From the editor.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Editorial

For our cover story on corporate strategy, we turned to the famed developers of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, who have just written a new book, Strategy Maps. We've excerpted portions of a key chapter that describe the strategy map and its relationship to the BSC; in essence, the authors create a framework that links value creation to the effective harnessing of internal processes. The book is certain to become an important addition to the strategy literature.

Will this year see a revival of the idea of "big GAAP and little GAAP?" Writer Glenn Cheney explores the renewed interest in setting up different sets of accounting standards for multinational and small companies--but effectively lays out some of the problems associated with such a plan, including the notion that accountants and finance executives might be forced to specialize in one or the other.

The outsourcing special report is noteworthy on several counts. It stems from our last report on outsourcing, in the September 2003 issue, which piqued the interest of outsourcing specialist Ross Research. Working with its principal, Lisa Ross, we developed a survey that was emailed to the broad FEI membership. Ross Research then analyzed the data and produced the report with the help of a pair of sponsors, Exult and the law firm of Hunton & Williams.

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As the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley continues to resound through executive suites, a key underlying issue has been the inability of auditors to detect fraud--especially that perpetrated by senior management. FERF Manager of Research William Sinnett finds a variety of opinions on the role of internal and external auditors and the added costs brought by the new rules.

Whither the initial public offering market? As recently as a year...