You've got to have a plan.

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

It's been said that failing to plan is planning to fail--and that individuals often spend more time planning their weekends than their lives. But businesses can nary afford to not plan. And, they know it. One area that's particularly difficult to plan and predict is growth, which may be why M&A has grown exponentially. It's often easier, more dependable and more strategic to buy it rather than develop it.

In lieu of M&A, however, why not consider pursuing growth through innovation? Yes, a creative function like "innovation" can be predictably successful when it is planned, say the authors of this month's cover story.

Scott Anthony and his co-authors at Innosight write that mastering innovation has never been easy; and today's "rocky economic climate constrains innovation budgets while intense competition leaves little margin for error and impatient stockholders lessen the risk of tolerance of almost any executive." Yet, argue the authors, "driving growth through innovation is possible when companies learn how to translate the known patterns, principles and practices into action."

In our continuing coverage of issues related to International Financial Reporting Standards, attorneys Joan Rood and Laura Kinney write about IFRS implications for income taxes. They say change is imminent for the way U.S.-based companies treat LIFO inventory, R&D costs and advance payments, among others.

Besides IFRS, another big change on the horizon for public companies is reporting in eXtensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL. A feature co-authored by Michelle Savage, vice president, Communication of XBRL US, and William Sinnett, director of Research for Financial Executives Research Foundation, provides comments from letters sent to the SEC as well as insights from several in the voluntary filer program.

Another article of note from three Booz & Co. partners highlights...