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NEARLY half of employees have
stolen company equipment or `intel-
lectual property' on leaving a job, accord-
ing to a survey by Landesk.
Items commonly pilfered include mobile
phones (21 per cent), software (17) and
even laptops (eight).
Some of the more bizarre items disap-
pearing include a drill, towel and even a
set of handlebars. One in 10 employees
even admitted pinching colleagues'
belongings.
Such findings more than justify the
launch of Landesk's latest Asset Lifecycle
Management software, enabling compa-
nies to track company property through-
out its entire lifecycle.
Landesk's Andy Baldin said: "For a busi-
ness, if you lose something like a laptop,
it's not just the cost of the product, but
also the information on it."
BURGESS Hodgson has achieved
`Ones to Watch' status in the
prestigious 2010 Best Companies
Accreditation � the `Michelin stars' of
the business world.
The award recognises how the
Canterbury firm of chartered
accountants motivated and engaged
its staff during the worst UK reces-
sion since the 1930s.
A record 1,086 organisations from
the private and public sectors
applied for Best Companies
Accreditation and Burgess Hodgson
was one of just 50 achieving the high-
est accolade.
KENT-based charity Avante
Partnership has appointed chartered
accountant Richard Davis as a trustee.
He has held several partner level posi-
tions in Kent-based accountancy firms,
most recently and since 1998 as a found-
ing partner in Chavereys Chartered
Accountants � previously of Ashford, now
of Faversham.
He is also a long standing trustee and
treasurer of the Pilgrims Hospices in East
Kent and now adds his expertise to the
board of a regional charity that, through
Avante Care and Support and Stepahead
Support, provides a range of care and sup-
port services to more than 4,000 older peo-
ple, children, young people and families.
FRAUD investigators have found
a 10,000-name hit list of potential
targets for a shares scam.
The list is now being used by the
Financial Services Authority (FSA)
and City of London Police for a letter
drop to 6,500 homes to alert those on
the list as part of Operation Warn.
The scam is thought to be the work
of so-called `boiler room' fraudsters,
unauthorised, overseas-based compa-
nies with bogus UK addresses and
phone lines routed abroad. Dealing
with an unauthorised firm means
you do not have access to the finan-
cial complaints and compensation
schemes. Share fraud is estimated to
cost the UK �200 million a year; 3,100
people contacted the FSA last year
after being targeted by boiler rooms �
734 were victims.
TRAIN operator Southeastern has
committed to cutting 10 per cent off
its total site energy use by the end of this
year as part of the 10:10 campaign to
reduce carbon output.
Spokesman Colin Clifton said: "As a
company that runs only electric trains, we
are aware we need to be managing our
carbon output and looking at ways of
reducing it without affecting services.
"We are proud to be the first rail compa-
ny to make this public commitment which
builds on the work we have already been
doing.
"We have already reduced our carbon
footprint by nearly 20 per cent and are
determined to continue this in 2010."
ONE-TIME Superstox driver Lee Cradock may have swapped his
souped-up stock car for a white van, but he's still out to beat the clock.
Lee set up his own courier business and
now drives from A to B for business rather
than round in circles for a hobby.
"I'm still out to get there quickly, but now
it's all about meeting the customers' dead-
lines rather than winning trophies," said Lee
of Ashford-based KW Couriers.
He's still closely connected with the world of
racing though;a key client is motorsports per-
formance suspension manufacturer KW
Automotive. KW makes parts for race, road
and track and when they need to get replace-
ments to a team in a hurry they turn to Lee
for help.
"I deliver urgent parts for KW right across
the country and have even been asked to rush
spares to a household name F1 team."
Lee used to work in London as an art direc-
tor in the equally fast-moving world of adver-
tising, before recession and a desire to be his
own boss saw him leave the city to set up KW
Couriers.
"With work in the design business becoming
increasingly scarce I decided to take the
plunge and set up on my own, and I'm glad I
took the decision when I did," he said.
He now specialises in fast, efficient and care-
fully-handled deliveries for a range of compa-
nies, including legal firms, the health service
and the Environmental Health Agency, and
has shown he is as determined to win in busi-
ness as he was on the track.
"I used to compete in oval track circuit rac-
ing and raced in the Spedeworth Superstox
series in 2007 and 2008 under number 73," he
said.
"Superstox is a single-seater open-wheel for-
mula which allows mild contact, so it was a
bumpy ride. I make sure that the goods I now
FORMER head of MI5 Dame Stella
Rimington will use a Kent conference to
share insights into guiding the James
Bond bureau through times of change.
Dame Stella �
who provided
the inspiration
for Judi Dench's
portrayal of
movie superspy
James Bond's
boss � joins other
top speakers at
the third Kent
HR Conference
on Thursday,
March 4, from
9.30am to
4.30pm.
Hosted at
A s h f o r d
International Hotel by Kent County
Council, the aim is to bring public and
private sector human resources practi-
tioners together to share techniques and
generate new ideas.
Another leading participant is
Maidstone-based Adrian Webster, moti-
vational speaker and author of Polar
Bear Pirates And Their Quest to Reach
Fat City, who will share practical tips on
how to create a winning environment on
a shoestring budget.
He said: "I normally take the train to
the north or speak in London, so it's a
pleasure to be presenting to a home
audience.
"Things have moved on since my first
book and I hope to be able to give my
Polar Bear Pirates new skills to equip
them to engage and inspire everyday
people to deliver extraordinary results."
For more information, click on
www.kent.gov.uk/kenthrconference.
Spy boss `M' to
spill her secrets
TOP SECRET: Dame
Stella Rimington
BANKING can be child's play, if the experiences of Wrotham Primary
School are anything to go by.
With the help of NatWest, assistant headteacher Sarah Green has
encouraged pupils to set up a bank at the school to help them under-
stand running an account and managing their money.
It forms part of NatWest's MoneySense for Schools, the UK's
largest financial education programme.
The in-house bank is run by pupils who have received cashier
training from NatWest staff.
Pupils can open an account and pay in money. They also receive
regular statements, which NatWest staff go through with them to
help them understand the process of running a bank account.
Ms Green said: "The pupils are excited about this venture. It's
important to gain basic money management skills and setting up,
running and using their own bank is a way of doing this."
Sandra Latter of NatWest said: "It's essential that pupils are
equipped with the financial skills required to make decisions in adult
life. Once they go out into the world of work and start earning money,
it's important they know what to do with it."
You can count on us
PENNY DROPS: Wrotham Primary has set up a school bank
Ex-stock car ace
is white van man
carry have a much smoother ride.
"I'm still a big fan of the sport although I now watch it from the
other side of the fence, and it's good to know that the delivery work I
do for a number of the race teams means my former rivals and team
mates can get out there and enjoy the racing as much as I used to."
DRIVEN MAN: Lee Cradock has a much
smoother ride with KW Couriers after his
time on the Superstox circuit, below
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