Share indices in the week to 18 October 2002
Pity the poor soul who becomes Amey鈥檚 next finance director.

The job has claimed two scalps this year and such is the nature of the post that only those with nerves of steel and necks of brass should apply.

The first man in the hot seat was David Miller, but he quit in August describing his 拢280,000-a-year job as 鈥渟hitty鈥.

Next in was Michael Kayser but he took one look at the books and was off five weeks later. Rumours that he left the building screaming 鈥淚鈥檓 an Amey FD, let me out of here鈥 are unconfirmed.

Kayser鈥檚 sudden departure last Wednesday stunned the City and resulted in Amey鈥檚 shares dropping to 26p, the thinking being that Kayser must not have liked what he found when he started going through the numbers. It has also raised questions about the reliability of Amey鈥檚 interim results, released last month.

The first job for the new victim, sorry, financial director, will be to convince the City that it should believe what it reads. Given the debacle of recent months, that will take some doing.

Of course, the bean counter will receive a handsome salary 鈥 but given Amey鈥檚 woes, will it be enough to tempt the respected and experienced player the company needs?