Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Pluvia who wrote (90059)	1/26/2005 10:24:49 AM
From: scion	Respond to of 122087

Slippery slopes indeed...there will be surveillance cameras on every street if some people have their way.. Meanwhile in the UK... Pressure grows on late payers By Richard Tyler (Filed: 24/01/2005) Companies House is posting out 13,000 letters to publicly listed companies reminding them to report details of their payment practices in their annual accounts. It will also begin compiling monthly updates on which plcs have filed their accounts and send them to the University of Leeds, which will check whether they have stated their practices for paying creditors. Companies House has agreed to investigate any plcs found later to have failed to report properly. Under company law, all plcs must report how long on average it takes to pay their creditors. But the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has become concerned that many are not doing so. Each year it commissions Nick Wilson, of the University of Leeds, to assess the UK's late-payment culture, based on these reports. But last year he found the information was available from only 2,706 plcs, 66pc down on the number reporting in 2001. Both Nigel Griffiths, small business minister, and Brian Cotter, the Liberal Democrats' small business spokesman, took up the FSB's concerns last year with Companies House. An initial investigation of 57 FTSE 100 companies that appeared not to have reported their payment practices found that all had complied with the law. Companies House is to launch an awareness campaign to tie in with the most popular financial year-ends of December 31 and March 31. "Compliance is an issue we are constantly reviewing. As part of that we will target plcs," a spokesman said. Gerry Sutcliffe, the Department of Trade and Industry minister, has backed the initiative. But he rejects calls to introduce a standard form of reporting payment periods. In a letter to Mr Cotter this month, he wrote that the idea had been discussed in the House of Commons before and the Government was not convinced that any improvement in the quality of the reporting would offset the increased regulation. Mr Cotter said he would continue to push for standard reporting. He said: "That's very important if you are trying to access the information of a company's records of payment. As it stands, it's very ad hoc. I don't accept the minister's point that there would be an increase of bureaucracy. For transparency and ease of reporting it is something I am going to carry on pursuing." The Better Payment Practice Group estimates that the national average for late payment is 18 days beyond the agreed credit terms. telegraph.co.uk