Interview Tips-be ready for the killer questions (extract from CIMA Insight Feb 09)

Interviews – be ready for the killer questions. Successful job interviews are all about preparation. Here is a list of questions that are frequently asked at interviews and how to answer them. Plus some smart questions that you can ask.

Q. Why are you seeking new employment?A. Don’t be negative about your current job or employer. Stay positive and focus on your achievements explaining how moving jobs will help you to develop your career.

Q. What are your strengths and weaknesses?A. Prepare this in advance by identifying three or four key strengths. Adjust these to fit with what you perceive the interviewer is looking for and back them up with practical examples. Explain how your strengths have benefited previous employers. Where possible you should find ways to present your weaknesses as strengths. For example, if you say that you’re not feeling challenged, ensure you demonstrate a proactive approach to keeping yourself motivated.

Q. What salary are you looking for?A. Your CV could indicate a salary range that allows scope for negotiation. Remember that your recruitment consultant can handle this negotiation for you.

Q. What attracted you to this organisation?A. Research the company thoroughly and identify how it can help fulfil your career aspirations. Refer to your research, and discuss the observations you have made. Listen carefully to the responses given.

2008

一月
很忙。

二月
还是忙

三月
依然忙

四月
小坏蛋出世。升级当妈妈。

五月
难熬的做月期

六月
提早回公司上班。赚奶粉钱

七月
工作。一个月回家两趟。 看看小坏蛋。

八月
妹妹出嫁

九月
小坏蛋五个月大，很会笑。。

和老公到hot spring park半日游。

十月
小坏蛋越来越坏蛋
十一月
老公忘记我的生日。补送了一个我想了很久的白色手表。 天空出现微笑的月亮



十二月
小坏蛋出牙了，越长越高大。。。 妹妹也怀孕了

难忘的生日 + 特别的生日蛋糕

同事买了一个很特别，很漂亮的生日蛋糕帮我庆祝生日。我们常说切蛋糕庆祝生日，我的蛋糕是不用切的叻。。特别吧？

很感谢他们给我一个简单但难忘的生日会。也很感谢所有打电话，传简讯，facebook 留言 的朋友。但让我最难忘的还是最亲爱的他。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。竟然把我的生日忘得一干二净。。。。hmm...要如何惩罚这个糊涂虫呢？男人，到底你们明白我们女人要的是什么吗？ 我们不需要很华丽的庆祝，或是很昂贵的礼物。我们要的是那一份心意，那一种被重视，被疼的感觉。

爱笑爱扁嘴的宝贝

时间过得很快，转眼间宝贝已经五个月大了，已经可以座在小车子里自由活动，已经会翻身了。。她爱笑，也很爱扁嘴。开心时就笑，有时后还会咯咯地笑。一不开心，不喜欢就扁嘴，如果没有及时呵她，就会哇哇的大哭。。。这性格到底像谁呢？

希望宝贝永远都开开心心，健健康康的。。。

Malaysia Boleh

大家有没有觉得这首歌的旋律很熟悉呢？

Surviving the liquidity crisis

This morning once step into the office, heard our Singga Lim's voice, "US share market drop, company XXX in US bankrupt, company XXX retrench their staff...."

Below is an article extract from CIMA Insight August 08 to discuss on how a company can survive when economic downturn by Audrey Besson

