to see government assistance through financial incentives and funding for R&D. He believes there is a real advantage in the UK being an early adopter of the technology.

For more on this check out www.pwc.com/seeingisbelieving

Xero hits 500,000 mark Xero is celebrating this month after announcing UK subscribers have grown by 51% year-on-year.

It now has 536,000 subscribers, which means the UK becomes the second market where Xero has passed half-a-million subscribers.

UK revenues were also up 52%.

Xero puts its success down to a

continued focus on building its partner channel, investing in the brand and marketing, and the implementation of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital initiative.

The company now plans to open a new office in Manchester, to add to its Milton Keynes and London operations.

Google claims ‘quantum leap’ Google is claiming it has built a quantum computer that took a mere 200 seconds to solve a problem that would take the world’s traditional supercomputers 10,000 years to do.

Some experts are comparing the achievement of Sycamore (that’s what Google have called it) to the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight. IBM aren’t totally happy with its rival’s claim, and has said it has dramatically underestimated the abilities of supercomputers. They believe there is one in Oak Ridge National Laboratory that could solve the same problem in three days.

Tech briefs UNICEF crypto first UNICEF has become the first UN organisation to hold and make transactions in cryptocurrency. The newly established UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund will use open source technology to help children and young people around the world. The first contributions to the Cryptofund were received from the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a mission to build a more globally 12

accessible, more free and more trustworthy internet.

giveways@pqmagazine.com, headed ‘Sage cup’.

Sage giveaway PQ recently turned up to the Sage launch of ‘CFO 3.0 – digital transformation beyond financial management’, and managed to come away with five Stojo disposable cups! They are made from safe, recyclable material that meet LFGB standards.

If you would like to win one send your details to

Credit where it’s due Credit card payments have overtaken cash in British shops for the first time. In fact, notes and coins were only the third-most popular form of payment last year.

Just £1 in every £5 spent is now cash. Debit cards account for over half of all transactions (by value).

UK Finance is predicting that fewer than one in 10 transactions will be made in cash with by 2029. In

2009 the figure was six in 10. At the same time, new figures from Which? show that one in 10 free cashpoints (that’s 8,700) have either closed or started to charge a fee since January 2018.

Google current account Google is set to offer current accounts to customers from 2020, becoming the latest tech giant to enter the financial services arena.

Codenamed Cache, Google is leaving all the compliance and infrastructure to Citigroup.

PQ Magazine January 2020

annual quiz PQ

ANNUAL BUMPER QUIZ We’re giving away five great Fitbits as prizes for this year’s quiz winners – so get to it!

This great gadget means you’ve no excuses for not sticking to that ‘get fit’ New Year’s resolution!

IN THE NEWS IN 2019

1

found guilty of failing to surrender to court?

Labour party politician Diane Abbott apologised after a photo emerged of her sipping a can of which alcoholic drink on a London Overground train?

Professional comedian Volodymyr Zelensky became the sixth president of which country?

2

ENTERTAINMENT

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the first child of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was born in 2019. Archie is in which position in line to the British throne?

3 4

What, made of gold and worth an estimated £5m, was stolen from Blenheim Palace?

Astronomers discovered 20 new moons around which planet, overtaking Jupiter as the planet with the most known moons in the Solar System?

5 6

Which country became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage?

How old was Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, when she spoke at the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York?

7

Who completed his two-year investigation into President Trump and any possible collusion with Russia to influence the 2016 US election?

8

Which country became the first to safely and successfully land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon?

9

After seven years taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, who was finally arrested after being

10 11

Who launched a legal action against the makers of Channel 4's The Jump after fracturing vertebrae in 2016?

12

Name the Desperate Housewives star who received a prison sentence for her role in the US college admissions bribery scandal.

13 14 15 16

Which Scottish singersongwriter had a 2019 hit with ‘Someone You Loved’?

Who this year became the first black solo British headliner at Glastonbury festival?

Which country won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, held in Tel Aviv?

In June, Beth Chapman passed away. Together with her husband Duane she was best known for her appearances in which reality television series?

17 18 19

Which US animated sitcom did China ban in response to the episode ‘Band in China’?

Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing which film?

Which film was named as Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars?

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PQ Magazine January 2020

20

According to Forbes, who the highest-paid actress in

2019?

34 35 36 37 38

Who banned Christmas after the English Civil War in

1647?

SPORT

21

In rugby, which country did Wales beat on the final day of the Six Nations to claim their first Grand Slam since 2012?

22 23 24

Who is the current female 200 metre world champion?

Name the horse that won the 2019 Grand National for the second consecutive year?

Manchester City won the Premier League for the second year in a row with 98 points, but by how many points did they beat second-placed Liverpool?

25

In Formula One, Lewis Hamilton won his sixth driver’s championship at the Circuit of the Americas, in which US city?

26 27

The New England Patriots won Super Bowl LIII. Who did they defeat?

Egan Bernal won the 2019 Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American winner of the race. What is his nationality?

28 29 30

Who won this year’s Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles Championship?

The 2019 World Athletics Championships was held in which city?

Who won the 2019 Open Golf Championship?

CHRISTMAS

31

Alphabetically, which of Santa’s reindeer comes first?

32

In the Dr Who Christmas special in 2017, which actress made her first official appearance as the 13th Doctor?

33

Which famous scientist, who developed the three laws of motion, was born on Christmas Day 1642?

What colour are Mistletoe berries?

Donald Trump famously features in which Christmas

film?

Who was the 38th US president, who died on Boxing Day 2006?

Which Hollywood actor played six different roles in the animated film The Polar Express?

39 40

Which US President banned Christmas trees in the White House?

Which country donates the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year in gratitude for Britain’s support in World War II?

GENERAL

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

What is the most-viewed video on YouTube?

What year was the first model of the iPhone released?

Who played Jack Dawson in the film Titanic?

Sunflowers and The Potato Eaters are works by which Dutch painter?

What is Boris Johnson’s real first name?

What is the capital city of Bangladesh?

What is the chemical symbol for potassium?

What animal can be seen on the Porsche logo?

How many hearts does an octopus have?

What was the name of the group that Justin Timberlake was a member of before he launched his solo career?

Send your answers to: The Editor, PQ magazine, Unit 3a, Kingfisher Heights, Bramwell Way, Royal Docks, London E16 2GQ. Or email them – putting ‘Quiz’ in the header – to graham@pqmagazine.com.

The closing date is Monday 20 January 2020.

13

PQ EdTech Strategy

Step forward

What does the UK’s first EdTech Strategy mean for your learning?

Mark Mckenna explains all

E

arlier this year, the Department for Education (DfE) released the UK’s first EdTech Strategy. For many years there had been a notable lack of conversation about the promise and development of education technology. However, signs of DfE support for edtech had been building, with the thenEducation Secretary, Damien Hinds, declaring in 2018: “There is clear, untapped potential for

schools, colleges and universities to benefit even further from the power of technology to support students to learn, reduce teachers’ workload and save money.”

The delivery of the EdTech Strategy in April 2019 therefore represented a watershed moment for edtech in the UK, but what does it exactly mean for the teaching and learning of PQ readers?

Much of the strategy focuses on getting the key building blocks for edtech in place, identifying four key barriers that must be overcome: infrastructure, skills, safety, and procurement. The strategy then goes on to lay

out several commitments by DfE to supporting the progression of the edtech sector, largely focus on collaboration between representatives across the education sector to ensure that students get the teaching they want and need.

At Mindful Education, we certainly welcome these proposals, and for PQ’s readers we might be about to see a new wave of edtech developments that help with your learning over the coming months and years. That said, there are several elements that we believe to be lacking. Perhaps the most significant of these is that raising outcomes and attainment feels more of a byproduct of edtech, and not its central purpose, with DfE placing greater emphasis on edtech being able to drive down admin time and costs.

Of course, improving workloads, efficiency, communications and support are all important, but it is helping learners to achieve better outcomes that makes any edtech company – including ourselves – get out of bed in the morning. We believe that edtech has the power to change the lives of learners, and we strive to deliver those ‘lightbulb moments’, helping learners open up new doors that might previously have been closed.

