An accounting innovation worth commenting on
The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) see http://www.theiirc.org are calling for commentary on a recently released consultation draft paper on Integrated Reporting by the 15th July 2013 – not much time left, but there is still time to comment. There are many interesting innovations in the draft paper, and one that I find interesting and valuable is around the business model. At the heart of an organization is its chosen business model. Current business model reporting is inconsistent, both in terms of uptake and scope. Uptake appears to be influenced by the presence of regional legislation, corporate governance codes and …
Sometimes you are privileged to share
On Friday, 7 September 2012, I talked to a group of leaders touring from Pakistan, the topic ““Defining business success and the relevance of the environment on business” The group was touring Australia through an AusAid Australian Leadership Award scholarship (http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/pages/ala.aspx). There were 20 people in the group, and the intention was to visit a number of successful enterprises and get an understanding of how SME’s are approaching dealing with the environment in Australia. The group stated in Queensland, visited Melbourne and will be in Sydney next week, before returning to Pakistan where they will share what they have learned …
The subtlety of trends
I recently reviewed my accounting software, and thought it time to upgrade both my process and software. As I started looking around, I became aware that the best solution for me existed in the “cloud”. I have heard of cloud computing, however my experience has been relatively limited. I explored the options around application service provider (ASP) some time ago, and found the value proposition unattractive. The ASP value proposition has been developed significantly, and the current wave of Software as a Service (SaaS) providers have established a great business model that is cost effective and a great value proposition. …
And so to the second question
– how are we assessing investment proposals? Recently I was advised that a proposal to install solar generation to replace existing power just didn’t stack up economically, and the question posed was how will renewable energies ever replace current technologies for power generation when they aren’t economical? My initial response was that the business model we are using to assess these proposals needs to be questioned. The two alternatives were assessed as if the outcomes were considered identical (i.e. a certain number of kilowatt hours of power generated for a certain cost). However the outcomes aren’t the same. Power acquired …