As the Met Office confirms that minimum temperatures have dropped to their lowest for 15 years, with heavy snowfall across the entire country, the Forum for Private Business is warning that the cost of a single day of employee absenteeism because of the freezing winter conditions could be at least £230 million.
The next financial crisis will strike within the first half of this decade. That’s according to three quarters of the world’s senior banking and compliance officers polled for a survey by compliance software provider, Complinet, which found that the majority of regulatory experts questioned predicted the next significant economic downturn before 2015. 77% say recent reforms were insufficient to avoid another crash similar to the 2008 collapse.
A preoccupation with personnel change and structural reorganisation as a key to improving performance is undermining the investment made by European businesses in personnel development and exacerbating the challenge of retaining their best staff. This insight features among the key findings of a new research report published by global consultancy Corporate Executive Board (CEB).
Crawford & Company has named Charles H Ogburn, a current board member and executive director at international investment firm Arcapita, as non-executive chairman of the board. This latest appointment comes after Thomas W. Crawford, former president and chief executive officer at the firm, stepped down as chairman last month after five years at Crawford and over 40 years in the insurance industry.
VAT-registered businesses are being urged to get ready now for major changes to VAT return filing and payment due in April. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has advised all 1.9m VAT-registered businesses that from 1 April 2010, those with an annual turnover of £100,000 or more (excluding VAT) will have to file their VAT returns online and pay their VAT electronically.
Liberty Syndicates has appointed Kirk Maddern to the position of chief operating officer. Mr Maddern will oversee all of Liberty Syndicates' operational functions, including IT and management information and support the business' underwriting and claims activities. He has over 21 years' experience in the London insurance market and spent the last seven years as chief operating officer for the specialty insurance lines of one of the world's largest insurance brokers.
ICM Business Continuity Services, part of the Phoenix group of companies, has acquired the UK arm of Office Shadow. The cash consideration payable amounts to £447,000 for the business and assets with a further £250,000 payable to a third party software developer, EPAM, for the completion of an updated version of the main software suite, due for delivery in Q2 2010.
Travel litigation specialists at London and South East law firm Penningtons Solicitors LLP have won a €1.25 million compensation claim for William Kane, a 55 year old man from Newcastle, who was badly injured in a hit-and-run accident involving a drink driver in County Kildare, Ireland, while working on an overseas contract for a UK based construction company.
The Scottish Government's Improvement Service has taken a new approach to risk management. Citicus ONE has been employed to improve risk identification and management for the different systems and programmes within Customer First. The initial focus was on its Citizen Account Records System, OneScotland Gazetteer database and Customer Service Professional, supporting an accredited training and qualification scheme.
QBE European Operations has purchased the Evergreen portfolio from Lloyd's underwriting agency, MSP
Corporate governance requires more attention in UAE, where compliance and enterprise risk management are increasing in relevance, according to broker Marsh
Norwegian Risk Management Association, NORIMA, joins the European Risk Mangagement Association, FERMA
Martin Caddick has left Marsh to head up business continuity management at PricewaterhouseCoopers
FEATURES
Management standards have become a topic of much debate. Christopher Andrews tracks the progress of the most popular risk standards at home and away
How has the downturn affected organisations’ ability to maintain a resilient infrastructure? Nick Martindale considers how the market and attitudes are changing
The ELD has been a real challenge for UK law, and the market looks like it won’t take off until the first big case, but, as Peter Davey points out, a ‘wait and see attitude’ could do more harm than good; companies need to work out their liabilities now
Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance was first developed when the world economy slumped in the 1930s. Graham Buck reviews how the cover is developing now hard times have returned
With online fraud now worth more than £50bn a year worldwide, cash-strapped governments are still making new resources available for cyber security, reports Graham Buck
While the terrorism threat risk was reduced last month from severe to substantial, the long-term threat remains. Buildings must be shock resistant, and security measures defined. Christopher Andrews reports on how business and government are attempting to achieve this
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