Recommended Books

Publisher's description

Today’s board directors are faced with an increasingly complex operating environment. There is greater scrutiny from shareholders and regulators, and a diminishing ability to predict the future based on past experience. Despite this, the board uses its best collective judgement to continue to make decisions in the best interests of the company.

Asset Management for Directors aims to provide a clear framework for directors to address their asset management obligations. Creating value from the company’s assets is a key responsibility of the board and forms part of its fiduciary duty. In this sense, board directors are asset managers.

In 2014, internationally accepted standards for asset management were published for the first time in the ISO 5500x suite of standards. These standards provide a useful guideline for companies on world leading asset management practices. Through the context of the board’s governance roles, this book outlines the importance of asset management from the board’s perspective. The key points directors need to know about asset management are provided, without addressing technical aspects in too much detail. Rather, the book aims to inform the director who is not necessarily an expert in asset management on the fundamental knowledge they need to understand their company’s asset management practices and to ask pertinent questions of management.

Asset Management for Directors also provides guidance for executives and asset management specialists on the aspects of asset management that are of most interest to the board and advice on how they can best ensure that they provide relevant and timely information to inform board decision-making. Each chapter includes a brief case study to highlight how the principles are applied in practice. These case studies cover a wide range of industries and help to illustrate the array of asset types, both tangible and intangible, that boards are responsible for.

About the author

Dr Monique Beedles is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and has over 15 years’ experience as a director on boards of private and public companies, not-for-profit organisations, professional bodies and government entities. She is a facilitator for the AICD programs on governance, strategy and risk.

Dr Beedles holds a PhD in corporate strategy and is one of the first professionals globally to become a Certified Asset Management Assessor under the ISO 55000 suite of international asset management standards.

Dr Beedles is principal and founder of the strategy advisory practice Teak Yew in 2004.

About the author

John Woodhouse is a widely known expert in integrated asset management. He is a Founder, Fellow and Chair of the Panel of Experts for the Institute of Asset Management.  He Chaired the BSI/IAM development of the PAS 55 standard for optimal management  of physical assets, and was UK Expert Representative in the development of the first International Standard for Asset Management (ISO 55000).

He has also led the development of the first published Competences Framework (IAM 2006), and was Programme Director for the European MACRO Project (EU1488) and International SALVO consortium, researching and developing best practices in asset management decision-making and in optimization of life cycle value.

John is CEO of the consulting and training organisation, TWPL, providing advice and competency development to most industry sectors in over 25 countries. With a personal background as a senior manager in the oil industry and engineering, he launched TWPL in 1995 with a group of former senior industrial managers from nuclear, oil, utilities, defence and manufacturing sectors. 20 years on TWPL is one of the most experienced international sources of pragmatic advice and implementation support to organisations wishing to improve their asset management.

John holds a Masters degree from the University of Cambridge, where he was also captain of the varsity Boat Race crew. He has also skippered a round-the-world sailing yacht and is author of the book 'Managing Industrial Risk' (Publ. Chapman & Hall, 1993). He now lectures widely around the world at conferences and through university and in-house management training programmes.

Reviews

Publisher's Description

International Case Studies In Asset Management shows companies and interested parties at all levels how asset management can be used to provide organisations with the strategic perspective, transparency and tools required to make best use of budgets, maximise returns on capital and grow market value.

The case studies in this book offer a wealth of knowledge and experience of how to embed asset management thinking and use it to improve service, reduce risk and become more competitive. With a strong emphasis on leadership, the book shows readers how they can change the way people work, break down boundaries and create cultures that support asset management.

Internationally applicable and relevant across sectors, the book includes seventeen case studies from seven countries featuring local, national and global organisations operating in water, railways, metros, mining, ports, energy and municipal services. It is a key reference for anyone involved in asset management - whether new to the subject, studying for a qualification, developing an asset management system, strategy, or regulatory framework, or appraising infrastructure investment opportunities. This book is best read as a companion to Chris Lloyd's earlier book, Asset Management: Whole Life Management of Physical Assets (Thomas Telford, London, 2010).
 

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Publisher's Description

One of the first books ever written specifically on the strategic management of utility industries will be previewed in London on March 4th, at the prestigious Utility Regulation 2010 Seminar, hosted by SGBI and attended by regulators and senior figures from the water, gas and electricity industries.

Entitled Strategic Asset Management: The Quest For Utility Excellence, the book is sponsored and recommended by the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) as essential reading for regulatory authorities, as well directors and managers at all levels in utility companies.

The book answers the key question of how utilities can select the right goals, organisational design, culture and engineering tools, which allow them to manage their complex asset bases and deliver truly excellent performance. With 37 case studies and 50 diagrams, it illustrates the snakes and ladders that leading utilities have experienced on the path to excellence.

About the author

Clive has lived and worked in the UK and France, studied chemistry at Cambridge University and worked in the African mining industry. On returning to Europe he joined the venture capital arena and invested in and became a Director in a range of engineering businesses.

On joining the utility sector, he developed a strong desire to understand the value that utilities receive operating and investing in their regulated assets. Over the last 15 years, he has introduced several groundbreaking asset management initiatives to United Utilities businesses, in the UK and internationally. He is a council member of the Institute of Asset Management and chairman of the Energy Innovation Centre’s Investment Forum.

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Publisher's Description

The first book of its kind, Asset Management offers comprehensive and accessible coverage of all major aspects of the subject, providing an invaluable reference to those working in or learning about asset-intensive industries.

Bringing together the insights, experience and advice of a panel of leading thinkers and practitioners, Asset Management gives readers multiple perspectives on the practicalities of adopting asset management principles and equips them with the tools and frameworks they can use to create effective asset management strategies and cultures within their organisations.

Contributors draw on data, case studies, examples and illustrations from a wide range of sources from the rail and utilities sectors, to public sector management and major civil engineering works.

Key features:

• Rapid entry to asset management thinking and best practices.
• An all-round perspective on asset management applicable to all sectors.
• Advice and guidance on the practicalities of adopting and implementing asset management principles.
• A collection of planning and analysis templates, maturity scales, process diagrams, outline strategies, hints and tips and extensive references to further reading.
• Concise, authoritative summations of experience to date.

About the editor

Chris Lloyd is Managing Director of CAS, a psychology based consultancy which advises clients on asset management competence and culture. He is a member of the Council of the Institute of Asset Management, Chair of its Qualifications and Professional Development Committee and oversaw the development of the IAM Competences Framework which was published in 2008. 

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