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Lack of training in general and falling education levels in school leavers have been highlighted in a recent KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock survey on skills shortages. The survey indicated a strong desire in industry for more training. In most cases the need was equally strongly expressed by both employers and employees.

Authorities from the world of food manufacturing, retailing and research gave their projections for the future of the food industry at a recent conference attended by over two hundred delegates. The conference was sponsored jointly by Peat Marwick McLintock, the world's largest accounting and management consultancy firm and the Leatherhead Food Research Association. Evelyn Morgan of PMM described the likely future influences on consumers' eating habits, and discussed the effects of economic and demographic change in the EC, the USA and Japan.

Profit forecasts are rarely disclosed in the UK except in prospectuses, circulars and during takeover bids. There are few regulations governing the content of profit forecasts. Under stock exchange rules these forecasts must be reported on by both reporting accountants and the merchant bankers advising on the deal. The format of the forecasts is at the discretion of individual companies. This paper summarises the regulations, including professional pronouncements, governing accountants’ reports on profit forecasts. Practical examples of such accountants’ reports extracted from 250 profit forecasts published during 701 UK takeover bids in the period 1988 to 1992 are reproduced and discussed. These examples provide useful precedent material for practitioners involved in reporting on a profit forecast. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy issues and suggestions for policy makers.

No company can afford to ignore opportunities for growth. Innovations in production, new developments in information technology and the identification of new markets can all provide the stimulus for successful business expansion.

British food manufacturers are generally larger and more profitable than their EC competitors, while British supermarkets are so successful that they are widely considered to be in a completely different league to their international counterparts. In fact, across the business spectrum, the top firms in Europe are British. Uses the food industry to examine the paradox arising from the contrast between the superior profitability of many British firms and the consistent, long‐term loss of international markets by Britain to European and other international competitors. Concludes that the answer lies in the definition of success. For senior managers of British public companies success consists of keeping at bay the threat posed by the financial market. This leads them to neglect the lesser threat of loss of customer markets to international competitors – a far less immediate problem.

Increases in female employment in post‐war Britain are characterized by the concentration of women in low‐paid and low status occupations. Demographic change in the late 1980s and early 1990s could have improved the employment status of women, with employers devising “women friendly” initiatives to deal with the accompanying predicted skill and labour shortages. Discusses research undertaken in the late 1980s and early 1990s to examine the extent to which some of the major employers of women (public and private sector) were responding to the threat of demographic change. It was found that only a small number of employers provided “women friendly” initiatives. These initiatives, however, only eased access into the existing low‐paid occupations in which women already predominated.

Traces progress in introducing information technology to support administrative and managerial functions in local education authorities and their schools since 1983. Notes the move towards preparing information technology implementation strategies and the somewhat belated recognition of the need for information management of the system. Outlines some likely areas of future difficulty.

The term ‘policy’ as used by the judges is mainly concerned with whether third parties should be allowed to recover economic loss suffered by them as a result of professional negligence. The answers to the question of recovery of economic loss in negligence are not easy, as judges seem to be divided on this issue. Some judges feel that in some cases beyond physical damage and reliance, economic loss should be recoverable in negligence, while others fear indiscriminately opening the floodgate of liability.

A computer simulation program “Executive” is being supplied by its UK producer for use in business skills training in Eastern Europe. Its advantages are outlined and reaction to this particular program in the UK where it is already being used at management level in major companies is described. Simulation programs should be particularly useful for Eastern European training geared to decentralisation. The designers of this and other projected programs intend them not only to be useful learning aids but also to provide interest and stimulation.

Anything “green” is high in topicality at present and acid deposition by rain is one of the most crucial environmental issues facing the world today. The British Library in association with Technical Communications of 100 High Avenue, Letchworth, Herts SG6 3RR and the Acid Rain Information Centre at Manchester Polytechnic has issued a book which presents 18 papers from eminent European academic scientists currently engaged in studying this field and presents new data reviewing the causes and effects of acid deposition. Acid Deposition — Sources, Effects and Controls, J.W.S. Longhurst (Ed.), British Library, and Technical Communications, ISBN 0‐7123‐0765‐6, £45, should be ordered from Technical Communications not the British Library. Future titles planned in the same series are: Climatic Change/ Global Warming and literature guides on the Channel Tunnel, Greenbelt and the transport of hazardous waste and a second volume on acid deposition.