Clearly there is still some way to go to reconcile the new EdTech Strategy with what learners – and their employers – want to see, but at least we can say with certainty that the conversation about edtech’s role in UK teaching and learning has truly started. PQ • Mark Mckenna is the founder and Managing Director at Mindful Education

It’s what we call

ethical finance Get a qualification that says you’re serious about business.

Register now at accaglobal.com/pq

14

PQ Magazine January 2020

Awards 2020 PQ

LASTORDERS You now have a bit more time – so get that nomination in to us.

In fact, we have extended the deadline to Friday 10 January 2020

T AWARDS CATEGORIES

• • • • • • •

PQ OF THE YEAR NQ OF THE YEAR DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENT OF THE YEAR

ime really is moving on, and we need your nominations for the PQ magazine Awards 2020. If you haven’t got an entry together then we have given you just a little bit more time – the new deadline for entries is Friday 10 January. Judging will take place the following week, with the ceremony itself taking place in February.

Remember, you can nominate yourself – now is not the time to be shy! Or how about nominating someone who has been a mentor to you? Or your favourite tutor? Or your boss? In exchange we will give you a real night to remember. The PQ awards are a unique opportunity to celebrate all that’s good about the accountancy profession.

All we need is 250 wise words on why you think your nominee should win, plus any supporting documentation. Please state clearly the category you are entering. And, as we said last month, don’t go overboard – less is more in many cases (but don’t forget, you can also add supporting material to help your entry).

You can download the nomination form at www.pqmagazine.com. Just click on the ‘pq awards’ bar on the home page. Or just email us your entry direct, to awards@pqmagazine.com.

You can also post your entry to: The Editor, PQ magazine, Unit 3a Kingfisher Heights, 2 Bramwell way, Royal Docks, London E16 2GQ. The new deadline for nominations is Friday 10 January 2020. PQ

TOP APPRENTICES

STUDENT BODY OF THE YEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR ACCOUNTANCY BODY ACCOUNTANCY COLLEGE – PUBLIC SECTOR

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Zane with the ICB’s Ami Copeland

Catherine Devine, with Nigel Harra and Christine Brown

INNOVATION IN ACCOUNTANCY BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING MANAGER/MENTOR ACCOUNTANCY TEAM ACCOUNTANCY PERSONALITY EDITOR’S SPECIAL AWARD

Grant Thornton’s Zane Salmon won the ‘PQ’ in the Accountancy Apprentice of the Year category last year. He is part of the Leadership Through Sport and Business ‘More Than an Apprenticeship’ programme. Under the tutelage of Kaplan Financial he achieved an average score of 97% for his Level 2 AAT exams. Rolls-Royce’s Rahil Mahmood was our 2018 Apprentice of the year, and BDO’s Catherine Devine was the 2017 winner.

Rahil Mahmood

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PQ Magazine January 2020

15

PQ the year ahead A new five-year strategy Keeping pace with rapid digital advances is a key challenge facing the profession.

So Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m excited that in 2020 weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll start rolling out CBE exams for Strategic Professional, following our successful CBE innovations earlier in the qualification. The Czech Republic, Ireland, plus UK exam centres in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester, will be in the first wave of this roll-out in March 2020, with the rest of the UK moving to CBE SP from June. This will give students an experience thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aligned to the demands and expectations of the modern workplace and means that ACCA is continuing to lead the way in exam innovation.

To ensure learning providers are fully ready weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re running â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;train the trainerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sessions for tutors, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve developed an online practice solution that replicates the live exams environment, which can be used in class to assign tests and track student performance. This will also give tutors the capacity to provide extensive personalised feedback to students, including links to external learning resources.

Through this, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be creating the future-ready talent employers most need.

In Q1 of 2020 weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also be launching a re-designed MyACCA portal for students and affiliates, which will enable them to track their progress through ACCA and interactions with us in a much more user-friendly, accessible and easy way.

Finally, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be embarking on a new five-year strategy from April 2020. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited to be revealing it to the world and build on what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already achieved on behalf of our members and future members.

Helen Brand OBE, CEO, ACCA

AAT to ACCA

Becoming influential business partners As we enter the 2020s, businesses will continue to experience waves of rapid innovation, which will provide both challenge and opportunity for the profession. Machine learning, automation and artificial intelligence will drive change faster than ever before. We are now living digital transformation that will enable us to reimagine finance.

This means that regardless of their size, sector, industry or location, businesses and finance professionals must prepare for the future as, whether they like it or not, their operating environment will be completely overhauled.

In this context, demand for pure reporting and custodian roles in the accounting profession will continue to decline â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but fear not, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good thing. As finance professionals we have the opportunity to develop our role within business to become influential business partners, shifting from back-office to front-of-house, and with it from support function to proactive value creators. However, to rise to the challenge and cement this position we must broaden our digital skills, enhance our EQ and commercial skills and become proactive learners throughout our careers.

Learning how to adapt to change and shake up conventional ways of doing things will be the key to ensuring both individual professional and sustainable corporate success in the 2020s.

My advice: live to learn, unlearn and relearn.

Andrew Harding, Chief Executive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

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16

PQ Magazine January 2020

the year ahead PQ

What’s ahead in 2020?

Climate crisis will define us As I look forward to 2020, I have high hopes for a year that has a very significant feel about it. The year 2020 had, up until very recently, always seemed a long way off. It was ‘the future’, when we could look forward to all sorts of fantastic technology-driven changes to society.

Now here we are, and although there have been huge changes over the past decade, in part technological, as we start a new one it’s very obvious that we need more change, and fast, in order to secure a healthy and sustainable world for all.

I am of course thinking about the climate crisis and the fact that what we do to tackle this in the coming decade will define us. I have real expectation that 2020 will see us work together to take huge strides moving us towards a better future.

In November 2020, the UN climate change summit will be held in Glasgow, and at ICAS sustainability will be a key focus for us as we lead up to that summit, and beyond. We want our members, and those joining our profession, to understand that they have an important role to play in bringing about positive change. They can contribute to creating sustainable business models, supporting their organisations to account for value beyond the balance sheet and helping them find ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Over 2020 ICAS will be supporting its members in these endeavours and it fills me with promise to think that together as a profession we can be a powerful force for good, bringing about the change that we need to see in this new decade.

J Bruce Cartwright, CEO, ICAS

Accountant’s role continues to evolve The pace of change in the accountancy sector has been relentless during the past decade and has escalated in the past few years. With technology driving the sector forward, there are elements of an accountant’s role that have either already been automated or are likely to be impacted in 2020 and beyond.

Fortunately, cloud-based solutions are generally having a positive effect for our members. Technological advances mean accountants can now report on real-time financial information, which frees them up from routine tasks such as data entry, enabling them to advise on what the figures mean for their clients. And with these changes we’re seeing the accountant’s role evolving to become more consultative, as highlighted in our recent research.

Further AAT research shows that there is a general skills gap across all industries, costing lower-skilled workers some £12,000 each year in salaries compared with those with an improved skillset.

In 2020, we will continue to call on all UK businesses to upskill their staff, to improve company loyalty and productivity, and help generate an estimated £125 billion economic boost. In this vein, we have been pleased to see more people taking our short training courses, including budgeting, and we expect this to continue.

Data analysis is another area that has undergone rapid change in recent years, and in which some accountants may need to upskill. The need for businesses and accountants to work closely together is set to strengthen further in 2020, and this is one area where the profession can offer real value.

Mark Farrar, CEO, AAT PQ Magazine January 2020

We asked the bodies’ chiefs for their thoughts on what will happen in 2020. Here’s what they told us…

Audit reform a priority Next year should see more movement on audit reform, beginning with the findings from Sir Donald Brydon’s review into the effectiveness and quality of audit.

There continues to be a lot of discussion on how to ensure audit meets the needs of the users of accounts, and we will continue to work with all relevant parties to ensure reform is successful, and happens in a proportional and practical way. Reform will be a complex process but it is vital in helping to restore public trust in audit.

