Archive for January, 2012

New companies with a market capitalization under USD 1 billion will now be able to opt-out of regulations within section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act for the first ten years after going public. This option was previously available to companies under USD 75 million.  

Congressman Ben Quayle introduced the Startup Expansion and Investment Act to, “make it easier for emerging companies to access the capital necessary to expand and create jobs”. Quayle noted that removing one of the many regulatory hurdles that inhibit companies from going public would lead to more economic growth.  

“While I understand the delay in SOX compliance for smaller companies, I would encourage companies to prepare for SOX compliance in advance by reading the standards well and understanding the requirements,” said Roxana Santiago, Finance SOX Manager at Hospira, Inc., and a presenter at the upcoming marcus evans 22nd Edition SOX Compliance & Evolution to GRC Conference in Chicago, Illinois, November 15-16, 2011.  

“The standards do offer some flexibility and allow the opportunity to focus only on high risk areas that would detect and prevent material misstatements. Understanding the process for establishing thresholds for materiality would give the company a basis for identifying risks and documenting controls in those areas. Putting these actions into practice prior to actual compliance requirements gives executives a head start.”  

Minisa Becker Capozzoli, Senior Financial Analyst at Hospira, Inc. added: “The Standard proposes starting with the identification of the company’s risks that material misstatements will not be prevented or detected. A few categories of risk include complex accounting areas such as revenue recognition, tax and accounting estimates. In addition to these, companies need to assess other risks specific to their business, such as areas with highly manual intensive process, or poor systems support. Companies will need to look beyond the standard accounting risk categories and reflect upon their business, processes and systems to identify other financial risks.”  

“One of the great benefits of the SOX Act is it forces companies to be more pro-active by designing up-front preventive controls,” Alan Bedwell, Senior Financial Analyst at Hospira, Inc. highlighted. “It also forces companies to re-think and re-visit processes and controls, identify areas with existing gaps or too many controls and streamline processes, thereby becoming more efficient and productive. It offers Senior Management more transparency to the Financial Statements and holds accounting and finance professionals accountable through controls certification procedures.”  

Santiago added, “This is how companies reap the benefits of SOX programs and build integrity and accountability in internal financial reporting processes. Companies have always been required to have solid systems of internal financial reporting controls. The SOX Act simply forces companies to formally acknowledge this through documentation protocols.”  

One challenge with SOX compliance is cost. There are many ways to keep costs down. One way is by not doing more than the standard requires, according to Santiago. Initially SOX compliance was time consuming and manually intensive because many were doing a lot more than they needed to.  

“I would encourage small companies to focus on what is ‘truly’ needed and create the buy-in and awareness within the accounting and finance functions. While the external auditors will review management’s work and provide an independent opinion, they are not as close to the business and related risks as the company, and should be challenged where applicable,” Santiago concluded.  

Roxana Santiago, Minisa Becker Capozzoli and Alan Bedwell of Hospira, Inc. will be co-presenting at the marcus evans 22nd Edition SOX Compliance & Evolution to GRC Conference in Chicago, Illinois, November 15-16, 2011.  

For more information, visit the 22nd Edition SOX Compliance & Evolution to GRC website.

Ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games, The Irish World newspaper recently reported on why the Olympic Council of Ireland appointed the marcus evans THG Company as its official ticket reseller.  

According to the paper, Patrick Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland said: “We decided to go with one of the big international companies. We searched around the globe and discovered that the marcus evans group is the best known and the most professional.”  

THG specialises in sports ticketing services and corporate hospitality programmes at sporting events around the world, and is working with the Council to secure the best possible ticket allocation for London. THG is also organising the Irish House in London.  

Hickey added: “With such a large Irish community in the UK, public and corporate interest for attending the Games is projected to be very high.”  

To read The Irish World article “Hickey has high hopes for London 2012” click here (Fagan, Ciaran. “Hickey has high hopes for London 2012.” The Irish World 29 October 2011, Pg 54)

The latest report from PwC indicates a growing appetite for M&As in the energy sector. The deal value globally in the oil and gas sector has increased by 56 per cent from the previous quarter, to USD 74.1 billion in the third quarter of 2011, it reports.  

