[ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 63] [EMILE WOOLF 20-9-19] The US Department of Defence is a major customer of many private sector suppliers, including the Boeing Company. Although relationships between customer and supplier are mutually beneficial, that is by no means the only reason why Boeing has proved to be such an enduring commercial success.   100years […]

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 62 EMILE WOOLF, 2 SEPTEMBER 2019   There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take […]

  1 – Misplaced belief There is a common perception that public officials know what they are doing. They are experts paid out of our taxes, and have been doing it for years. It’s always best to leave matters to the experts, and there’s no point in interfering. This lazy, unquestioning syndrome certainly applies to […]

  EMILE WOOLF [Going Postal 12-8-19, and Economic Perspectives – 60] There can be little doubt that tenacity is a great virtue. It means holding on to something important, something you believe in, no matter what. The trouble with tenacity, however, is that it does not necessarily rely on principles. Clinging to a piece of […]

“ACCOUNTANCYDAILY” [ONLINE] OCTOBER 2019 – EMILE WOOLF  PROPER AUDITS – STILL TOO DISTANT While recently rummaging through some old papers I spotted the transcript of a lecture I gave in 2003 called “How can audits be made effective?” I was intrigued, but not surprised, to note that the subject matter of that lecture nearly 17 […]

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 59 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES – AS NEVER BEFORE GOING POSTAL – 29 July 2019 The pace of change on the political spectrum is truly bewildering for mere onlookers; and as for the usual clutch of clueless columnists and TV “interviewers”, no matter how measured their misguided speculations may sound, the tripe they […]

ACCOUNTANCY ONLINE – AUGUST 2019 Missing the real point has become an art form EMILE WOOLF The saga of the audit giants rumbles on without any discernible sign of resolution. Even member firms within this group do not speak with one voice on proposals for reform, and recommendations from regulators have so far come up […]

SPARE A THOUGHT (OR PRAYER) FOR THE NEW PM – AND HIS CHANCELLOR! EMILE WOOLF – ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES 58 The global economy is entering dangerous territory. In Britain’s case, the standard scapegoat for any slowdown is Brexit, of course. But how to explain the contraction in other major manufacturing countries? Forewarnings of serious decline are […]

  ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 57 JULY 2019 Considering that the UK has a rag-bag of the most terrible taxes, did you note the competitive strategies for tax reform put forward by Tory candidates in their bid for election to high office? ONLY WHAT’S NECESSARY….   Most of their suggested “reforms” involved some judicious cutting of […]

GOING POSTAL – 24 JUNE 2019 [ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 56] A friend of many years’ standing has sent me an essay written by his 21-year-old grandson, now entering his final post-graduate year. It purports to establish that Capitalism and human survival on Planet Earth are utterly and totally incompatible. It is replete with bibliographical references […]