We’ll also start the year with a new government.

Regardless of who is in office, we hope to see the implementation of policies that harness technological innovation to drive national productivity. For example, we recommend researching the impact of things like artificial intelligence and blockchain on industry to ensure that we can build a modern economy fit for the 21st century.

We also believe that the next government should have a clear, long-term agenda on sustainability, involving a framework to support businesses in delivering a zero-carbon economy.

Ongoing Brexit uncertainty and political instability has taken its toll on the UK economy with business confidence reaching a decade-low at the end of 2019. Whatever happens in the General Election, we believe that the overriding priority of the government must be to get a good Brexit deal which ensures as little disruption to the UK economy as possible and protects jobs, investment and trade.

Michael Izza, CEO, ICAEW

Greater certainty is needed The world is changing around us, and public finance and accountancy professionals are adapting to lead the new challenges.

We’re facing greater pressures than ever before, which places a premium on professionals with the right skills to work across the wide scope of the public sector. The party manifestos of the general election campaign give many spending promises and some potential policy solutions, but in many cases give rise to even more questions. All the while, the prospect of Brexit looms on the horizon.

In the midst of these radical changes, the best thing we can hope for is greater certainty for public services as the New Year approaches. This starts with planning ahead and considering what challenges future public finance leaders may encounter as we enter the new decade.

At CIPFA, we are revamping our professional qualification in consultation with employers, students and CIPFA members. The project to update our curriculum – CIPFA 2020 – will take into account impending technological advances in information management to produce professional accountants with enhanced analysis skills.

Whether you are an incoming or existing student, or a practising accountant, we want to ensure that you have the tools and skills needed to meet these new challenges into 2020 and beyond. Providing first-rate public services and using public financial management to build trust remains our greatest commitment. We look forward to the opportunities this new phase in public finance will present.

Readiness for tomorrow’s challenges begins with preparations today.

Whatever the future brings, CIPFA will continue to offer unique top quality training programmes to the public finance leaders of tomorrow in the UK and around the world who are excited by acting in the public interest, working ethically and providing better public services that can transform people’s lives.

Rob Whiteman, CEO, CIPFA 17

PQ salary survey

Show us the money Karen Young, director of Hays Accountancy & Finance, provides her comments on the latest salary and recruitment trends for 2020

P

art qualified accountants have reason to be positive about the year ahead, as employers in the sector predict strong hiring intentions, increased business activity and salary rises. Salaries for PQ accounting roles also rose more generously than other roles over the past 12 months, as they increased by 2.3% on average, compared with 1.8% for industry as a whole.

Our findings show that PQs are fairly satisfied with their pay, but salary satisfaction didn’t rise as much as it did last year. Pay transparency is of high importance to staff this year, so to keep salary satisfaction improving employers in the sector are urged to put practical steps into action, such as having clear promotion and pay structures, and undertaking regular career and pay reviews.

Pay is certainly of importance, but a lack of future opportunities is a key driver of employee movement, almost on par with salary. Developing career plans is vital to keep current staff engaged with the organisation they work for, and promoting career progression opportunities can also help make organisations more appealing to jobseekers.

Findings for the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2020 guide: • Almost two-thirds (65%) of PQs say their salary has increased over the past 12 months, with over a quarter (29%) saying it went up by over 5%. More (68%) expect their salaries to increase again over the next 12 months.

• Salary satisfaction among employees continues to rise albeit more gradually last year, as only 38% said they were dissatisfied with their salary this year, compared with 40% last year and 58% the year before.

• Of those who said they are dissatisfied with their salary, the main reason is because it doesn’t reflect their responsibilities (61%), followed by it not reflecting their experience and expertise (53%).

• Over three-quarters (76%) say it is important for their organisation to be transparent about how pay levels and pay rises are set. To 46%, it is important.

• When it comes to benefits, the most important to PQs when considering a new role are 28+ days holiday (53%), financial support for professional studies (51%) and health insurance or private medical cover (45%).

• PQs are more optimistic about their careers this year, as three in five (60%) say they are positive about their career prospects compared with 52% last year. Some 59% also feel that there is scope for career progression within their organisation.

• Despite this, fewer say they are satisfied with their job than last year (69% versus 71% respectively).

• Employee mobility remains static as 34% of PQs say they moved jobs in the last 12 months. Some 44% say they considered leaving their organisation or changing roles.

• The top reason PQs say would make them leave their current role is their salary (27%).

This is followed closely by a lack of future opportunities (24%), suggesting that employers will need to focus on career development to hold on to talent in the year ahead.

About the research The salary data has been complied using information gathered during 2019 from Hays Offices across the UK. It is based on job listings, job offers and candidate registrations. The recruiting trends and benefits data is based on a survey conducted in June & July 2019.

The survey was completed by over 31,500 employees and employers, from organisations of all sizes and sectors. For more information go to: https://www.hays.co.uk/salary-guide PQ 18

Scotland Typical £22,000 £29,000 £33,000 £31,000 £34,000 £25,000 £30,000 £28,000 £33,000

AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

North West Typical £21,500 £28,000 £33,000 £28,000 £33,000 £25,000 £29,000 £24,000 £28,000

AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

West Midlands AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £22,000 £28,000 £35,000 £29,000 £35,000 £27,000 £30,000 £30,000 £35,000

South West AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £25,000 £31,500 £36,500 £31,500 £36,500 £27,000 £31,500 £29,500 £32,000

PQ Magazine January 2020

salary survey PQ

North East Wales

Typical £19,000 £26,000 £33,000 £28,000 £33,000 £24,000 £31,000 £26,000 £30,000

AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £21,000 £26,000 £30,000 £28,000 £30,000 £22,000 £28,000 £25,000 £30,000

AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Yorkshire & the Humber AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £21,000 £26,000 £32,000 £26,000 £31,000 £24,500 £29,000 £24,500 £28,000

East Midlands AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £22,000 £28,000 £33,000 £28,000 £34,000 £26,000 £28,000 £28,000 £30,000

East of England AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £22,000 £30,000 £36,000 £30,000 £36,000 £28,500 £35,000 £31,500 £37,000

London AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist

Typical £25,000 £36,000 £44,000 £36,000 £44,000 £28,500 £33,500 £35,000 £38,000

South East AAT Studier ACCA PQ ACCA Finalist CIMA PQ CIMA Finalist CIPFA PQ CIPFA Finalist ACA PQ ACA Finalist PQ Magazine January 2020

Typical £25,000 £35,000 £42,000 £36,000 £44,000 £28,500 £33,000 £31,000 £38,000 19

PQ CIMA spotlight

Honing those vital skillsets

A

t CIMA, we have been dedicated to understanding the needs of employers and the desires of students and members. We know the modern finance professional needs to have a unique combination of skills that allows them to tackle the challenges brought about by digitisation and the impact of new technologies on business models.

The digitisation of business will only continue and so will the disruption, which means finance professionals entering the workplace now need to possess an agile mindset and everevolving digital skills.

To this end, the CIMA Professional Qualification has been updated to enable students around the world to acquire the skills competencies and mindsets employers tell us are critical to sustainable value creation and their longterm business success. In the face of increasing digitisation the skills we’re told are most valued in the world of work are now in the areas of digital competency,

20

problem-solving, leadership and influence.

So we’ve worked hard to incorporate essential skills such as digital costing and digital strategy and subjects like cybersecurity into our syllabus, while maintaining the areas that help to develop other soft skills such as leadership. We have also been sure to update areas like integrated reporting, which is becoming much more significant to the business community as a way to meet social responsibilities.

As well as focusing on skills and employability, we have also made sure to develop a professional qualification that can be gained while balancing studies with a busy work or personal life. We offer on-demand exams and a flexible structure that means you can work at a pace that suits you. This means if you need to study over a longer period you could complete a level every year or, you could work at a much faster rate. In addition, when it comes to booking your exams, we partner with Pearson VUE to

The CIMA Professional Qualification is the passport to a successful career in business, says Stephen Flatman

offer the ultimate flexibility of sitting your exams in any one of their 5,000 test centres in 178 countries.