Surviving the liquidity crisis
Audrey Besson
With the right focus and some advance warning, it is possible to survive a credit squeeze. Audrey Besson, CIMA innovation and development specialist, offers some practical advice and looks at a real life case study.
As the grip of the credit crunch tightens, the ability of companies to survive market downturns or seasonal fluctuations is reducing. According to Experian, 4,798 businesses in the UK failed in the first quarter of 2008 – an increase of 8.5% on the previous year. Companies going through market downturns or normal seasonal fluctuations, which would once have survived by extending their credit facilities, may now be pushed into liquidation. This is especially true for start-up companies that tend to consume cash faster than they generate it in their early years.
Businesses are therefore forced to seek alternative sources of funding. CFOs could also consider releasing cash by reducing their working capital cycle time, for example, by negotiating payment terms with customers and suppliers, opting for invoice financing or reducing inventory. Another solution could be to sell non-core assets.
Keeping investors in the loop
When access to liquidity is expensive and limited, it is crucial for management teams to have a plan to mitigate the effects.
Economic uncertainty is prompting investors to focus more on company performance and, particularly, on cash flow analysis. Whereas in the past net income forecasting was sufficient, today investors expect companies to produce a rolling 12-month cash flow outlook.
CEOs and CFOs must spend more time and effort communicating with investors and keeping them up to date with the company’s current situation and future outlook. This puts an additional burden on those finance teams that are unprepared and lack the right tools.
Impacts of a volatile environment
Market volatility and changing risk profiles makes accounting for balance sheet items at fair market value an increasingly difficult task. This, coupled with additional investor scrutiny, means that external auditors will place more emphasis on assigning fair value to assets and liabilities.
With limited access to credit, companies might be in a situation where the ‘going concern’ assumption is no longer valid. As a result auditors need to obtain confirmation of the existence and terms of a company’s bank facilities. In case these are no longer available, auditors have to disclose it in the financial statements as well as in their auditor report.
In January 2008, a Financial Reporting Council bulletin emphasised that directors of listed companies are required to make a statement in the annual financial report that the business is a going concern, together with supporting assumptions or qualifications as necessary.
A real life example
One example of the impact of the credit crunch on a medium-sized business is that of a private UK retailer. When the market slow down affected the company’s sales, credit insurers withdrew insurance levels. Suppliers subsequently pulled back credit. The company suffered a liquidity crisis, as it had no other way to fund working capital. It was unable to renew inventory and sales continued to fall, increasing suppliers’ anxiety.
The combination of a market downturn, risk adverse credit insurance agencies and suppliers, and limited access to cash from banks created a vicious circle. The CEO and CFO had to work with the investors, suppliers and banks to improve confidence that the business was still viable.
The crisis happened fast and the company’s financial reporting failed to highlight the problems in time. It had adequate profit and loss forecasting and rudimentary cash flow analysis, but lacked the level of detail needed to anticipate and communicate the downturn. This raised investors’ concerns. A team from the private equity firm that owned the company arrived on site and worked with senior management to review cash flow analysis, validate, audit assumptions and implement processes to improve forecast accuracy.
New cash forecasting tools helped to restore confidence by demonstrating that the business was viable and had a workable plan. The company implemented a 13-week daily cash flow forecast and now updates this every week. They also report the daily cash position to investors.
The team used this work to persuade the credit insurance agencies to restore insurance levels. As a result, the company was able to set new supplier terms and reestablish investors’ confidence.
A vice-president of the private equity firm, said: ‘There were two big surprises for management in this situation: how fast its liquidity crisis developed and how ill prepared the team was to respond both in terms of resources and availability of tools. Survival depended on the CEO and CFO creating open, honest and timely communication with all stakeholders.’
Things to consider if your company faces a similar situation
Plan cash not only profit. CFOs must prioritise cash management to keep investors confident and ensure that the firm can anticipate a downturn in time to implement a mitigation plan.
Anticipate the reactions of customers and suppliers. Foresee cash flow sources and uses not only for the business itself, but also for customers and suppliers. Monitor customer payments closely and identify defaults early. Inform suppliers up front if you are likely to have problems meeting payment terms.
Communicate - interaction with investors is crucial and CEOs and CFOs must have a plan to ensure they can report business cash flow regularly, provide detailed forecasts and answer questions. Timing is vital and you must communicate issues early.
Accelerate the cycle time of the company’s working capital. Where possible, negotiate flexible payment terms with suppliers and customers. Manage inventory in relation to sales trends and delay non-critical capital expenditure. It may also be worth considering invoice financing.
Use extra diligence when preparing the accounts and related asset impairments. The auditors will spend extra time on those items.
With the right focus and some advance warning, surviving a liquidity crisis is possible. Having open communication and the right tools in place will determine success rates of a company facing such a challenging situation.

Financial Management - The magazine from CIMA

Financial Management is the official publication of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. It contains economic news, business resources, company profiles, and information on accounting services and best practices.

