Vol. 29 No. 2, March - March 2013
Index
- Who owns your risk?
- The drama continues ... on several fronts.
- Letters to the editor.
- SEC approves audit communication standard.
- 2013 IPO outlook.
- Easy-money policies not the answer.
- Among top issues: VAT and sales and use tax compliance.
- Demand for CFOs on boards growing.
- Managed services and outsourcing forecast.
- FASB proffers a framework for disclosures ... preparers are skeptical.
- West Point Association of Graduates.
- FEI launches coalition to protect private companies in the upcoming tax battle.
- Earnings guidance is alive and well.
- Beware the black swan: corporate executives need special protocols for strategic decision-making, including a rigorous system of early warning indicators, flexible planning horizons and strong governance, in a world where black swans materialize unpredictably.
- Is it time to separate from that division: divesting a subsidiary or operating division requires financing, strategic alignment and capital constraints, as well as buyers with interest in spin-off transactions, and comes with challenges common to contrasted executing these deals.
- The new economics of health care benefits: though corporate health care decisions have traditionally been an HR and benefits function, financial executives must be increasingly focused on these critical issues--especially now as companies face rising costs, increasing government involvement and regulation and economic uncertainty.
- The CFO's expanding communications role: for reasons related to transparency and contact with senior management from key constituents, the chief financial officer is increasingly playing a greater role in investor relations. CFOs are now finding it necessary to improve their communication and other "soft" skills.
- A strategic approach to cybersecurity: as cybercrime grows faster than companies can defend against, it's time for a serious discussion on cybersecurity. Though many are calling for federal standards and regulations--which may be a matter of time--in their absence, organizations should transform how they think about cybersecurity.
- How effective are ethics codes and programs? Many companies craft codes of ethics and establish the related ethics and compliance programs to enforce the codes. But do they actually work in practice to accomplish what they set out to do?
- Accounting consequences of the American Taxpayer Relief Act: though many tax credits and deductions were included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act, the fact that it was signed by the president after expirations in 2012 could affect the accounting and taxes when compared to previous years for many companies.
- Managing document risk to protect the company's reputation: financial executives must have confidence in the content of documents created for legal and regulatory submissions, and today's software applications permit organizations to put in place a set of controls for many of the common document vulnerabilities.
- What corporate hedgers need to know: since financial executives say they will continue to hedge commercial risk despite Dodd-Frank regulations, here are insights around the critical areas of risk management that will be affected as the law's provisions become reality for reporting beginning in April 2013.
- The new FCPA guidance: a defacto adequate procedures defense?
- Hiring the best candidate not the best resume: there are many qualified people seeking positions--from a credentials standpoint. The real challenge for successful talent acquisition and management is finding the candidate that "fits" in.
- Small bets and super trends: business strategies for 2013.
- Mobile application and website privacy policies--it's not just about California.
- What's the 'best' approach to profitability management reporting?
- Energy and politics: the U.S. and Canada.
- FERF news.
- Balance sheet: a memorable time in his life, says Mark B. Kerwin, was to be part of the opening of the new Art of Americas Wing of the MFA in Boston, a $400 million project--the greatest wing of American art in the U.S.