We also have some insight to offer when it comes to approaching your learning and sitting exams. To make the most of the syllabus we suggest students start with the Enterprise Pillar subject, then on to the Performance Pillar and finish with the Financial Pillar subject.

This is because the Enterprise Pillar has a lot of foundational content and puts the Performance and Finance Pillars into context. The Performance Pillar focuses on the role and work of management accountants in their business and the Finance Pillar looks at reporting and its place in business.

Working through our 2019 syllabus in the suggested order, taking your objective tests in good time after completing each subject and being sure to book your case study exams without too much delay after completing each level, will help you succeed and meet your employability goals. This will give you the perfect foundation to develop in the workplace and hone the skills and competencies you’ve acquired through continuous professional development (CPD) and on the job experience.

Now that you’ve chosen to become a finance professional you have the chance to build a dynamic and far reaching career in business. If you have chosen to study with CIMA, which is backed by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants – ‘the unified voice of CIMA and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)’ – you’re already on your way to achieving the passport to your career and becoming a world recognised Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

As part of our commitment to power trust and opportunity, we will support you through your development as your career progresses with CPD tools and a range of free resources accessible from around the world.

To learn more about how you can keep your skills up-to-date once you’ve finished your studies visit www.cimaglobal.com/Members/ PQ • Stephen Flatman, Vice President, Examinations, Management Accounting, The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

PQ Magazine January 2020

CIMA Strategic case study PQ

Technique is everything Sean O’Leary offers some top advice on how to get through the Strategic case study exams

few months of 2019 you’ve got a bit of catching up to do. CIMA do have personalised transition advice, and it would seem a very sensible thing to do to have a look at it. You can even buy gap

S

o you’re planning to do the case study in February, and obviously you want to pass.

What’s stopping you?

People fail for a variety of reasons – but some of the most common are: • Their exam technique is poor. And, to be honest, that’s usually it. You wouldn’t have got this far through your studies if you didn’t know your stuff (those OTs at the strategic level are tough!). Anyway, to get your exam technique up to speed: a) Fill in any knowledge gaps. b) Get to know the pre-seen material really well. c) Bring it all together in the last and most important part – application to the scenario.

Knowledge gaps The biggest headache in this area has got to be the change from the 2015 to the 2019 syllabus and, in particular, the changes in the E3 syllabus.

The P3 syllabus has changed a bit, too. Have a look on the CIMA website about the transition; frankly, unless you sat both exams in the last

PQ Magazine January 2020

learning materials from CIMA. A lot of the changes in the F3 paper are not as significant – it’s often about moving stuff from one area to another, which really isn’t that big a deal in this paper.

It doesn’t matter if you learnt about hedging foreign currency in F3 or P3, as long as you know the drawbacks and advantages of, say, currency futures.

Pre-seen material The case study pre-seen will be coming out around about now, just as you’re reading this – the release date to students is Friday 13 December. You need to get it. NOW! (Okay, maybe read the rest of this article first.)

Once you’ve got it, read it, re-read it, and read it again. Be active about it – on every page, see if you could think about how you could link up at least one thing on the page to one part of the three syllabi.

The last four weeks It is all about exam preparation at this stage – having a go at practice questions and if possible, doing a couple of three-hour practice exams.

This makes sure you know what the examiner is looking for – for example, no integration marks under the new syllabus, and no minimum marks needed under the different competences.

Feedback is essential here, so you can see if you’re on the right track.

We can help here – and we write material specifically linked to the case study (see details below). PQ • Sean O’Leary has been a tutor, writer, moderator and examiner for nearly 20 years (not all at the same time) and offers CIMA Strategic Case via www.fmelearnonline.com

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PQ ICAEW spotlight

Be resolute Need advice on how to make next year a success? CABA’s Kelly Feehan is here to help

W

ith the end of 2019 just a matter of weeks away, many of us will already be starting to contemplate the year ahead. The winter season is the time to take stock of how far we’ve come and realign ourselves with our long-term ambitions.

Preparing for the year ahead can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re in the middle of current deadlines and assignments are still due in the coming weeks. However, setting goals for the next 12 months and making a list of things you would like to achieve will help aid personal and professional development.

If you want to make a headstart on your 2020 to-do list and map out how you’re going to realistically meet your objectives, the steps below will help you to develop and prepare a well-considered plan.

Time management Time management is an essential skill to master and could be the solution to your problems, whether you’re revising for exams or starting out in your first job role. You will always have to juggle different tasks and manage distractions, but understanding the difference between what’s important and what’s urgent and prioritising accordingly can prevent your work from snowballing out of control.

It’s not just life in the office that can be improved if you’re using your time effectively, your home life can benefit, too. Ineffective time management can lead to stress and longer working hours, which can negatively affect your work-life blend and the quality of time you have out of work.

Compromised wellbeing, tiredness and lack of motivation can then impact on your performance in the workplace, resulting in a vicious cycle.

Mastering time management can go a long way to prevent this.

Reflecting on the past 365 days will help you to implement any lessons you have learnt into your plans for the new year, whether that is making an effort to hand assignments in early to save yourself unnecessary stress and pressure, or by making a daily to-do list so that you can

prioritise your tasks for the following day. This will enable you to have maximum focus and clarity at the start of the day and will save you 15 minutes of your time which can be better spent elsewhere.

Work out where you want to go Do you know what you want to achieve in your career and how to get there? Once you have worked out how to manage your time, creating a broad objective accompanied by smaller contributing tasks to help you reach your main goal will help you figure out how long it will take to get there. From there, create an outline of how you’ll reach those goals, when you want to accomplish them, and ways that you can ensure you stay on track. This becomes your action plan for the year.

You’ll want to revisit your action plan at least four times a year. Your goals can change throughout the year for several reasons. Your ambitions shouldn’t stay the same if your circumstances have changed.

If you’re looking for your first job, make sure that the businesses you work with match your values. This, in turn, will help you achieve your goals. Make use of your connections and continue to network, this will give you a sense of how others have carved out their career path and will help you mirror their steps.

Make space Making yourself busy in the evenings and over the weekends will mean you are tight on time in other areas. This can result in you restricting your personal breathing space.

Eliminate, automate and delegate everything you can. Strive to have time on your hands and the time will be filled with more meaningful things. Make space in your life for creativity, growth and self-care. This will increase your capacity to give more of yourself to things that matter the most to you. You have to be ready and make space for success and abundance to arrive.

Reward success It’s often easy to overlook our successes, especially if we have created a goal to meet them. Rather than punishing yourself for setbacks and missed goals reward yourself for the great things you achieve.

Guilt, regret, and punishment may push you in the short term, but they won’t motivate you to continue striving for the things you want. As you prepare next year’s goals, figure out what your rewards will be. The key here is that the rewards must be intrinsically meaningful to you.

Be SMART When it comes to planning out the year ahead, ensure that your goals are SMART. A well-known acronym, SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time sensitive. Too often people set goals that are vague and unrealistic. This leads to frustration, and also decreases the likelihood of achieving the goal. The SMART method can be applied to a variety of goals, whether professional or personal, giving you the tools you need to succeed in your goal setting endeavours.

Avoid comparisons When you’re creating your plan it’s easy to at the careers of others who have arrived at the place where you envision yourself. However, the tip is to focus on your own selfimprovement and not that of others around you. Keep in mind that everyone’s journey and encounters are different, and the way people learn differs as well. Although we may share similar destinations, our paths are often quite different.

Instead of making resolutions, setting measurable goals is more likely to lead to success in seeing your hopes and dreams come to fruition, whether that is during your time studying and achieving top grades, or whether it’s in your first job and working your way towards your first promotion.