这本Magazine我每个月都会收到。很多年前，我看不懂，那时我给自己的借口是入世未深，没有经验， 英文不好。。。但很多年后的今天我还是看不懂，我想应该是时候反省，反省。。。想想办法充实自己了。。:-)

我的宝贝

宝贝，妈妈好想你哦！！

四个月

上个星期回家看女儿， 发现她长“长”了很多。以后一定是高妹。幸好宝贝身高像老公，如果像我就残了。

颖颖三个月大

Happy Baby

颖颖两个多月大已经很爱笑

Creative

Updates

昨天听老公说婆婆帮女儿剪光头，突然间很想念她，很想立刻看到她， 抱抱她， 摸摸她的头，光头的颖颖应该很可爱吧！

生了女儿后， 身材走样了。 很多衣服都不能穿。 老公带我到Sunway Pyramid买新衣，天啊， 我现在竟然要穿29号的jeans. 一年前，我只穿26号的。 好伤心哦。我要减肥啦！！！

妈妈从中国旅行回来了， 她说买了一个水晶和咖啡给我， 等妹妹结婚时再拿吧！

昨晚发了一个很奇怪的梦， 被一班人追杀， 一个男人带着我跑， 可是他不是我老公叻，:P 我也不知道是谁。

明天就要开始读书了， 不知道我会不会是全班最老的学生呢？

读书

终于决定再读书，是为了更好的前程，更好的收入。明天就要去报名了，有一点担心。担心自己应付不来，毕竟已经那么多年没有读书考试了。担心自己的懒惰毛病又发作， 我一直都很懒惰读书。能顺利考完degree 都是靠一点小聪明和运气。希望这一次能把这个坏习惯改掉。

2 Months lor....

我家的小坏蛋

当妈妈了。。。

我的小坏蛋在四月二十二日出生。比逾产期早了十天。常常听说生产有多痛， 多辛苦。现在终于亲身体会，生产的痛楚真的是非笔墨能形容的。 但是当护士把宝贝抱给我时， 看着她可爱的模样， 顿时觉得一切的痛楚都是值得的。在我怀中的就是我和老公的宝宝。当时觉得生命很奇妙。。。十个月前一个精子和卵子的结合，今天便成一个那么可爱的小人儿。很想老公就在我身边一起分享这分喜悦， 无奈他人在KL， 要第二天才能回来。没办法啦，谁叫宝宝那么早就要出来看看这花花世界。老公为她取了一个好听又漂亮的名字叫张蕙颖。。。。

Cute

Chips & Dale

最近好忙, 日做夜做,一星期做足七天, 没时间陪老公,没时间逛街,没时间剪头发,没时间写blog, 就连妹妹的婚宴也无发出席. 希望妹妹不会怪我, 但我答应她, 在她出嫁那一天, 我一定会到.

上星期, 趁有一些时间, 就和老公到Sunway Pyramid吃晚饭, 逛逛街...在一间精品店看到这一对Chips & Dale, 觉得很可爱, 太可爱了, 实在是太太太可爱了, 暂时把储息奶粉钱的计划抛在脑后, 不理会价格, 就把它们带回家了. 希望宝宝原谅我的一时冲动.

真正的愛情.....

看了朋友forward 的email, 觉得很有意义. 在这里分享其中一段....


女人等的到底是什麼 其實女人們真的蠻傻的
願意拿青春來做賭注 總是天真的以為
自己無私的付出可以換來日後的幸福 以及男人的疼愛… ..
但是 .....真正成功的又有幾個呢？
嚐過愛情的傷痛之後 似乎對愛情的看法已改變
當一個女人身陷情海愛對方勝過自己時….. 我想在這場愛情遊戲中她就已經注定輸場了
因為 ....她已經把決定權交給男方
其實愛情是要雙方互相維持的不是嗎
當你一昧的只為對方想 那麼這個天平就偏了
到底愛情是什麼？ 為何要因為愛對方而把自己推向劣勢呢
樣樣事情都以對方優先反而忘了自己呢
所以 .....女人們...... 要堅強喔... 女人不是弱者
而男人們… .若是發現身邊有個這麼愛你的女人
千萬記的要好好珍惜她 倘若連這麼愛你的女人你都不知道珍惜的話
我想.......你應該會抱憾終生喔！

真正的幸福，是我可以微笑著承認我曾經很幸福
真正的愛情，真正的溫柔，是讓愛過妳或妳愛過的人，一點都不後悔曾經遇見妳

最近

最近, 好忙哦, 心情好复杂....
最近, 好多让我意想不到的事情发生...
最近, 拿了新车, 好兴奋.....
最近, 发觉自己就快当妈妈了, 有点不敢相信...
最近, 要结婚了, 是真的吗? 一切来得太突然....
最近, 压力好大, 工作好忙, 忙得透不过气, 忙得有点想放弃......