Article matrix All articles were originally published in Accountancy Magazine unless stated otherwise. Accounting & Auditing Bank Lending Credit Crisis Economics Economic Perspectives Europe & the Euro Governance & Regulation Insurance Law Litigation Mortgages Negligence & Liability Professional Practice Risk Management Taxation & Tax reform 2022 Apr The Science of Economics has lost its way (Emile's Series of Economic Perspectives) Mar FAULT-LINES IN THINKING ARE EXPOSED (Emile's Economic Perspectives 113) REALITY BEGINS TO DAWN (Emile's Economic Perspectives no 114) Feb Part 2 – PUBLIC & PRIVATE SECTORS: KEY ECONOMIC DISTINCTIONS (Emile's Economic Perspectives 112 [Part 2]) Economic Perspectives - 110 - CURRENCY DESTRUCTION (emile's Economic Perspectives - 110) Part 2 - Difference between public and private sectors (Emile's Economic Perspectives - 112) Economic Perspectives 112 - Part 1 - LIVING ON DEBT (Emile's Economic Perspectives 112) Why governments practise currency debasement – and how to cure them - Economic Perspectives - 111 2021 Dec THE PUBLIC ARE WAKING UP TO THE EVILS OF INERTIAL MANIPULATION - EP-108 PUBLIC WASTE & PRIVATE THRIFT - EP-109 (Emile's Economic Perspectives - 109) Oct ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES – 107 - "MICRO-ECONOMICS OF THE FIRM" (Emile's "Economic Perspectives 107") EP-105: Conventional wisdom is never the truth (Emile's Economic perspectives Series) EP - 106 When suppliers prefer their goods to our pounds Sep Rational approach to taxation (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 105) Aug These clowns are not "Conservatives"! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 104) Jul TIME TO REVISIT ESSENTIAL ECONOMICS (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 103) Plain Truth needs repetition (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 102) Jun Currency destruction (Economic reflections) Thoughts on the Gold Standard (Emile & Alex - Email) Post-Pandemic Insanity (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 101) May Designing Tax Policy – though it should be obvious! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 100) GOVERNMENT’S WAYWARD SPENDING – WITH OUR MONEY! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 99) Mar An exchange between father and son on key economic issues (Personal correspondence) What happens when government stops intervening! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 97) Unshackling our building capability and meeting housing priorities (IEA Breakthrough Essay) GROWTH? NOT IN THIS BUDGET - an appraisal of the March 2021 budget (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 96) Feb Understanding Trade Imbalances (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 95) Post-Covid Conjectures (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 94) Jan Layman's guide to the coming currency collapse - January 2021 (Online on Going Postal and Economic Perspectives - 93) 2020 Dec SOME UNSEASONAL REFLECTIONS ON MONEY (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 92) Nov HOW THE CRISIS UNFOLDS (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 91) Where we are - and where we might have been (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 88) Economic Perspectives 89 - the Covid Catalog [of cock-ups] (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 89) Sep Audit independence: only one solution will succeed [SEPTEMBER 2020] (AccountancyDaily September 2020) Ongoing audit agony: a practical solution INTERNATIONAL TRADE: THE CURRENCY EFFECT (1 September 2020) (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 87) Aug Basic Principles: more than meets the eye (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 86) Jul REFORM & REAL REFORM (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 84) FRAUD: SAME STORY, BIGGER NUMBERS - Enron remembered as Wirecard Jun THE RISK FACTOR: TIME FOR AN HONEST ASSESSMENT (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 83) BALANCING DISEASE AND CURE – AND IT’S NOT JUST THE VIRUS May THE VIRUS CIRCUS – AN OBJECT LESSON ON SOCIALIST ECONOMICS Apr So we think we are the experts? (Economic Perspectives - 77) Lost production cannot be retrieved “SAVINGS: more important than the unstable money that measures it” (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 75) Mar Allocating taxpayers' money where it will do most good (Economic Perspectives - 73) Feb Letter to Daily Telegraph on Site Value Taxation (Emile's Posts) SELECTIVE RECOLLECTION AND ECONOMIC REALITY (Economic Perspectives - 72) Jan TESTING THE SOCIALIST HYPOTHESIS (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 