For more information on how to get the most out of your career and personal life, and for tips and tricks on a range of topics from exam preparation to managing stress and anxiety, visit the Help and Guides section on CABA’s website: https://www.caba.org.uk/help-and-guides Get ready for 2020 with the latest ACA planner. Use your planner to keep track of key dates as well as recording your work experience days, study days or plan a revision timetable. To download go to icaew.com/acaplanner PQ • Kelly Feehan, Service Director, CABA Reproduced with the permission of ICAEW, this article was first published in Vital (December 2019)

Registered Tuition Provider

22

PQ Magazine January 2020

CIMA exam tips PQ

Hugh Martin explains how you can get through CIMA in the shortest time possible

At the double

A

ccording to CIMA, the average amount of time it takes to become fully CIMA qualified is four years. Given that you can become fully qualified in just three years, what is the missing gap? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very lucky to have qualified in just three years, but much of that was due to tactical exam planning rather than chance.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve often found in my professional career that people spend too long in the qualification framework because they do not commit to taking their CIMA exams.

Instead, they study first and book the exam when they are comfortable that they will pass. This might work for some, but life will always get in the way if you are waiting for the right time to sit your exams. The best advice I can give is to commit first by booking your exam in the future and then study as hard as you can to pass that exam.

With this advice on board, it is important to start tactically planning your exams for the next three years. If you have obtained a degree before pursuing the CIMA qualification, chances are that you have received some exemptions.

Assuming that those exemptions have

allowed you to move straight onto the professional qualification framework, then it is reasonable to expect that you can get through one level per year. It really is that simple â&#x20AC;&#x201C; make it your goal to complete one level per year. That means taking three objective exams and one case study exam per year. CIMA recommends that you take the Enterprise pillar exams first, then the Performance and finally the Financial pillar. I would largely agree with this exam order, but there is nothing stopping you from taking

â&#x20AC;˘ Hugh Martin is MD of Belfastbased consultancy Lankill Group

any objective exam order you like.

The question is this: how long you should spend studying for each objective and case study exam if you are to successfully move up one level per year?

My personal recommendation is that objective exams are given six to eight weeks of study and case studies are given eight to nine weeks of study, depending on how familiar you are with the content. This means that you can spend roughly half of the year studying and the rest can be spent relaxing.

It is important to remember that even if you complete all your exams in a short space of time like one year or 18 months (I have seen this before!), you must still have three years of relevant experience to be a fully qualified CIMA accountant. My opinion is that you should pass your exams in co-ordination with this threeyear target rather than being at odds with it. The CIMA framework was designed to be worked through at a pace that brings academic and practical experience together, so it is recommended that you aim to achieve both requirements around the same time. PQ

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PQ CIPFA spotlight

Taking the stress out of Christmas

it’s easy to overindulge. Remember to try to include some healthy food (vegetables, fruit and nuts – luckily all part of what we eat over the festive period) in your diet.

Stay hydrated with lots of water as well.

6. Try to get fresh air and exercise. Wrap up warmly and take a winter walk. Give yourself a break from the shopping, cooking, eating, drinking and socialising that tend to dominate the holiday.

7. If you’re waiting for exam results, remember that you can’t change anything about how you performed in the exam.

Enjoy the time off work and come back refreshed and ready to tackle your next set of opportunities and challenges, whether academic or work-related.

8. Why not go off the grid? Try a technology detox. In this day and age, social media and the crowded news cycle can cause additional stress and selfdoubt. Focus on your own self-care and don’t compare yourself to anyone else.

9. Enjoy the little things: frost sparkling on the pavement or robins in the holly bushes. Appreciating nature can do a lot to keep us grounded and help us relax.

10. Remember what’s important. We often reflect at this time of year on what’s happened to us over the past 12 months.

For me, what’s important is whether I managed to spend time with those who matter to me, whether I did my best, whether I have learned from those occasions when I got it wrong and what would I do differently in the future.

Alison Sweeting shares her 10 mental health tips for students this holiday season

Take time to reflect The end of the year is a good time to make changes to your life or behaviour that will help you and others. Take time to reflect on what you’ve done, how you’ve done it and whether there are things in your life that you would like to change.

At CIPFA, we’re dedicated to helping improve student wellbeing. In the near future, we will be providing webinars on the topic to help our students adjust to the demands of a busy workload, with the assistance of CIPFA South East Student Network.

Seasons greetings! Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need advice or support or would like to provide suggestions for how CIPFA could better support student health and wellbeing. Email me at alison.sweeting@cipfa.org PQ • Alison Sweeting is CIPFA’s Training Delivery Manager

I

t’s December – winter is finally here and the seasonal spirit is setting in.

Exams are finished and it’s time to take a break from our busy and often stressful lives. Even though it may be tempting to keep checking emails and thinking about work during days off it’s important to disconnect and take a few days to fully relax body and mind.

There is a time for work and a time for play. It’s crucial to set aside time for the latter and recharge, so you’re ready for what the New Year will bring.

Try these 10 helpful tips to make the most of the festive season: 1. If you don’t celebrate Christmas don’t feel pressured into feeling you have to

send cards, buy presents or put up a tree. Respect your own beliefs and those of others.

2. Don’t break the bank buying gifts, only to worry about paying for them. Friends and family appreciate that you thought of them at this special time, not how much you spend.

3. Don’t compare your seasonal celebrations to anyone else’s. If you don’t want to light up your house like your neighbour has, then don’t. Create the celebration you want.

4. Make sure you have some time to relax among all the mad preparations and activities. Say no if you don’t want to go out for the third night in a row. If you want to snuggle down at home with a hot chocolate and a favourite film, do it.

Remember, getting enough sleep and rest is important.

5. With so much food (and drink) around

Award-winning AAT courses and apprenticeships Flexible learning to suit your lifestyle mindful-education.co.uk/students 24

PQ Magazine January 2020

the troubleshooter PQ

Value Added explained Dr Philip E Dunn explains how Value Added is used as a measure of productivity

I

t has been said that to sustain sound performance Britain needs to continue making a transition to being an open, globally integrated ‘knowledge economy’ in manufacturing and services.

Value Added measures the wealth a company creates not just for itself but also for its stakeholders and society as a whole.

Value Added has been used as a performance indicator for a number of decades and as a trainee accountant in the 1960s I read an article in the Financial Times entitled ‘How to measure output’, by Ronald Gilcrist of Urwick Orr and Partners. Gilcrist defined Value Added as “the value of sales less the cost of all materials, heat light and power and all other bought out items”.

It constitutes the fund from which a company applies to: • Pay employees.

• Pay providers of capital.

• Pay government taxation.

• Maintain and expand assets.

During the period 2000-2009, the then Department of Trade and Industry, followed by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, published the Value Added Scoreboard.

The Scoreboard provided measures of wealth for some 800 UK companies and the top 700 EU companies by Value Added.

Value Added simply analyses how efficiently companies use their staff and assets to create wealth. The Scoreboard states that: • Productivity is the rate of output per unit of input and is particularly useful for assessing the effective use of labour, materials and equipment.

Productivity is often defined as value added per employee when labour is the major input but value added as a percentage of labour and equipment costs for more capital incentive business may be a more appropriate measure for companies.

• The two productivity measures used in the Scoreboard are P1, Value Added per employee and P2, Value Added as a percentage of labour and depreciation costs (for allowing both labour and capital inputs). P1 is referred to as the Wealth Creation Efficiency, P2 as percentage ratio.

PQ Magazine January 2020

Mini case study A recent extract from the Accounts of Whitby Engineering showed: £m Revenue 8.50 Cost of sales 6.20 * Earnings before interest and tax 2.30 Number of employees 150 * Cost of sales comprise: wages, salaries and employee benefits £2.05m; depreciation £0.55m; and Bought out items £3.60m.

Value added: revenue less cost of bought out items: £8.50 - £3.60 = £4.90m Alternatively: EBIT + employee costs + depreciation: £2.30m + £2.05m + £0.55m = £4.90m From these figures the following can be determined: • Value Added per employee.

• Value Added per £ of employee costs.

• Value Added as a percentage of employee costs and depreciation.

For Whitby Engineering the measures are: • Value Added per employee.

Value Added/No of employees £4.90m/150 = £32,667.

• Value Added per £ of employee costs. £4.90m/£2.05m = 2.39 (number of times).

