A home working revolution? Not so fast, people love the office April 1, 2020 Chances are you are reading this from home. You are definitely reading it on an electronic device. A mere four weeks ago, you could have been leafing through the print edition or scrolling on the Tube, the bus, or your walk to work. No more. Measures to restrict the spread of coronavirus have meant hundreds [...]
Let’s work together to make work experience more rewarding March 31, 2020 Any student who’s ever spent a week getting coffee, photocopying, or doing research that is immediately thrown into the recycling knows that our current work experience system doesn’t work. It’s elitist, nepotistic, and formal work experience programmes tend to only be offered in very “establishment” industries: law, banking, consulting. And yet it’s still a vital [...]
Put tax at the heart of digital transformation decisions March 30, 2020 | Sponsored Tax runs through the heart of every business process and so must be central to discussions around moving to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) in the cloud. Q) What has been the impact on tax of digital transformation and companies moving to the cloud-based ERP systems? A) It’s providing the perfect opportunity to ensure [...]
Debate: The government has suspended gender pay gap reporting this year — but should it be scrapped? March 27, 2020 Businesses have been told they do not have to report on their gender pay gaps due to the coronavirus outbreak. With 12 months until they have to report again, City A.M. asks whether it should be scrapped altogether. Yes, says Annabel Denham, director of communications at the Institute of Economic Affairs The decision to suspend [...]
Pursuing purpose, not profit, could help businesses grow a bigger pie for all of us March 27, 2020 The coronavirus crisis is highlighting one of the most fundamental tensions that business leaders face: do they pursue purpose or profit? Sainsbury’s chose purpose. They’ve reserved the first hour on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for elderly and vulnerable customers, and are giving them priority access for online delivery slots. The supermarket is also limiting [...]
We need Alan Turing’s innovative mindset to make it through coronavirus March 27, 2020 Alan Turing designed the curiously named Bombe machine during the early stages of World War II. A forerunner to the computer, the Bombe was able to rapidly intercept messages, quickly decode them, and thereby allow allied forces to react within hours rather than weeks. Stories from the world of codebreaking today bring to vivid life [...]
Goodwill hunting: accountants in the spotlight March 26, 2020 | City Talk Goodwill in accounting – an intangible asset that is recorded when a buyer acquires a business – has risen up the political agenda on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK we have seen pressure applied to the London-headquartered International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in the wake of high-profile failures such as Carillion, the [...]
Working from home? You still need to dress to impress March 26, 2020 Chaps, if you’ve very recently begun working from home for some reason, you may be finding it difficult to adjust. The lack of shape to your day, the upsetting of your usual routine, can be disorientating. Sure, your initial idea that you’d be able to lie on the sofa in nothing but your briefs, dipping [...]
Coronavirus: Pursue profit at all costs or stand by your staff? The world has its eye on business March 26, 2020 How times have changed. It is remarkable to think that it was just eight weeks ago that business and political leaders from around the world gathered in the Alpine town of Davos. The 50th World Economic Forum was dominated by discussion of the climate crisis, global trade and artificial intelligence. US President Donald Trump declared [...]
Brompton Bikes boss: long-term thinking is needed after coronavirus March 25, 2020 Coronavirus may have stopped everyday life in its tracks, but the boss of one of London’s manufacturing success stories says employers must adopt long-term strategies now for when the wheels start turning again. Will Butler-Adams, the boss of Brompton Bikes, says this applies to macro: the future of transport, as well as the micro: the [...]