I recently wrote a blog about the Plain English Campaign when I said we need clarity in our audit rules.
Our profession as a whole could benefit from greater clarity and simpler language. One area which does call out for improvement are the information packs produced by Finance departments. Many information packs are a misnomer. They don’t inform. They’re ignored or misunderstood by Board colleagues and don’t get results. And often, the accountants that produce them aren’t sure why or aren’t too sure what to do instead.
Of course, there are Finance departments whose information packs are the pride of the department and the envy of the rest of the organisation. They do exist. As a profession we should strive to ensure all information packs are like that. If we achieve this, it would seriously enhance the standing of the Finance function in the Boardroom, both as individuals and as a profession.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can check out Jon’s websitePost your commentsComments
Your comments here are very relevant esp when the Chartered Accountant is seen as a Business Partner to the CEO. Most accountants are trained in verious discipline to do his work except he is never taught how to prepare the reports that top managment need. Jon's website has many examples, but the key point is that the Chartered Accountant needs some tool to help him prepare these reports on a regular basis without incurring too much time. One way is to automate the monthly routine process. The Business Analytics and Reporting course conducted by the IT Faculty to be held on 20 Nov 2006 would show how all these can be done with just 3 clicks of a mouse. Mr Kok Tang