Compromise: always part of the solution.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: Editor's page - Editorial

Observing our legislators and standards-setters in action, a thought comes to mind: Nothing big happens--something game-changing--without some compromise. Each side goes into a negotiation with his or her own point of view, and often fights fiercely for those ideas. The end result most often entails compromising on certain aspects to realistically get a job done. It's like watching a pendulum swing widely from side to side, slow down and land in the middle.

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And so compromise is the name of the game, whether for changing financial reporting systems or overhauling health-care delivery in the United States. With health care much on the mind, one thing all agree on: The system needs fixing. But how and how much? We at Financial Executive follow such issues closely, since all businesses--and thus our readers' companies--will be impacted greatly by decisions made in Washington, D.C.

At press time, members of Congress are back in D.C., following some turbulent times meeting on health care with constituents in their home districts during the August recess, and President Obama has spoken in a prime-time televised address. Bottom line, all through history, there have been loud and raucous fights in the halls of government. In the absence of 24/7 media coverage, average citizens weren't witnesses to the sometimes violent discourse. Enter today's media, bloggers and other "commentators," and we get more than we want of "selective coverage." I say "selective," since what we get depends on the source. The "whole story" is what you the individual decide after you've listened to and filtered through hype and spin to get to, as former detective Sgt. Joe Friday used to say, "just the facts, ma'am."

Which is what we aim to deliver in Financial Executive--truly unbiased reporting and, well, just the facts. Opinions are stated in our sections aptly named "Viewpoint," "From Where I Sit"...