However, economic uncertainty is also taking its toll on this sector. The upsurge in deal values was largely attributed to one particular deal rather than a global trend.  

“We are going to see a slowdown in the number of deals in the energy sector,” Paul Nillesen, Partner and European Renewables leader at PwC NL expects. “There is a fundamental requirement for capacity and replacement of old assets, so we expect activity in this space. However, financing is likely to be the biggest constraint in the market going forward.” In addition, it is uncertain to what degree subsidy systems and tariff support schemes in some countries will be maintained, particularly around renewable sources of energy.  

Paul Nillesen, who will be attending the marcus evans Strategic M&A and Portfolio Management for the Energy Industry Conference added: “Getting access to capital today is harder. Therefore, companies that want to build an asset or raise capital need to have a good strategy and a very robust plan in place, and work with the right partners.”  

Difficulties are also presenting opportunities. Many companies are looking to take advantage of market conditions, by buying distressed assets and projects experiencing financing issues.  

As to what is continuing to drive M&A activity in the energy sector, Nillesen said: “There are a number of drivers. The demand for new capacity is growing. The existing fleet of assets are aging and need to be replaced. Many power stations in Europe are getting close to the end of their technical life. There is a shift from conventional to renewable sources, which require huge investments. The way the energy system is organised is changing. Also, the risks are getting larger in some of these projects so diversification of risk is becoming a major theme.”  

The marcus evans Strategic M&A and Portfolio Management for the Energy Industry Conference will take place in The Netherlands, 23-24 January 2012.  

Simon Clegg, former Team GB Chef de Mission and currently Chief Executive at Ipswich Town Football Club, was yesterday awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University Campus Suffolk (UCS).  

Simon led Team GB to its most successful Olympic Games for 100 years at Beijing in 2008 and the seven year campaign to persuade the government and Mayor of London to mount a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.  

Professor Brendon Noble, Head of the School of Science, Technology and Health at UCS, said: “We are delighted to recognise Simon’s unique contribution to British sport with this award. Our Sports and Exercise Science, Science of Health Ageing and Regenerative Medicine courses are all related to Simon’s industry and we value his input. I know that our students will be inspired by his achievements and commitment in supporting some of our country’s best athletes achieve their full potential across British Skiing, the Olympic movement and now football.”  

Commenting on receipt of his honorary doctorate, Simon Clegg said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be recognised by this august academic institution. My career in sports management has been hugely rewarding in itself but I am extremely flattered to receive this award.”  

Simon’s career included the management of the British Biathlon team and Team GB athletes at 12 Olympic and Olympic Winter games, six of which were as Team GB’s Chef de Mission (overall team manager). He was Chief Executive of the European Youth Olympics in Bath in 1995, the largest multi-sport international youth event ever staged in the UK and was the British Olympic Association’s first Chief Executive from 1997 to 2008 before being appointed to a similar position at Ipswich Town Football Club in 2009.  

He was awarded an OBE in 2001 after leading the British team at the Sydney Olympics Games to its most successful performance since the Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920 and subsequently a CBE in 2005 for his contribution to the British Olympic bid. In 2008 he was awarded the British Sports Journalists Association’s annual JL Manning award for the greatest contribution to British Sport off the field of play.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently announced that Singapore-incorporated banks would have to meet higher capital adequacy requirements than that of Basel III global capital standards.

It might interest marcus evans 2nd Annual Capital Allocation and Management Conference attendees that the changes will come into force on 1 January 2013, two years ahead of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s deadline.

The MAS press release stated that, “Singapore-incorporated banks are well-capitalised and in a strong position to meet MAS’ revised requirements… Capital requirements on Singapore-incorporated banks need to be set higher than the Basel III minimum requirements because each of the Singapore-incorporated banks is systemically-important in Singapore and has a substantial retail presence.”  

“While they remained strong throughout the global financial crisis, the higher capital requirements will further strengthen their ability to operate under stress conditions and will help protect depositors, reduce risks to the economy, as well as safeguard financial stability.”  

The press release details that the banks will be required to meet a minimum Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 6.5%, Tier 1 CAR of 8% and Total CAR of 10% from 1 January 2015. These standards are higher than the Basel III minimum requirements of 4.5%, 6% and 8% for CET1 CAR, Tier 1 CAR and Total CAR, respectively.  