• Value Added as a percentage of employee costs and depreciation.

Value Added/employee costs and depreciation %

£4.90m/£2.05m + £0.55m % = 188.5% or 1.89 per £ of input costs.

These performance indicators (ratios) measure employee productivity and wealth creation and can form a benchmark for the company for a year-on-year comparison internally or for an industry sector as a whole.

The 2009 P1 and P2 measures for BT and Tesco Plc were £105,000 and 143% (1.43) and £19,000 and 149.5% (1.49).

Recent research at Lancaster University by Dr Anthony Hesketh has added a further dimension to P2.

A model has been developed for measuring and improving human capital management that centres on a measure ROIT – Return on Invested Talent.

This comprises: EBIT + Employee Costs + Depreciation and Amortisation less a Capital Charge/Employee Costs + Depreciation and Amortisation.

The capital charge is based on (Working Capital + Non Current Assets) * WACC. It is interesting to note in an article in the ICAEW Finance and Management Faculty publication (issue 220, April 2014), Dr Hesketh gives examples of ROIT for Telecommunications Sector of 1.45 and Food Retailers 1.41.

I highly recommend this most interesting article to readers. PQ • Dr Philip E Dunn is a freelance author and technical editor for Kaplan and Osborne Books

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PQ career advice

Work smart Pantelis C. Fouli has some top advice on how you can make work work for you

T

he exams are over and it’s now time to take a breather. Or is it? Most of you have been on study leave and it’s now back to work. To help you all young professionals out there work more efficiently and effectively I propose a few points which I chose to follow and in essence NOT do.

‘Not-to-do’ lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance. The reason is simple: what you don’t do determines what you can do.

• Do not email first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. Email can wait until 10am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items.

• Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time. If the desired outcome is defined clearly with a stated objective and agenda listing topics/questions to cover, no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes. Request them in advance so you can best prepare and make good use of the time.

• Do not check email constantly — ‘batch’ and check at set times only. Focus on execution of your top to-do’s instead of responding to manufactured emergencies. Set up a strategic auto-responder and check twice or thrice daily.

• Do not over-communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance partners. There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone. Do an 80/20 analysis of your customer/business partner base in two ways – which 20% are producing 80%-plus of my profit, and which 20% are consuming 80%-plus of my time?

• Do not work more but prioritise. If you don’t prioritise, everything seems urgent and important. If you define the single most important task for each day, almost nothing seems urgent or important. Often it’s just a matter of letting little bad things happen (return a phone call late and apologise, pay a small late fee, lose an unreasonable customer, etc.) to get the big important things done. The answer to overwhelm is not spinning more plates – or

doing more – it’s defining the few things that can really fundamentally change your business and life.

• Do not carry a mobile phone 24/7 (as emphasised in my column last month). Take at least one day off of digital leashes each week.

Turn them off or, better still, leave them in the garage or in the car. I do this every Saturday, and I recommend you leave the phone at home if you go out for dinner. So what if you return a phone call an hour later or the next morning?

• Do not expect work to fill a void that nonwork relationships and activities should.

Work is not all of life. Your co-workers shouldn’t be your only friends.

Schedule life and defend it just as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself “I’ll just get it done this weekend.” Review Parkinson’s Law (the adage that ‘work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion’) and force yourself to cram within tight hours so your per-hour productivity doesn’t fall through the floor. Focus, get the critical few done, and get out. Emailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.

It’s hip to focus on getting things done, but it’s only possible once we remove the constant static and distraction. If you have trouble deciding what to do, just focus on not doing. Different means, same end. PQ • Pantelis C. Fouli is ACCA qualified and an ACCA Advocate and Student Mentor

Top Up Your Professional Qualification to a BSc Accounting Degree Fast track your career through online study with our BSc Accounting Degree and further develop the technical and non-technical accounting skills required for a successful professional career. You can Top Up your CIMA Advanced Diploma (or an equivalent accounting qualification) and study with us to achieve a BSc degree in as little as 12 months.

Start February 2020 Apply now: www.rgu.ac.uk/bscaccountingcima

26

PQ Magazine January 2020

ACCA report PQ

Beat the bad guys D

ecember 9 was International Anti-Corruption Day, an annual event created in 2003 when the United Nation’s (UN) General Assembly adopted the UN’s Nations Convention against corruption.

Kicking off in December 2005, this occasion is a chance to stop and think about why anti-corruption matters, and the part the accountancy profession plays in tackling bribery and corruption.

Some 14 years later it is, of course, still the case that corruption blights business, societies and individuals. Due to media headlines and social media we are more aware than ever of bribery and corruption and the damage it causes.

Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. They publish global research and resources on bribery and corruption, including how it affects the public sector, business, and even individuals. They also look at how specific sectors are affected by such abuses of power – from sport to politics to education.

Not immune from corruption There are many reasons and motivations why corruption happens, from personal financial gain to securing power. And because money is often at the heart of such activities, experts like accountants are not immune from becoming involved in bribery and corruption – sometimes unwittingly and, unfortunately, sometimes willingly.

Accountants are often the first to see the signs of bribery and corruption. The accounts may look wrong; board decisions and corporate governance may swerve the rules; you hear rumours about backhanders being offered. The activities linked to bribery and corruption are myriad, and it can be a minefield for the finance professional to navigate.

The judgment an accountant possesses is crucial. Our ability to stop and really think ‘is this right?’ matters more than ever, especially in the digital age. And as a profession, we also need to realise that bribery and corruption is not something that just happens in big business.

Indeed, SMEs are just as open to bribery and corruption as larger corporations. Our latest report, entitled ‘Combating bribery in the SME sector – UK analysis’, surveyed hundreds of UK accountancy experts, updating research from 2013.

Among the 2019 respondents, 66% do not think there is enough guidance for SMEs, up from 49% in 2013. And 16% PQ Magazine January 2020

Fighting corruption is eveyone’s responsibility – although an ACCA report shows accountants need more guidance on the issues, says Maggie McGhee do not know, suggesting they may not be aware of the guidance that does currently exist from various sources such as government and regulators.

A particular concern SMEs raised were the challenges they face in understanding the legal requirements in connection with bribery and corruption, pinpointing perceived additional costs from compliance with the UK legislation, with conclusive findings that show businesses are desperately searching for that much-needed support to understand the legal requirements of areas such as the Bribery Act 2010.

This is where professional advice and support from accountants and lawyers comes into play; and indeed respondents recognised this fact with the majority – 30% for each – saying this would be the case.

At a time when businesses in the UK face international trade uncertainty, SMEs also expressed fears about the risk of losing business when trading abroad due to a loss of parity with larger firms.

So our survey shows that bribery and corruption remains a legitimate concern for SMEs, including the loss of a ‘level playing field’ when competing for business, the increased costs that can result, and the risk of losing business if refusing, for example, to make facilitation payments. Many perceive it as a particular risk when trading abroad.

Our commitment as a professional body is to train accountants with the

skills and competencies to help them spot bribery and corruption and understand the related legalities. Our corporate and business law syllabus covers this, with a focus on the Bribery Act 2010, the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and recent money laundering regulations. And when qualified, we also offer updates and CPD that aim to keep our members aware of developments.

The challenge for any individual is to understand how to report and stop bribery and corruption. This is a big responsibility and – thankfully – in my career I’ve not had to call out instances of bribery and corruption. I’ve been lucky to work for organisations that have clear policies and guidelines about such issues, about what is acceptable and what is not. Some accountancy practices may wish to consider developing greater expertise in this area in order to be able to provide appropriate support and services to their SME clients. By doing so they could further develop their role as trusted business advisers While the risk of bribery and corruption is still with us, there is a huge professional responsibility on accountants to be aware of the signs and act upon them. But the profession cannot do this alone – it takes many players on the global stage, from the UN to the SME on the local high street, to tackle bribery and corruption. PQ • Maggie McGhee is ACCA’s executive director – governance 27

PQ profile

IN AT THE DEEP END Aged 16, you were the British 100m backstroke champion and about to be selected for Team GB for the Sydney 2000 Olympic. So what happened? I started suffering from unexplained symptoms, and was diagnosed after about six months with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an incurable disease. From this lowest point, until I was 26, I suffered blindness and paralysis along with acute depression. When obese, lonely and at rockbottom I was encouraged to swim for the first time since 1999 and soon after to teach a friend to swim (now my husband, Adrian). So I started swimming again and at the end of the same year I competed at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

For the next eight years I competed in championships all over the world, including the Paralympic Games at London 2012, where I won five medals, and then at Rio 2016, where I fulfilled my dream of winning a gold medal; two in fact as part of another five-medal haul! Now as an unfunded British swimmer I am aiming to compete at my fourth Paralympic Games, Tokyo 2020.