71) FRIEND'S QUESTION ON S.V. TAXATION (REPLY TO Ronald's query on taxation) POST-ELECTION SCENE - WITH REFERENCE TO ECONOMICS (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 70) The UK general election 12/12/19 (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 69) Respective election manifestos (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 68) 2019 Nov "Nationalism" and "Protectionism" - the same thing? (Emile Woolf - Economic Perspectives 67) THE GULF BETWEEN RICH AND POOR (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 66) Oct "Keeping economics simple - AWAY from government! (Economic Perspectives - 63) WE ARE PRESENTED WITH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY THE OVERDUE UNWINDING – THIS TIME FOR REAL (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives - 61) “STICKING TO YOUR GUNS” - AND OTHER FAILED STRATEGIES (Economic Perspectives - 60/ Going Postal 9/8/19) Sep PROPER AUDITS - STILL TOO DISTANT Jul Determination by Boris - economics! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 59) Auditors' independence - all or nothing! ("Accountancy Online" AUGUST 2019) A THOUGHT FOR THE NEW PM - JULY 2019 (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 58) The case for taxing real “Value Added” – not VAT! (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 57) Jun TIME TO WAKE UP (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 56) Central banks - blundering masquerading as policy (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 55) "No Deal" would be a blessed release! (Emile Woolf - Economic Perspectives 53) AUDITORS DEFEATED BY ACCOUNTING ABERRATIONS ("Accountancy Online" June 2019) May "Funny-money" and the Cantillon Effect (Emile Woolf's Economic Perspectives no 54 blog 18-5-19) Apr Regulation has Gone Crazy! (Economic Perspectives - 52) Mar State intervention and market distortion (Economic Perspectives - 51) Feb ECONOMIC DISTORTION, COURTESY OF CENTRAL BANK (Economic Perspectives no. 50) International trade; imports/exports; securing borders; free trade; why is Britain first to leave EU? (Emile's Economic Perspectives and Going Postal) Jan How to unravel economic complexity - the simple citizen’s guide - EP48 (Economic Perspectives 48, Going Postal Blogsite 28-1-19) EXPOSING THE “NO DEAL” MYTHOLOGY (Economic Perspectives 47, Going Postal Blogsite 31 December 2018) 2018 Dec Human rights and government action [GP 17-12-18 & EP 46] The fallacy of job creation [EP45] (Economic Perspectives 45, Going Postal Blogsite 5/11/18) Nov “What Government can – and cannot – do” [EP 43] (Economic Perspectives, 43 - Emile's Blog, and Going Postal, 19-11-2018) The fallacy of job creation (EP 26/ Going Postal 5/11/18 - Emile's blog and website) Correspondence on affordable housing policy with son-in-law, Steven Maddocks (correspondence with son-in-law, Steven Maddocks) Oct If I were Prime Minister (Going Postal/ Economic Perspectives 41) Reaping the Whirlwind - lessons of 2008 and the rich/poor divide (Emile's Economic Perspectives blog & Going Postal - 10 October 2018) THE FUTILITY OF INSTITUTIONAL MEDDLING (GOING POSTAL 22-10-18 AND EMILE'S ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES NO. 40) DEBUNKING ECONOMIC MYTHOLOGY – PART 2 (Emile's "Going Postal" economic blog on 15-10-18) Aug Economic Perspectives 35 (Part two) - the Scourge of Credit Expansion (Emile's Economic Perspectives 35 (part Two) and Going Postal) Reading the signs of the coming crash (Emile's Economic Perspectives 35 (part one) and Going Postal) Economic Perspectives: EU Membership - understanding the rules (Emile's Economic Perspectives blog & Going Postal) Jul Sound money.....and gold! (Go Postal and Emile's blog) Understanding Economics 4 - Interest rates (Emile's blog and Go Postal) Economic Perspectives 32 - analysing old lessons (Go Postal) The Auditing endgame is nigh Jun Chapter 3 - Understanding Economics in One Hour (Emile's Economics blog and Go Postal) Chapter 2 - Understanding Economics in One Hour (Economic Perspectives) Introduction to "Understanding Economics in One Hour" (Economic Perspectives - Emile's Blog on Economics) May 'Understanding Economics in One Hour' - chapter 1 - EP.29 (Go Postal) Correspondence with son-in-law Steven Maddocks "Grasping the nettle: now or never for auditors!" (Accountancy Magazine - June 2018) "Understanding Economics in an hour" (Emile's Economic Perspectives Blog) Mar Tackling the auditing malaise - at source Feb European Union - what membership entails (ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES SECTION OF EMILE'S WEBSITE) Letter to Friend on Taxing "Added Value" (Emile's Website ) Jan ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES - 27: "The EU unvarnished" (Emile's economics blog) The FRC's penal sanctions regime fails to raise standards 2017 Dec Creating Jobs - what a fallacy! (Emile's Economic Perspectives blog) RECENT TAX HYSTERIA [Economic Perspectives - 25] (Emile's "Economic Perspectives") HBOS, KPMG & FRC - a trio mired in scandal (Accountancy Magazine December 2017) Nov Emile's review of Godfrey Bloom's book "The Magic of Banking" (Amazon's book review section) Economic Perspectives - 24 "PROTECTIONISM IS SIMPLY “PATRONAGE” IN A MODERN GUISE (Emile's economics blog-posts) Economic Perspectives - 23 (Emile's economics blog-posts) Oct Economic Perspectives - 1 (Economic Perspectives Series) Economic Perspectives 13 (Emile's Economic Perspectives blog) Economic Perspectives 12 (March 2017) (Emile's Economics blog) Economic Perspectives 11 (March 2017) (Emile's Economic Perspectives blog) Economic Perspectives 21- Anti-competitive protectionism (Emile's Economics series [October 2017]) Economic Perspectives 22 (Emile's economics series [October 2017]) Aug Institutionally Gullible - loan-loss provisions ("Accountancy" June 2017) Letters to The Times / Daily Telegraph - August '17 (Emile's Website) Economic Perspectives 14 (April 2017) - Meaning of Free Trade (Economic Perspectives no. 14 (April 2017)) Economic Perspectives 20 - "Buffers for Duffers!' (Emile's Economis Blog - August 2017) Correspondence with Jon Newman on Economic Perspectives 20 Government knows what it is doing? Dream on ("Accountancy" - September 2012) BANKING SCANDALS: CAN THE RBS SAGA TELL US ANYTHING NEW? (Emile's private blog) "Creative Accounting" masks real performance Economic perspectives 14 - unilateral free trade is natural (Economic Perspectives 14) Consequences of inflationary folly (Emile's "Economic Perspectives 11" - blog march 2017) Brief chronology of my own economics studies (Emile's Website) Economic Perspectives 19: Does Labour respect sanctity of private property? (Emile's Economics Blog (July 2017)) Jul Economic Perspectives 18: "No way to run a railroad" (Emile's Economics Blog (July 2017)) Exchange of views on Brexit: Garrick Homes and Emile (Emile's Website) Why revised Ethical Standard will not restore public trust FRENCH REGULATORY FARCE (Emile's blog ) May "Genuinely Terrible Economic Idea" (LETTER TO MY BLOG READERS) Economic Perspectives 15 - "Demand stimulus unmasked" (Emile's blog ) (Economic Perspectives BLOG) Apr International commerce and unilateral free trade (Emile's ) Clarity or obfuscation? Mar Tax correspondence with Pat Barron ( Correspondence on taxation between Pat Barron and Emile Woolf) Accounting clarity - or regulatory clutter? Useless Sanctions against Banks (Accountancy Magazine) Boardroom mega bucks - ludicrous pay deals Legitimising corrupt practices Jan Correspondence (2014) with cousin-in-law on madness of money printing (Correspondence with wife's cousin Donald R Dann) Comment on Economic Perspectives 9, from Guy Roberts, Former Senior Diplomat in the UK Overseas Service On EW Economics Blog Economic Perspectives 9 - Regulatory extortion and legitimising corruption (Emile's Blog and "Accountancy" Magazine) 2016 Dec My Letter to 'The Times' on excessive executive pay (Emile' Blog) Correspondence on the notorious "pay gap" (Emile's Economic Blog) Inflated executive pay, my letter to The Times, and correspondence with Nigel Mcgown Nov ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES - 8 -'The dollar is not forever' (Economic Perspectives - Emile's Blog) "Excessive regulation is the enemy of transparency" (Accountancy) On "excessive regulation - the enemy of transparency" Economic Perspectives 6 (Emile Woolf's Blog) Economic Perspectives - 5 - The true interest rate story (Emile Woolf's Blog - Economic Perspectives) Economic Perspectives - 7 -How the US Dollar became the world's reserve currency (Economic Perspectives - Emile's Blog) Oct Pension fund audits: time for a rethink Sep Defective Accounting Standards & Failed Regulation Aug Post-Brexit opportunities - and regulatory failures (Accountancy - September 2016) Economic Perspectives 4 - The Inflation Conundrum (Emile's Economics Blog) Economic Perspectives 3: Interest Rate Suppression (Emile's Economics blog) Economic Perspectives 2 - Perverse Labour Laws (Emile's Economics Blog) Clueless Experts (Private Blog) Audit Committees' Demanding Role Jul My Letter to The Times 18/7/2016 (Emile Woolf's Blog) Economic Perspectives 1 - The Deficit Myth (Emile's Economics Blog) Audit Committees: coming of age (Accountancy Magazine) Jun New EU