An MBA is the qualification of choice for investment bankers and management consultants, but many people in other professions regard an MBA as a way to break through a glass ceiling that prevents them progressing into more senior positions. I’d counsel them to hesitate. A great deal of the management and leadership training I’ve experienced
Any finance person responsible for preparing the results in a quoted company knows the pressure to avoid surprises. I recently listened to a colleague, who had just left such a position, swear that it was absolutely necessary to smooth profits and that anyone who suggests otherwise (my position) is being naive. Within a year of
What’s the collective noun for accountants?… A ‘boredom’ of accountants. Accounting, it’s fair to say, doesn’t have the reputation for flair and creativity of, say, an artist. Well, I’ve met only two professional artists: people who earned their living solely by selling their artworks. Neither struck me as more or less creative than anyone else
‘Are your prices negotiable?’ ‘That depends on what you’ve got to negotiate with? This exchange was relayed to me by a negotiation skills trainer at the end of a day’s training. He was describing a phone call he’d taken from what I’ve always thought must have been a brave HR manager on the other line.
When I was an auditor, we made no money on the first years of an audit because we spent most of our time figuring out what was going on. After a few middling years, we were familiar enough to run a really efficient audit, thus we made all our money in those later years. It