Locally incorporated banks are expected to fulfil these obligations without any major difficulties.  

The marcus evans 2nd Annual Capital Allocation and Management took place 5-6 Sep 2011 in Singapore.

Coming out of the economic downturn, the greatest challenge facing HR executives is adapting to the “new normal”, said Julie Staub, the Chairperson at the marcus evans HR Summit 2011.

“There has been a significant change in organizations worldwide, and our job is to help businesses respond and adapt to that. We have to be agile to ensure that our approach to talent is evolving to meet the needs of business today. This means operating in a leaner, more productive structure and capitalizing on the development of top talent,” commented Julie Staub, Vice President, Human Resources, AutoNation. 

Talented people are looking for growth and development opportunities in the workplace. HR has to identify such opportunities and help employees take their career to the next level.

“The demand for change is highand every organization must determine how it can re-engage the current workforce, especially as the market improves. As job opportunities become more prevalent, the challenge will be to drive engagement and retention in order for organizations to achieve their goals.”

“The outlook for HR is very positivebut, if we are not at the forefront of every issue, it will be a tough road ahead,” Staub concluded.

The marcus evans HR Summit 2011 will take place in Hollywood, Florida, October 17-18. The Summit includes presentations on retaining top talent, implementing a strategic, enterprise-wide performance management process and creating competitive advantage through HR planning.

For more information, please visit: www.humanresourcessummit.com

KMA actress Kim Cattrall takes the production of ‘Private Lives’ to Toronto followed by Broadway until February 2012.

A recent survey on internal communication revealed that in 68 per cent of firms internal communications to employees takes place but is lacking in some areas. Only 18 per cent of participants indicated that it was comprehensive and complete, the OperationsInc and Performance-Solutions-Group, Inc. found.  

Since Pfizer launched the PfizerWorld platform in 2009 to connect the entire organization to a single platform, the biggest transformation was that, “Our messages are far more aligned across the enterprise than they ever were before,” said Bob Libbey, Senior Director, Global Colleague Communications.  

“This was a major goal of the PfizerWorld Super Site Project – to speak with what we call a ‘One Pfizer’ voice,” Libbey, a speaker at the upcoming marcus evans 7th Annual Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference added.  

The platform had more than 60 million hits and over five million article views last year. “This has raised both the overall awareness of the importance of internal communication and the profile of the function itself.”  

Also a speaker at the 7th Annual Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference, Elizabeth Golden, Vice President, External Affairs and Worldwide Communications, at Pfizer said: “Another major advance is that we are providing a more timely and steady flow of news and information to our colleagues. Prior to the creation of the platform, content was being posted to the old intranet site on a weekly basis. We knew that we had to move to daily publication, and that is what we did.”  

There are now 39 editions of the site: one for each of the company’s eight business units and for divisions and functions, regions, country organizations and locations all over the world, including sites in different languages. The platform is continually expanded and usage tracked. Mobile access was added in December 2010 and a social networking hub in February 2011 to bring together Twitter- and Facebook-type capabilities. Employees can also use the hub to filter their PfizerWorld news from among the platform’s many editions. The MyWorld hub now has approximately 30,000 users.  

“Knowing that our colleagues need tools and information to advocate for the company, we recently added a resource center that provides key business and policy information. This includes company talking points, FAQs and policy papers, to help them better educate and communicate on behalf of the company,” Golden went on to say.  

Every internal campaign now runs through PfizerWorld at some point. “The platform has helped us reach our colleagues with internal communications efforts across the board in a reliable, credible and easy-to-use way,” Libbey said. Since some employees are less likely to be online, such as those in manufacturing roles, the platform is complemented by an e-signage system.  

To ensure success in internal communications initiatives, it is important to know what employees want and to have a clear plan for mixing content they want with the content the business needs to get to them, Golden said. Having a reliable measurement system to track what is working and what might need adjustment is key.  

Golden concluded: “Be patient. It takes time to build credibility, change employee habits and to establish new ones. Building an audience takes time.”  

The marcus evans 7th Annual Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference will take place 29 November to 1 December 2011, at the Omni Park House, Boston, Massachusetts.  

For more information, visit the Internal Communications & Situational Messaging Conference website