Competitiveness, complexity and financial executives ... intertwined.

• Author: Cangemi, Michael P.
• Position: Consumer satisfaction

I replace my automobile approximately every three years. Recently, after examining alternatives, I leased the same model for the fifth time. I am obviously a happy customer. I believe strongly in Peter Drucker's theories regarding the purpose of a business and how it should be managed.

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In essence, business is about satisfying a customer's need. I declared quickly, upon accepting the Chief Executive Officer position at FEI, that I would take the customer/member satisfaction approach to running the business side of the organization. Consequently, I am focusing on new products and services to expand membership and increase member satisfaction.

In addition to the business side of FEI, providing member and chapter services, we manage the significant professional issues and socio-economic contributions we make as a not-for-profit organization. Indeed, as part of their initial mission, our founders included the idea of working with the government to improve the general economy.

U.S. competitiveness offers a good example. I represented FEI at a very prestigious dinner and conference in Washington, D.C., organized by Secretary of Treasury Paulson on that subject. Clearly, FEI is actively participating in efforts to deal with the major issues facing financial executives, and high on that list is complexity.

In May, I attended and participated in two conferences addressing financial reporting. In addition, I attended a meeting at the Securities and Exchange Commission related to the emerging issue of financial reporting using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

At the conferences, my presentations covered the issue of complexity of financial reporting. I also spoke about FEI's position on the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets. While preparing for this discussion, making presentations and listening to other speakers on these subjects, I began to see just how interconnected the issues of competitiveness and complexity are for financial executives.

The use of XBRL-tagged financial reports will greatly improve their value for analysis. However, there is a cost, especially during the initial implementation period. This initiative also draws on already strained resources dedicated to financial reporting.

Regarding complexity of financial reporting, FEI has taken a leadership position by offering a four-point program to ensure the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets (the program can be found at www.fei.org, under...