Audit Regulations - rising to the challenge The Private Eye Libel Case (Accountancy Magazine) Authenticating financial reports: a complete rethink is clearly overdue Accounting tricks flatter the accounts, and inflate executive pay May Economic law trumps accounting rules (June 2016 Accountancy) Apr Never too big to jail! (Accountancy Magazine) Feb Avoiding economic disaster: discovering the principles Google & tax - some thoughts (EW Website) Jan Authenticating financial reports: rethink is overdue (Accountancy Magazine) Proper audits - are they really so difficult? (Accountancy Magazine) 2015 Dec The cost of complexity - our taxation patchwork (Private musings!) Nov Telling the truth about debt IFRS under attack - this time it's serious! Oct PRUDENT ACCOUNTING – NEEDED MORE THAN EVER Auditors must not disregard the client’s culture Paying the price for delusional regulation – at every level Aug If audits disregard the client’s culture, they are an expensive waste of time Jul My take on the Greek drama Correspondence with former student AUDIT STANDARDS & CURRENCY GAMES Jun Prudence returns to accounting, but not to the economy (Accountancy Magazine) Apr Correspondence with Pat Barron on tax avoidance Emile's comments on "Hard Talk" Podcast: Steven Sacker and John Caudwell - Taxation (Private correspondence) Query from Cyril Solomons, retired manufacturer, on the meaning of "mark-to-market" Prudent Accounting - needed more than ever Mar Punishment where it belongs Feb QUESTIONS FOR THE PROFESSION'S REGULATOR Jan Perplexing times for economists and accountants 2014 Dec Correspondence with cousin on Krugman article (private correspondence) Big Audits: are they fit for purpose? Nov Financial rectitude: do the non-execs help? Oct Correspondence with Richard Watkinson Emile's thoughts on Scottish independence Banks: prudence and sanity return? Massive overstatement of Tesco profits Aug Capital allocation & infrastructure spending: let the markets decide Words: weapons of mass destruction? Jul Auditing the auditors: some improvement. But what of the economy? Jun Housing crisis - Letter to The Times 21st May 2014 (The Times) Questions from Alex Woolf, renowned novelist, and reply from Emile Woolf If management breaks the law, don’t penalise the shareholders May You can print money, but not direct its course Apr Letter to The Times 8th April '14 - Subject: Hoarding development land - tax free (The Times) Mar Loan book valuations – accounting standards’ greatest challenge Tax correspondence with colleague - Emile's response (Correspondence with Professional Colleagues) Feb Sloppy auditing has its consequences – just look around you Lord Lawson quotes article by Emile Woolf in House of Lords (Hansard, 23 October 2013) Correspondence with Patrick Baron on the role of money & wealth transfers (Correspondence with Patrick Baron, Professor of Economics, Philadelphia) Jan Auditors, wasted loans, currency wars... and gold 2013 Dec Emile replies to his daughter, Gabi Maddocks (Exchange of letters) Auditing banks' toxic debts Competition amongst auditors - not the answer (Accountancy-live electronic version) Oct Hiding the truth with complexity: trust your own reason Standards can obscure the simplest concepts: try ‘true and fair’ Sep Sanity will return - In its own time Aug The mindset of currency debasement infects auditors too Jul Tax avoidance: moral outrage versus cool reason Jun Banking principles? A contradiction in terms May Time to call the European Commission to Account Spicing up the Audit Report will end in tears Letter to 'The Times' 29 April 2013 on UKIP Budget proposals (The Times) New face of banking regulation - and about time! Apr Enhancing banks' accounting regulation: and about time! Proposals for Tax Reform (Correspondence with Professional Colleagues) Correspondence with Courtney Keane on tax policy (E-mail correspondence) Audit quality: is lack of competition the problem? Mar Correspondence with Godfrey Bloom and Ian Dexter on flat-rate taxes (Email Correspondence) EU membership, in or out? Think it through but tread warily Transfer pricing (Letter from Gareth Davies and my reply) Feb EU membership - in or out? Think it through, but tread warily All the forecasts are wrong (Barchester Chronicle) Jan Brief Guide to Sound Taxation Policies (EMILE WOOLF LETTERS) Letter to Godfrey Bloom MEP on Tax Reform (EMILE WOOLF LETTERS) Cost of the EU dream: who pays? 2012 Dec Accountancy's role in maintaining the cycle of deception Nov Ignore the European lessons and you pay the price – yet again! Audit Scope: common sense beats rules, every time Thinking outside the box: who needs bailouts? Oct