Which of your medals means most to you? Since the age of eight my dream was to win an Olympic gold medal, so the most important of the 703 medals I have is the Rio Paralympic Gold medal for the S8 100m backstroke.

Tell us about your training regime when you’re approaching a competition? My coaches will concentrate on endurance work, swimming longer distances, before focussing on speed. During the leadup period I’ll swim nine two-hour sessions a week, plus three gym sessions, yoga and massage. As I near any competition, my increased

Paralympic gold medalist Stephanie Millward MBE talks about the many challenges she has overcome – and her ambition to become an accountant

Stephanie’s autobiograpy, Paying the Price, is reviewed on page 29

rest periods become as important as any of the training ones.

You’ve been awarded the freedom of your home town, Corsham. Does it come with any perks? Yes! I am one of the very few people allowed to walk through the centre of the town with my sheep! I really must do this one day. It makes me feel incredibly proud and I am so grateful for the wonderful support the town and its inhabitants offer me.

You are crowd-funding to help you get to Tokyo 2020. How can people help? After Rio, I lost my UK Sport funding and so started work in my local petrol station, Budgens. This was tough, as my eight-hour shifts

were inevitably after my swimming training – and my daily alarm call at 4.45am. Thanks to sponsorships and donations, including a huge cheque from Budgens, I have been able to give up this work for this final year and prepare properly for Tokyo 2020. With the spare time I have gained I have returned to study for my AAT qualification that I started a dozen years ago. I have a fantastic voluntary performance director, mentor and fundraiser, Nigel.

Anyone wanting to help can email him at neflaughton@hotmail.com You have decided to become an accountant. What made you do it?

With numbers there is always a correct answer – so you are either

STEPHANIE IN BRIEF What book are you currently reading? Why We Do The Things We Do by Joel Levy Last music download? More Than A Dream by Harrison Craig Favourite TV programme? Smallville – I love superheroes!

When was the last time you laughed out loud? Just now! I laugh every day and smile all day!

Pub or Club? Neither. My favourite restaurant is our local Indian, the Bengal Bear. I love chicken tikka masala and pilau rice with onion bhajis. I am banking on my nutritionist not being one of your readers!

Your hero? I have lots, but the top four are my mum, my husband Adrian, Russian swimmer Alexander Popov and former England rugby and Gloucestershire cricketer, Alastair Hignell, who inspires me and many other MS sufferers.

Favorite tipple? Champagne when I have won something special or we have something to celebrate or when the scientists find a cure for MS – but generally, a nice cup of tea.

How do you chill? I enjoy staying busy – if I stop for too long the MS gets ‘bored’ and starts take over. I love learning new things – whether new stretches in yoga or new information on my AAT course. I love helping people and am privileged to be a Patron or Ambassador for nine Charities. Being happy and being busy is the new chilled!

28

right or wrong. I love this; at school I adored maths. With MS things are rarely straightforward, one of the many frustrations of the illness. So when Nigel and I discussed my career after I retire we agreed that, in addition to staying involved as a swimming coach, continuing with accounting was a great option.

Why did you choose to study AAT? Returning to complete the courses I had intended to take prior to my selection for the Beijing 2008 Olympics was easy. This was only possible thanks to the incredible support I received – which matched the £12,000 I had ‘lost’ after Rio 2016. Back in 2008 I had passed AAT Level 2, but I have spent the past few months taking the same course as a refresher as lots has changed. I aim to pass AAT Level 3 next year, after I retire from swimming.

How have you found going back to studying and the support given by Training Link? Easy and sensational, respectively. It has been brilliant getting back to studying and I have enjoyed the online modules – even the tests at the end of each. The external exam was frightening, but I was confident thanks to the work I’d done with Training Link and have passed everything so far. Training Link and my main mentor, Michele, have been incredible. If anyone from Training Link reads this, please know I am so grateful to you all.

How do you juggle training and studying? Like most people I have a schedule – only mine just starts earlier and includes Saturdays, with my alarm set for 4.45am. I’m in the pool by 6am for the first session, and thereafter generally the days run like clockwork – I have set times for meals, other training and I set aside times for study. Additionally, Neill Ricketts, CEO of engineering firm Versarien, has given me a role doing payroll and management accounts, working from home. This 10 hours a week is fantastic ‘book-keeping’ experience – and I get paid, too!

Do you have any tips for fellow studiers? Be disciplined – being a swimmer, with dawn training, makes this easier, but if I wasn’t disciplined, I’d never have won so many medals.

And give Training Link a call and get booked on a course! PQ PQ Magazine January 2020

careers PQ

Getting to

net zero The UK leads the G20 in having the most rapid decarbonisation rate (3.7%) since 2000, says the latest PwC Low Carbon Economy Index (LCEI). However, the rate of progress has slowed and the gap to meet climate targets is widening.

PwC said to achieve the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 an annual decarbonisation rate of 9.7% will be required. Most of the UK’s recent emissions reductions have come from the phasing-out of coal. But this trend of decarbonisation is neither substantial or sufficient, according to PwC’s stats.

Achieving net zero will require action and a transition of every sector of the UK economy. The electrification of sectors such as transport and heating needs to be met by the scaling up of renewables and increased investment in clean energy sources, advanced storage solutions, and smart grids.

Negative emissions technologies such as carbon capture and storage will need to be scaled, and improved agriculture and land use practices will be critical for removing carbon from the atmosphere and restoring carbon sinks.

Currently, the UK is making limited progress outside the power and industry sectors, according to the Index. Some businesses are increasingly adopting ambitious climate commitments and demonstrating climate leadership. Over 1,000 leading companies have signed up to initiatives such as Science Based Targets and RE100, while nearly 100 companies have committed to more ambitious decarbonisation to reach net zero by 2050, showing their willingness to both align with, and drive, the low carbon transition.

PwC’s Global Climate Change Leader, Dr Celine Herweijer, said: “Achieving net zero will require companies across all sectors to transform, drive innovation and grow while managing transition risks. This needs to happen at scale and speed over the coming two to three business cycles.

“It’s one thing for leading companies to set ambitious targets, but the ability to meet these will need strong government action to stimulate new market solutions.”

Herweijer stressed regulatory intervention will be key to helping many technologies and business models to reach a critical lift-off point.

We are talking R&D, clean infrastructure investment, carbon pricing, tax incentives, and redirecting subsidies here.

PQ Magazine January 2020

Life at Impala Energy ACCA qualified Jarka Ronchetti is a group accountant based in London, working there for two months. She was previously a finance manager for the National Autistic Society.

She has a first class degree in Accounting and Finance from London Metropolitan uni What time does your alarm clock go off on a working day? 7am.

What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk? I check my emails and notes from the previous day.

What’s on your desk? Laptop, two additional screens, telephone, documents and a cup of tea.

What’s the best thing about where you work? The office is very dynamic and I am surrounded by very smart people.

Where’s your favourite place for lunch? I like to mix it up.

What (or who) can you see when you sit at your desk?

The Palace Theatre and Cambridge Circus.

What are your favourites websites and why?

AccountingWeb. I find comments from its readers interesting.

Which websites do you use for work? HMRC and CNBC for FX rates.

How many hours a week do you spend in meetings? One hour a week.

What time do you leave the office? At 5pm.

How do you relax? Going out for a meal, to the theatre, or for a walk.

What’s your favourite tipple?

