15 DEcEmbEr 2010

foundations in professionalism fia suite of qualifications dont like mondays? prepare for the start of the week

growing and nurturing

client relationships

4 CoNtENtS
dispatch
06 GRAPHIC NEWS Ireland clings to low tax rate, KPMG expands again, and banks slash loans to firms 08 NEWS RouNduP Finance and accounting news from around the world

features
18 GRoWING ClIENt RElAtIoNSHIPS one thing is true for all accountants if you have work, you have clients. one of the most important parts of work is maintaining and enhancing these relationships. Alex Miller reports 20 GEt bACK INto tHE GRoovE you dont have to start your working week with dread in your eyes, nostrils flaring, and teeth a-grinding. Iwona tokc-Wilde finds out how to beat the weekend blues

learning centre
10 StudENt PRoFIlE Edward Conteh, Sierra leone 11 HoW to Ask for a pay rise 12 PER SuPPoRt Annual return 14 PER Setting and meeting performance objectives 15 My WoRKING lIFE Shiraz Sarfaraz, Kuwait 16 PER SuPPoRt online links

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Welcome to issue 25/2010 of StudENt ACCouNtANt

Please email studentaccountant@accaglobal.com with your feedback on this issue
Mark Gold president dean Westcott deputy president barry Cooper Vice president

technical
23 tECHNICAl ARtIClES ovERvIEW oF tHE NEW FouNdAtIoNS IN ACCouNtANCy SuItE oF AWARdS FouNdAtIoNS IN PRoFESSIoNAlISM ModulE Information about the professionalism and ethics module introduced as part of Foundations in Accountancy CHANGES to tHE ACCA quAlIFICAtIoN IN 2011 Relevant to all ACCA qualification papers. Read more at www. accaglobal.com/ students/student_ accountant/archive/ 2010/108/3333957 An archive of Student Accountant technical articles is available at www. accaglobal.com/ students/student_ accountant/archive/ online resources: www.accaglobal.com/ students/cat www.accaglobal.com/ students/acca

Helen brand chief executive editorial team victoria Morgan editor Jamie Ambler editorial consultant Jackie dollar art editor Richard Gooding designer www.accaglobal.com Glen Patterson online editor 29 lincolns Inn Fields london WC2A 3EE united Kingdom tel: +44 (0)20 7059 5700 email: info@accaglobal.com www.accaglobal.com publishing and adVertising Adam Williams head of publishing and commercial Anthony Kay production manager For all advertising-related matters please contact lisa Peake: tel: +44 (0)20 7902 1224 email: lisa@educate-direct.com
Published by the Certified Accountants Educational trust in cooperation with ACCA. the Council of ACCA and the publishers do not guarantee the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers, or accept any responsibility for any statement which they may make in this publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publishers. CAEt 2010 ISSN 1473-0979

resources
27 NotICEboARd ESSENtIAl INFoRMAtIoN About ACCA ANd youR StudIES ACCA Connect contact details, annual subscription and exam fees, June 2011 exam timetable, exam results and certificates, and obu bSc (Hons)

whats your story?

Why did you want to become an accountant, and what do you hope to be in the future? Email your story to us at studentaccountant@accaglobal.com

6 dispatch
kpmg europe expands again 39.8bn
June 2008 The Norway and Saudi Arabia KPMG firms have voted to join KPMG Europe, bringing under one organisational roof over 30,000 partners and staff in 120 offices across 16 countries. Combined partner/staff totals are shown below.

graphic news

37.4bn 35.5bn
June 2009

December 2008

33.6bn

December 2009

32.1bn
June 2010

uk 10,000 germany 8,500 netherlands 4,200 cis 3,000 spain 2,300 switzerland 1,500 luxembourg 900 norway 900 belgium 850 turkey 500

banks slash loans to firms

Lending by banks to UK professional services firms such as accountants and lawyers have fallen unremittingly since the credit crunch hit. Finance provider Syscap said the 19.5% fall in lending in the 24 months to June compared with a 6% drop in bank loans to other UK businesses.

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8 dispatch
01 new rules to improve uK corporation tax rate

news roundup

New controlled foreign company rules are to be introduced by the UK government to improve the competitiveness of the UKs corporation tax regime. Subject to the approval of new legislation, there will be an opt-in exemption for profits earned in foreign branches of UK companies from 2011, so that UK companies will no longer be subject to UK CT on their foreign branch profits. From April 2013, the government will also introduce a patent box a 10% CT rate on profits from patents. Earlier this year, the government announced it would cut CT rates, which will fall to 24% over the next four years, while the small profits rate will drop from 21% to 20% from April 2011. Ireland is keeping its corporation tax rate at 12.5%, despite pressure from EU partner countries to raise it as a condition for bailout aid.

country-by-country reporting, encouraging the International Accounting Standards Board to amend accounting standards.

03 malaysia on tracK for ifrs adoption

Malaysia is on track to achieve full convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) by 2012. President of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid said MIA, through its Financial Reporting Standards Implementation Committee (FRSIC), will assist with implementation issues. Although some industry players are not happy with the adoption of IFRS due to issues relating to revenue recognition, he said the deadline for the implementation of IFRS remains 1 January 2012.

04 singapore low interest rate poses risK

02 eu country reporting review

The European Union is consulting on a possible requirement by EU companies to adopt country-by-country reporting practices, requiring multinationals to disclose financial information on their overseas operations in their annual financial statements. In September, the European Commission and the European Parliament evaluated the feasibility of requiring listed companies to prepare consolidated accounts that include key financial information regarding their activities in third countries. The intention is to improve transparency on capital flows, assisting tax authorities to determine whether transfer pricing is taking place. The World Bank and OECD have both indicated support for

china lead on wind turbines

With China now the clear global renewables leader and new countries emerging as key market contenders, a new world order is apparent in the clean energy sector. In its latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices of 30 countries, Ernst & Young found that Chinas record spending on its wind industry in 2010 represented nearly half of all funds invested in new wind projects around the world. Such heavy investment has ensured that around half of all wind turbines to go live in 2010 will have been in China.

Singapore banks are well capitalised and household debt is low relative to assets, but current low interest rates could lead to excessive borrowing, the city states central bank warns. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that banks are well capitalised and should have little difficulty meeting the new Basel III requirements. Owing to their high starting capital base and healthy loan-to-deposit ratios, the higher capital requirements are not likely to have a significant impact on local banks supply of credit to the economy, the central bank said. However, it warned of the risks posed by low interest rates, which could prompt banks to lend more aggressively. Financial institutions may be tempted to loosen lending standards in a bid to extend more loans in the face of thinning margins, said MAS.

FROM JANUARY 2011...

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