To survive, auditors must raise their game Sep Government knows what it is doing, dream on Aug Advantages of the gold standard (Emile Woolf Writes) Extreme action fails: whether it's EU politics or over-zealous accounting Austerity or growth? First fix the money Jul Audit scope: common sense beats rules every time Jun Inflated asset values, suppressed liabilities – it comes to the same thing May Was tax reform ever more needed? Apr Wealth creation and money creation: not the same thing Mar High taxation will always stifle growth Feb Economic law prevails: why the Euro has to fail Jan Less government, less regulation, less tax: more freedom 2011 Dec Audit scope: we need a Court case to sound a wake-up call Nov Fudging the figures for Euro entry? That’s putting it mildly Oct Currency debasement and public waste: partners in crime Sep Debt: it's better not to pretend it can be repaid Aug Justice in action: condoning default has a price Jul Auditing blindspots: firms both large and small are affected Jun Creative thinking: it’s full of surprises May Sovereign bailouts versus economic law: who will win? Apr Clear? Coherent? Transparent? Intelligible? How would you describe our reporting standards? Mar Can rules-based accounting facilitate fraud? Enron revisited Feb Sustainable recovery: reform the taxes - or miss the opportunity Jan Doomed from day one: the euro project is coming apart 2010 Dec Dealing with debt: forget the economics - it’s just arithmetic Nov Axing the quangos and reforming the tax structure - both are needed Oct Psychosis grips British banking. Yet who will break the deadlock? Sep Tax and accounting are the drivers: but where are they taking us? Aug Reduce the deficit? Then reduce waste in public finances Jul Is the single currency doomed? The problems were there from the start Jun Back to square one: Accounting safeguards do not work May Paying for infrastructure – learning from others Apr Hong Kong and China: reconciling the economic incongruities Mar Behind the words, public sector waste lies hidden Feb Economic and accounting theory provide no answers if they ignore reality Jan Reforming the banking system? End the legalised extortion 2009 Dec The cycle of litigation - be warned Nov Reflating the banking bubble while the real economy lags Oct Bring back "substance over form" to overcome this accounting farce Sep Reforming banks' governance is not possible without real sanctions Aug Cutting public sector waste: there is no choice Jul The public scandal of parliamentary expenses - here and in Brussels Jun Public finances: tax rises are not the answer Apr End hypocrisy: only a culture change will achieve G-20 goals Mar Corporate fraud and flawed auditing: they go together Time for a reformed regulatory framework - auditing included Feb Now we know: the 'booming' economy was a huge Ponzi scheme Jan Getting the economy going: cut public sector waste and transform taxes 2008 Dec The great credit collapse: what have we learnt Nov Meltdown in financial markets: the inexorable day of reckoning has dawned Oct Communication rather than jargon: what accounting needs Sep Regulators, rating agencies, accountants, economists: they haven't a clue. Aug EU politics and accounting extremes: the cure is worse than the disease Jul Oil shortage? Another myth dreamed up by speculators Jun Did weird accounting support the credit disaster? May Clearing up the mess when corporate conjuring has been exposed Apr “Transparency”? “Accountability”? Not in Westminster or Brussels Mar Disclosure of auditors' papers: more misconceived EU regulation Feb Banks deserve our opprobrium: they have forgotten all basic principles Jan Where have all the losses gone? There are no corresponding gains! 2007 Dec Demise of the Independent Insurance Company - Lessons galore Nov Bank lending scandal: sorting fact from fiction Oct Over-taxed & over-regulated - that's the reality, whatever they say Sep Prescriptive accounts? I’d rather they were understandable Aug Qualified Audit Reports: Don’t show them to the FRRP Jul The consequences of mindless regulation are always heartless Jun Borrowers must face the reality of their choices May Desperate measures: if it moves, tax it Apr The European Commission must be called to account Mar Spicing up the Audit Report will end in tears Feb Time to give unaudited accounts "compilation" status “What the expert witness expects of his legal team” (The Barrister Magazine, 2007) Jan Audit exemption and worthless accounts 2006 Dec Principled taxation? No – it is not a contradiction in terms Nov Are the numbers verifiable? Two transatlantic papers question the fair value excursion.
