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Excellent explanation, Forgot. Can I get an exemption from ICSC now? Or will a note from my mum suffice?
Join Date: Apr 2002
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If, we are so short of ?0„5?0„5, why then do we regularly send passenger jets to any number of locations around the globe, nowhere near to full. Or sending 200 seat passenger jets to an airport to pick up/drop off 5 or 6 people. Or spending ?0„5?0„5 on recruitment ads (of very dubious quality), when downsize seems to be the word of the month.Is this a cost cutting measure? Not likely. It is an example of the flagrant, everyday mis-management that cost us a fortune.
Why is it that in the military, the "top management" are people with no financial expertise, but have been in the service for a long time. In modern business management is made up of a combination of the more experienced, and the younger with fresh ideas and skills. I understand that the military cannot be run as a business in all aspects, but surely there is room for a little improvement on the current joke. It must be time for a "management" branch to be introduced to begin running things a little more like a company, manned by those who have the required, recognised skills in this area. That would leave those of us whose skills are on the flying, maintaining, etc side of things, to do what we are there for. eg. Fly, maintain etc.
What a rabble, I give up.
Why is it that in the military, the "top management" are people with no financial expertise, but have been in the service for a long time. In modern business management is made up of a combination of the more experienced, and the younger with fresh ideas and skills. I understand that the military cannot be run as a business in all aspects, but surely there is room for a little improvement on the current joke. It must be time for a "management" branch to be introduced to begin running things a little more like a company, manned by those who have the required, recognised skills in this area. That would leave those of us whose skills are on the flying, maintaining, etc side of things, to do what we are there for. eg. Fly, maintain etc.
What a rabble, I give up.
The last thing any military branch needs is more managers. That is not to say that people should not be given proper accountancy training (a good job for admin but not for Aircrew perhaps).
What we all need is more Leaders, people who will stand up and be counted, defending the needs of the military from the bean counters who can see no further than the next Budget.
What we all need is more Leaders, people who will stand up and be counted, defending the needs of the military from the bean counters who can see no further than the next Budget.
Join Date: Sep 2000
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Annularity
Whilst we're on the subject of accounting practices, how about taking a look at the way Annularity affects the way that out managers do their work?
Annularity is, IMHO, a complete load of B@ll@cks.
My understanding of the way it works is that a 'manager' is given an annual budget which he/she then has to spend. Without going into too much detail, an underspend at the end of the year is a bad thing because the following year's budget will be similarly reduced by the bean counters. This leads to ridiculous situations where a manager feels the need to spend the cash, with appropriate justification of course, on things that sometimes don't make sense, instead of giving back the cash into central funds.
Good Managers that save money are punished by seeing their budgets reduce over time, whereas those who spend are rewarded by having their budgets maintained or even increased!
Even though I am part of the organisation, it is MY tax money that is being wasted, and I am not impressed!
Annularity is, IMHO, a complete load of B@ll@cks.
My understanding of the way it works is that a 'manager' is given an annual budget which he/she then has to spend. Without going into too much detail, an underspend at the end of the year is a bad thing because the following year's budget will be similarly reduced by the bean counters. This leads to ridiculous situations where a manager feels the need to spend the cash, with appropriate justification of course, on things that sometimes don't make sense, instead of giving back the cash into central funds.
Good Managers that save money are punished by seeing their budgets reduce over time, whereas those who spend are rewarded by having their budgets maintained or even increased!
Even though I am part of the organisation, it is MY tax money that is being wasted, and I am not impressed!
Gentleman Aviator
Sir T H
I absolutely could not agree more! Annularity makes no sense at all except to professional bean counters.
As the erstwhile holder of a large (£manyM) budget, the panic to spend at the end of the FY was as predictable as it was pathetic. The year revolved around the FOO (Forecast of Outturn), and inevitably meant cutting back on T&S in the summer (cos we thought we were going to overspend) and making token works services in panic spending spree in Feb and Mar (cos we thought we would underspend). Use it or lose it went the cry! What absolute bolleaux.
None of us runs our personal budget that way; just imagine: I want to go on holiday in June, but I can't spend January or February's pay on it! Even if I pay up front in March (for June holiday) bean counters would count it as June expenditure as that's when I got the benefit! And if I had any money in the bank at the end of March (unlikely!), then I'd be rewarded for my financial husbandry with a pay cut!!!
Seriously, are there any accountants out there who can explain the benefits of annularity? Particularly as I understand that the RNZAF, despite their many other problems, have abandoned annularity and work on a "rolling" 12 month budget period. Probably rather like we all do with our personal finances.........
I absolutely could not agree more! Annularity makes no sense at all except to professional bean counters.
As the erstwhile holder of a large (£manyM) budget, the panic to spend at the end of the FY was as predictable as it was pathetic. The year revolved around the FOO (Forecast of Outturn), and inevitably meant cutting back on T&S in the summer (cos we thought we were going to overspend) and making token works services in panic spending spree in Feb and Mar (cos we thought we would underspend). Use it or lose it went the cry! What absolute bolleaux.
None of us runs our personal budget that way; just imagine: I want to go on holiday in June, but I can't spend January or February's pay on it! Even if I pay up front in March (for June holiday) bean counters would count it as June expenditure as that's when I got the benefit! And if I had any money in the bank at the end of March (unlikely!), then I'd be rewarded for my financial husbandry with a pay cut!!!
Seriously, are there any accountants out there who can explain the benefits of annularity? Particularly as I understand that the RNZAF, despite their many other problems, have abandoned annularity and work on a "rolling" 12 month budget period. Probably rather like we all do with our personal finances.........
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Teetering Head,
I remember those days well. In the first few months after Xmas, everyone rushing around to see what was in the travel budget to see if any of the recce's or training ex that had been put off could now be afforded.
Funny thing, since I left, I noticed that many civilian companies operate in very similar ways to the MOD. We have budgets (I also control a + million pound budget), we plan, midway through the business year we have a look at where we are and re-forecast and at year end see what the damage is. The thing that we don't seem to have is the mid-budget crisis where everybody starts to think we're going to overspend and cancels everything for the next 6 months.
I wonder why the overspend anx is so prevalent in the forces ?
I remember those days well. In the first few months after Xmas, everyone rushing around to see what was in the travel budget to see if any of the recce's or training ex that had been put off could now be afforded.
Funny thing, since I left, I noticed that many civilian companies operate in very similar ways to the MOD. We have budgets (I also control a + million pound budget), we plan, midway through the business year we have a look at where we are and re-forecast and at year end see what the damage is. The thing that we don't seem to have is the mid-budget crisis where everybody starts to think we're going to overspend and cancels everything for the next 6 months.
I wonder why the overspend anx is so prevalent in the forces ?
