Finance: have a confident approach

Confidence is an important commodity ­ especially at the moment during the ups and downs of the credit crunch and as the successive waves of bad-then-good-then-bad news fill the pages of the national media.

The ICAEW’s last Business Confidence Monitor, published in February, showed that confidence has plummeted to its lowest level since the survey began in 2003. In the first week of January over $5 trillion was wiped off the value of public companies worldwide. Yet, if you look beyond London and the banking and property sectors in particular, the story is different.

The message that came out of the institute’s recent meeting of FTSE 250 FDs was that the wider economy has not yet been impacted. While some were beginning to see signs of belt-tightening, the mood for the future remained optimistic.

Today, among all the noise and rumour that is going round the markets, one thing is clear. All of those who contribute to a successful economy ­ banks, regulators and businesses among others ­ will face greater scrutiny for their actions, their business models and their financial performance. At such times the accountancy profession, as well as wider market participants, have a key role to play in helping restore balance in the system.

When confidence is lost or misplaced, it can take a long time to recover. By being rigorous and determined in the execution of our roles, the accountancy profession may be able to help ensure that the time taken for confidence to recover is reduced. So, what are members of the profession doing in the context of the current credit crunch?

FDs are spending considerable time thinking about risks in the context of the changed business environment and being extra diligent in ensuring they satisfy accounting requirements where liquidity and valuation are concerned.

Auditors are working with their clients to ensure that accounting requirements are being met and that the implications of IFRS are fully understood.

Recognising that, with low interest rates and high employment, the wider economic landscape remains stable, investors should, in general, be taking a long-term view.

While the current climate makes it almost inevitable that there will be corporate failures ­ under a free market system it is impossible to eliminate risk completely ­ our challenge as finance professionals is to help mitigate this risk by ensuring that the quality of financial information available to market is second to none.

Iain Coke is head of the financial services faculty at the ICAEW