•Look at the notes below. •Some information is missing. •You will hear Peter Dudley, Chief Executive of the Thorpe Group, giving

Man: I’ve been Chief Executive of the Thorpe Group for eight years now. I started my career as a bank clerk but I later trained as an accountant. I suppose in one way or another, I’ve had a lot of experience of the financial side of business.
   Nowadays it’s my job to know what’s happening in the market so every day at work I have financial reports to read. I only get the chance to look at other things - for example business magazines - when I travel abroad.
   We invest customers’ money in many areas of the market. Traditionally we’ve invested in property and in manufacturing. However, an industry that is doing very well at the moment is high-tech companies so we plan to increase investment in that area.
   Some of our competitors concentrate on achieving a friendly service. This is important but I think that, on the whole, our customers prefer lower charges which is what we guarantee.
   Although we encourage our staff to achieve a maximum return on investments, we have strict procedures to make sure that risks are avoided where possible. Some companies may put profits first but it’s important that our customers see us as a safe investment.
   Next month The Thorpe Group will merge with Chart well Associates which means our company will be relocating to new offices. Most things, however, won’t change - for example we won’t lose any staff and there are no plans to invest in different areas of the market.
   We are a market leader because of our experienced staff. When we take on staff we look for people who will perform well in a team. Since we train staff in many of the skills they need, a financial background is not essential.