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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2009
Do directors tread a fine line by boosting their presence in their organisations in tougher times?
Company Director
asked five directors for their views.
Meddling or mentoring?
The questions
What presence should directors have in their organisations in tough times? Should they in...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2009
Matt Hern
discusses the hidden profit risk in tough times: employee fear and uncertainty.
Overcoming fear and uncertainty
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” So said...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2009
Veteran journalist
Alan Kohler
told directors attending a sellout AICD
i
luncheon in Brisbane in February to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Here is an edited version of what he had to say.
Be prepared
I am not here to tell you good news. I am not much ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2009
Domini Stuart
gets out into the country, to find that while rural boards may be doing it the hard way, they are also lifting their game.
Toughing it out in the country
The image of rural Australia many urbanites hold is hopelessly out of date.
“Broadly speaking, people ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2009
Australia might miss a depression and possibly even a recession. But
Phil Ruthven
argues that there is no room for complacency given the many dangers lurking in the medium term.
Recessions and depressions in Australia
Very few Australians have experienced multiple recessions, let...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2009
With the Federal Government focused on infrastructure spending,
Phil Ruthven
examines the size, make-up and adequacy of Australia’s infrastructure.
Australia’s infrastructure
Australia had $6.6 trillion invested in land, buildings, equipment, intellectual property and inventory i...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2009
Domini Stuart
investigates the dilemmas directors face when making earnings forecasts, especially in volatile market conditions.
Crystal ball gazing
A 2007 KPMG global survey of earnings forecasts, studying announcements made in the prior three years, found that only one per cent of the ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Phil Ruthven
explains why Asia is a great region in which to live, work, trade and thrive.
The world in perspective
The world is a big place and it is getting bigger in terms of human inhabitants and economic output. The world population in 2009 is expected to top...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Domini Stuart
reports on the dilemmas that mark-to-market accounting rules are creating in the current volatile economic climate.
Unfair value?
An instrument of clarity and transparency, reporting impartially on market performance after it has occurred? Or an instrument of doom, promotin...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Professor Richard Heaney
reviews the economic challenges directors are likely to face next year.
Economic life in 2009
The recent drama in the world’s financial markets may still have some way to go. The US regulators are dealing with the subprime crisis, although recent inter-ban...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Forewarned is forearmed. With a tough 2008 almost behind us, it’s time to gear up for the challenges ahead.
Resilience in 2009
You’re not alone if you’re sighing with relief that 2008 is almost over. It’s been a tough and volatile year for even the most experienced and ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Tough staffing decisions may have to be made in 2009.
Kevin Chandler
provides some tips on how to survive them.
When the axe drops
Earlier this month, the Finance Sector Union predicted that up to 10,000 jobs could be lost in the next 12 to 18 months. Many of these jobs will be in middle...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
Bernard Tanner
says its not all gloom and doom for SMEs battling the credit crunch and economic downturn.
When it comes to the crunch
The numbers are staggering. According to the Bank of England, global losses from the credit crunch have topped £1.8 trillion to date ($4.2 trillion). That...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2008
A group of directors escaped the boardroom on AICD’s WA Division annual Outback Forum – and enjoyed some surprises and new insights along the way.
An outback reality check
It’s one thing to read about the dimensions of the Super Pit, Australia biggest gold open pit mine...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2008
John M Green
provides a view on what needs to be done before short-selling is permitted again.
The long and the short
One feverish September weekend, Australia’s market regulators slapped a temporary ban on short-selling. Pressure for this had been mounting for months, yet our reg...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2008
The past year certainly hasn’t been the best time to list on the stock exchange.
Tony Featherstone
chats to the directors of five companies that did take the plunge to find out how they fared.
Taking the IPO leap
Spare a thought for small companies that ha...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2008
It has been a tumultuous year with crashing stock markets, a global financial meltdown and talk of a depression in the US in 2009.
Phil Ruthven
asks if we should be worried.
Should we be nervous now?
Australia has relatively few financial and economic issues of the sort tearing t...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2008
Young philanthropists don’t act like previous generations.
Tony Featherstone
discusses how charity boards can engage a new breed of entrepreneurs.
Engaging young philanthropists
Years ago, the biggest problem with making a rich list was extra scrutiny from the Aus...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Oct 2008
The big picture
Sometimes one has to step back from the day-to-day detail of life and focus on the big picture. And, that’s just what Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens did when he addressed a recent AICD lunch in Sydney.
Stevens chose to discuss four big picture themes that wer...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Oct 2008
Executive pay is likely to be a tense topic this AGM season.
Tony Featherstone
details the dilemmas boards face as they seek to attract and motivate top executives in a tough business climate while, at the same time, risking a backlash from some shareholders.
The great divide
...