Business 4 Brunch

It took me ages (well about a minute) to find the messaging page, can it be made more prominent?  Also it took a while to find the "Send" button once I had composed my email message.  Can it be made bigger?

Do you think I need glasses?

Mandy Webster
[url]Data Protection Consulting[http://www.dp-smart.co.uk/url]Auditing for data protection compliance

The privacy regulator, the Information Commissioner, is updating the CCTV Code of Practice 2000.  A draft is available for consultation and comments until end of October 2007.  You can read it and comment here[url][http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/ico_cctv_consultation_draft_final.pdf/url].

Mandy Webster, Data Protection Consulting

From 7 June 2007 there is a new professional discussion forum for company secretaries and others involved in company secretarial and compliance work. 

The mission statement of the forum, "anyotherbusiness", is to support the professional development of those who are involved in company secretarial work and students at all levels by providing a forum for the discussion of relevant professional issues and articles.  There is already a good list of articles including:

 Maternity leave – tips and hints
 Smart recruiting
 Annual reporting for health and safety
 How to use proactive communication to protect your reputation
 Document retention policies
 The impact of data protection law on whistleblowing schemes
 Website accessibility – an eyewitness account
 The commercial website – a compliance nightmare

There is also a forum dedicated to discussions around the new Companies Act which comes into force over the next 18 months or so.

Life membership costs just £35 plus VAT or £15 plus VAT for students registered with ICSA.

So, company secretaries, accountants, solicitors, compliance professionals involved in company law, come on, take a look at http://www.anyotherbusiness.net/. I look forward to meeting you there.

Mandy Webster
Administrator, anyotherbusiness

I posted an article on website accessibility and a quick fix yesterday and I cannot now find it.  Any ideas?

There are no definitive standards for website accessibility compliance.  Until there is a case in the courts we are all guessing a little as to what will constitute a justification for different treatment of a disabled person.

The World Wide Web Consortium have put forward recommended standards, the W3C, which you can read about here http://www.w3.org/.

As well as the W3C standards, the BSI came up with its own guidance which is available free here www.bsi-global.com.

I don't see networking as a primary route to business but more as a tool to raise awareness of my business.  The more people know about what I do and how I do it, the more likely it is that I will get referrals when someone has a relevant issue to deal with.

I have also learned that networking helps you keep in touch with the wider market, you can hear about what issues are facing other businesses and, if your offering is relevant, shift your emphasis to stay in touch with potential demand.

I have made some great business contacts too and it helps to have contacts to discuss things with.

Mandy Webster, Data Protection Consulting