Red wine.

How often do you take work home with you? Almost never. I work overtime to complete anything that needs to be done.

What is your favourite TV show? The Good Wife, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Downton

Abbey, Pride and Prejudice (the BBC adaptation) – there are so many that I like.

Summer or winter? Spring, because the leaves on the trees create a beautiful background to everything around us.

Pub or club? Pub. Who is your hero? There are a lot of people who I admire and inspire me, but I do not have a special hero.

If you had a time machine, where would you go? To the future. I would like to see how people would live and new technologies they would use.

If you hadn’t chosen accountancy, where might you be now? Working in an office doing something much less interesting.

study by KPMG for Vodafone. It is suggested that the potential loss of earnings as a result of the negative impact abuse can play on career progression could be as much as £5,800 per individual. More than half a million working women in the UK have experienced domestic violence and abuse in the past 12 months. Of these 122,000 have taken time off work in the past year.

PwC. The city beat Reading, for work-life balance, income, transport and skills. Bradford was crowned the most improved city.

There were also top four finishes for Southampton and Bristol.

In brief Careers conference PQ magazine has joined forces with LSBF to offer you the chance to make an informed choice about your future in accountancy. We will have top speakers from the AAT, ACCA and recruitment consultants Hays Accountancy and Finance.

Come and join us on Saturday 8 February 2020. You can sign up at web.lsbf.org.uk/your-futurein-accountancy. Last year’s event was a sell-out so be quick!

Business cost of abuse Domestic abuse against women cost UK businesses £316m a year, according to a

Oxford is tops…

Oxford has been named the top-performing city in the UK to live and work for the fourth year in a row in a study carried out by

And talking of Oxford…

A new tax of up to £600 will be levied on those driving into Oxford for work (in 2022). It is set to become only the second city in the UK to introduce a workplace parking tax. The tax will apply to businesses with 11 or more parking spaces across a large area of the north, south and east of the city, where six out of 10 journeys are made by car.

The PQ Book Club: books you should read Paying the Price by Stephanie Millward (Brown Dog Books, £11.99) Read online reviews of this book and one word crops up time and again – and that word is ‘inspiring’. The author pulls no punches in her description of her struggles with MS, depression and self-esteem issues, and her journey from the depths of despair to Paralympic gold medal winner is indeed inspirational.

In this era of lightweight celeb memoires it’s refreshing to find an autobiography written

with such brutal honesty. Aged 16 Millward had the whole world in front of her – a rising star of British swimming destined for great things. Then MS struck her down – her dreams of glory were destroyed.

She went blind three times and was paralysed.

This book meticulously charts her comeback, with her decision to get back to competitive swimming being a big turning point. Millward describes the interminable hours of training, with her day starting at 4.45am; the disappointment of failing to

win a medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; and the sheer joy of putting that right at the London games four years later. It is, indeed, a truly inspirational story.

PQ rating 5/5 The message that comes through loud and clear from these pages is that we can all achieve our dreams, through determination, hard work and dedication.

• Stephanie profile, opposite 29

PQ got a story, funny or serious, you want to share? Email graham@pqmagazine.com

TIME TO LET OFF STEAM Every exam centre should have one – a soundproof venting booth! CABA recently set up it’s ‘venting machine’ at Canary Wharf, and PQ popped along. The chartered charity was highlighting the pressures and stress felt by City workers with its great new

sound-proofed pop-up booth.

Those entering the booth were encouraged to yell, rant and scream and in return were rewarded with a personalised frothy coffee – a CABACCINO! PQ magazine took its turn in the queue to vent (what we said will remain private!).

Scientists have discovered that if you want to achieve success there is a perfect amount of failure! Those who get 15% of answers wrong when studying have found the optimum difficulty level to help with effective learning. That means if you are getting six out of every seven questions right you are in the ‘sweet spot’ learning zone. The researchers at four leading US universities said the new ‘85% rule’ should help tutors design lessons that are not too hard, but are not so easy that students get bored.

FAIL 15%

BLURRED VISION SWEET CAROLINE? Caroline Flack has been named as the UK’s ‘most dangerous celeb’ to search online. A new report says the Love Island host is the top name being used by cyber criminals to lure in unwitting fans with links to malicious websites. She is followed by Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame, James Cordon, Nicki Minaj and Billie Eilish. Cybersecurity firm McAfee said the criminals simply take advantage of fans’ desperation for any gossip on their favourite stars, even if it means they have to visit potentially dangerous websites.

’ WEV E

Having difficulty concentrating? Well, you may need a pair of Narbis smart glasses! The glasses monitor the wearer’s brain waves as they read or study on a computer. If they detect that you are not concentrating the lenses darken and only clear again when you start paying attention to your work. However, the spectacles don’t come cheap, costing £520. The promotional video claims your concentration will improve when you use the glasses two or three times a week for 30 minutes.

A Japanese cashier memorised the credit card details of 1,300 customers and used them to shop online, say Tokyo police.

Yusuke Taniguchi allegedly used his photographic memory to retain a card’s 16digit number, expiry date,

security code and the holder’s name – all during the time it took to process a purchase at the shopping mall where he worked part-time. He then used the details to purchase goods that he immediately pawned, living off the cash.

BANKRUPTCY WOE FOR BORIS Tennis star Boris Becker’s bankruptcy was recently extended by a further 12 years (until 2031) after it was discovered he had hidden £4.5m worth of assets and transactions. Becker was declared bankrupt in the summer of 2017, with the period only initially due to last one year. In the past Becker even tried to claim diplomatic immunity to avoid bankruptcy. He said his role as a sports attaché to the Central African Republic gave him immunity!

GOT THE L OT

Scrunchie time

Sing-along-a-Chris

Hair getting in the way? Well, maybe you need some off-cut fabric… PQ magazine is giving away five scrunchies from the new upcycled hair accessory company Jesrriais.

Everything behind the brand is based on sustainability, and moving away from fast fashion – something PQ supports in a big way. You can check out the company’s website site at www.jerriaisupcycled.co.uk.

Send you name and address to be entered into our lucky draw. Head up your email ‘Jerriais’ and send it to giveaways@pqmagazine.com

No Christmas would be complete without Chris Kamara’s Christmas CD. The former Bradford City footballer and current Sky pundit has released his debut album ‘Here’s to Christmas’. Among the songs he sings are Let It Snow, Jingle Bells and Walking In A Winter Wonderland. As this is a festive CD the deadline for entries is tighter than the rest of our giveways this month – we want to get you your prize by Christmas day!

Send your name and address to us by Thursday 19 December and we will do the rest. Send your email, headed up ‘Unbelieveable Jeff’, to giveaways@pqmagazine.com.

Paying the Price

One loves tax!

The story of Stephanie Millward’s battles with MS to win Paralympic gold medals is truly inspiring.

This AAT PQ explains that her tale is a more gritty than most fairy stories, but it is still all about her reaching all the goals her younger self had – just not in the way she dreamt it!

We have three copies of ‘Paying the Price’ to give away. To win your very own copy just email giveaways@pqmagazine.com. Head up your email ‘Paying the Price’. Remember, we need your name and address, too!

PQ has only ever had one letter from Buckingham Palace. We sent the Queen one of our ‘I love tax’ t-shirts as part of a PQ campaign, hoping she might wear it on Christmas Day for the Queen’s Speech.

The letter explained: “Her Majesty has taken careful note of your request”… and returned the t-shirt!

Well, you too can win one of the very same t-shirts, as not worn by Her Majesty!

All you need to do is send your name and address to giveaways@pqmagazine.com. Head up the email ‘I love tax’ and we will get those t-shirts in the post to the lucky winners.

Terms and conditions: One entry per giveaway please. You must send your name and address to be entered for the draw. All giveaway entries must be received by Friday 10 January. The main draw will take place on Monday 13 January 2020.

TO ENTER THESE GIVEAWAYS EMAIL GIVEAWAYS@PQMAGAZINE.COM 30

PQ Magazine January 2020

MAKING LIFE SIMPLE

CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR YOU

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