MIDDLEBURGH

MIDDLEBURGH LIGHT READING:WK 42/12

ARE WE BACK OR WHAT .......

WK42/12 Ever had disagreements with colleagues over how to do trend analysis or analytic comparisons of historic data across companies which use different accounting calendars. Personally I favour of using ISO week numbers!!

Sharing & CaringI am a sucker for tools like this (the web version). It all comes from fact that I collaborate with colleagues and between us we all have different records of what was discussed, outstanding issues, agreed solutions etc and we just can't between on a suitable collaborative tool to share notes. Aren't we pathetic !! (NB requires evernote)

Source & Application Of Funds
I take issue with some accountants which goes back to my early job experiences. Whilst there are some very savy accountants who actually understand what the figures mean, there are others (wannabe bankers) who can technically do all right things when creating their P&Ls and Balance Sheets etc, but like mindless cyborgs with a deathwish steer their organisations into the abyss. I was lucky in that one of the savy guys introduced me to Source and Application of Funds. (its an oldy but a goody)

Revenue Recognition Wikipedia may have may faults but it if you suspect an accountant has communications issues (or is obfusticating) it is very useful to be able to quote wikipedia articles back at them. The acid test of course is would you recognise Rev. N.Yue if you met him on the street !!!

Tax Facts
Personally I think VAT systems are straight forward, but then again I have worked with then all my working life . Of course in China VAT is relatively new, only being successfully trialed in Shanghai from 01/2012. It was rolled out to Jiangsu and Anhui provinces at the beginning of this month and the big audit/financial players have all issued white papers and the like but my favorites is the still the State Administration of Taxation website.(I have just reread this and have decided that I need to take few days off )

User ExperienceNow to put this tool in context: System usability, friendliness and end user experience became a recent topic of debate with a colleague. Unfortunately it became somewhat angst-ridden and irritable and only with difficulty did I resist summarizing the issues in the style of David Attenborough Put it another way if UI is not intuitive (or simple enough for target users) obviously rework it or the supporting training materials (or replace the target users) Alternative take advice from a credible source such as Oleg Mokhov who writes on these issues and is the world's most mobile electronic musician and web + visual design enthusiast. He makes music that's a cross between Four Tet and Aphex Twin.(seriously!!!)

"Private We B "
What do you mean - I am Paranoid !!! ..... No really... I am !!!

Does your Windows Boot Up Leave You Unfulfilled ?? You install all these "iffy" tools and privacy guards and you wonder why your PC boots up with the speed of a three toed slooth high on Ativan on an a cold winter morning!!! have you considered using Linux ?? or do you believe that an "apple" a day will keep the android away !!!

DIY Magazines
I like this site. My biggest regret is that I am insufficiently creative to make full and proper use of it Interestingly when I did a search for "pornography" it only returned 12 results none of which seemed particularly creative."porn" returned 48 equally uninspiring results but "prawn" was more successful - 10 results including "Sexy BBQ Recipes" - what more can I say

New UI Tools
I thought I would end on something worthy (requiresBootstrap. Now compare and contrast with Java Server Pages - really I want some feedback !!!

Posted at 10/23/2012 04:17:00 pm by David Middleburgh   Permalink

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