Strategic Finance articles from February 2002

Strategic Finance archives from February 2002

Take advantage of local chapter education. (Perspectives).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The IMA has more than 275 active chapters that meet four to 12 times a year, which gives members over 2,500 opportunities per year to obtain education in their local area. The system is in place. Now we need to make it more relevant to current...

Do you remember COSO? (IMA).(Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission)
February 1, 2002... MANY TIMES WE USE TERMS LIKE TREADWAY and COSO without taking the time to be sure those who are hearing or reading understand our reference. Because COSO has embarked on a new project, it's time to review some of the history as well as current...

What is return driven strategy? How do businesses achieve superior financial performance? (Strategic Management).
February 1, 2002... In this month's column, we discuss Return Driven Strategy, the framework for designing, developing, and evaluating business strategy driven to create long-term, superior shareholder returns. In our first column, we described two pillars of...

"Level Five" Leaders. (Best Practices).(will to achieve)
February 1, 2002... CONVENTIONAL WISDOM WOULD HAVE US believe that great companies are built on the strength of great CEOs who are charismatic, vocal, visible, and visionary. These are the stories the business press covers, lauding these CEOs to the point where...

Conducting a career audit. (Careers).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... If you're dissatisfied in your current position or plan on making a job change soon, it's important to spend time defining your professional priorities. Are you taking the right steps toward accomplishing your career goals? If not, what do you...

Hiring the right Bookkeeper. (News).(20 minute test)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... WHEN YOU'VE HIRED BOOKKEEPERS, HAVE YOU MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE? Were you able to tell from the interview and their resume that they would be the best fit for the job? Now the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) is offering...

Managing Performance. (Streetwise).(Seven Fables and Potions of Performance Management by Clinton Wingrove)
February 1, 2002... Pilat NAI international human resources consulting and software firm has published a free booklet on Seven Fables and Potions of Performance Management." It's a quick-tips guide to such issues as individual performance planning, managing...

Readers' Input. (Streetwise).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2002... THE SUPERIOR METHOD Thank you, Mr. King, for your article on EBITDA in the September issue of Strategic Finance. I have been saying the same thing for years as we consider buying and selling companies. Multiples of EBITDA offer a "quick and...

Were Enron's Ethical Missteps a major cause of its downfall? (Ethics).
February 1, 2002... EVENTS AT ENRON CORP. DEMONSTRATE THAT THE EFFECTS OF A THUNDERSTORM, resulting from an ethical cloud over a company, can be extremely rapid and devastatingly destructive. This once-mighty company, the world's most dominant energy trader,...

New spotlight on accounting standards. (Government).(United States Securities and Exchange Committee investigation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... THE ENRON DISASTER HAS FORCED both the Securities & Exchange Commission and Congress to jump on the accounting industry with fists at the ready. The SEC was first into the fray when it issued an investor alert in early December cautioning...

How to build a profitable internet business. (Books).(Under the Radar)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... THE DAYS OF INTERNET COMPANIES ENTICING investors without showing profits have clearly ended. So what's next in the world of e-commerce? While most entrepreneurs would be satisfied to create a business that could get sold for $5 million or $10...

Paranoia is Good: Why security matters for small and medium-size businesses. (e-Business).(internet solutions)
February 1, 2002... ALMOST UNIVERSALLY, small and medium-size companies resist investing in information security infrastructure and services. Invariably, it's, "I'm too small to be noticed by a hacker--why should I bother to spend money on security or disaster...

The Power of the P-Card: It can save your company time and money. (Cash Management).(procurement cards used by Sandia Corp.)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Processing costs for a small purchase order can be higher than the price of the item itself. Procurement cards (p-cards) have become a wildly popular alternative to use to buy those items by giving frontline workers the authority to make...

Accounting for customer relationships in mergers and acquistions: An appraisal professional offers advice. (Cover Story).(Financial Accounting Standards Board, United States)
February 1, 2002... Many companies are having difficulty accounting for customer relationships under the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) new accounting rules for mergers and acquisitions--Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 141,...

Effective rolling forecasts: Make sure your projections are high-level strategy and not just a Rehash of the operating budget. (Budgeting/Forecasting).(strategic financial planning using forecasts)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... The speed of change in today's economy has generated a trend toward adopting continuous forecasting as part of the planning process. While this type of "rolling forecast" offers many benefits, organizations often have trouble separating their...

Blending policy and procedure with technology. (Technology).(business software solutions)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2002... Small companies and large corporations often have more in common than most people realize. Whether it's a mom-and-pop shop that loses a key employee or a huge company coping with frequent turnover, both could benefit from standardized policy...

Fast track to direct cash flow reporting: It's easier than you think to provide the information financial statement users want. (Financial Management).(business accounting method)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Even though good reasons abound for using the direct method of reporting operating cash flow, almost all managers choose the indirect method. We, and others whose opinions we respect, consider the direct method to be far superior to the...

ATC Inc. (Tax Season Help).(adds new features to MAX tax preparation software)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2002... ATX Inc. has added a number of new features to its popular MAX tax preparation software. The basic MAX program covers all federal (more than 50 programs), all state and city (more than 300 programs), and all inclusive forms (more than 6,000)...

Turbo Tax. (Tax Season Help).(TurboTax Deluxe, tax preparation software)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2002... TurboTax[R] Deluxe from Intuit incorporates all of the features of the basic TurboTax program with additional features like IRS Publications, Video Advice from financial experts, tax planners, and IRA and Life Events Planners. With the Deluxe...

ItsDeductible. (Tax Season Help).
February 1, 2002... In a year when charitable donations will be included as deductions on many returns, the ItsDeductible program has additional relevancy. The software determines and tracks donations, and provides fair market values for noncash contributions for...

IRS e-file. (Tax Season Help).(electronic filing software)
February 1, 2002... Two programs from the IRS should accelerate and simplify tax filing for individuals, businesses, and tax professionals. IRS e-file is the fastest way to file and pay income taxes electronically. Upon receipt of your transmission, the IRS checks...

Digital darkroom from Adobe.(Elements image processing software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2002... Adobe(R) has the top and the bottom of the digital photo processing market covered with Adobe Photoshop, the standard for professionals, and PhotoDeluxe, the entry level program often packaged with digital cameras. Now they have launched a...

Plato and the Word Processor. (Tech Forum).
February 1, 2002... SOME PEOPLE WORRY about mouse clicks and keystrokes and the effect they have on the nerves that snake through our wrist bones. Others are concerned about the vapors that float in the clean rooms where computer chips are quietly forged. But does...

Popularity of "Pro Forma" earnings prompts reform. (Trends in Financial Management).(financial reporting stanadards)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... FINANCIAL REPORTING that omits charges such as asset or goodwill impairments, restructuring reserves, or write-downs is coming under closer scrutiny and is helping to gird a growing movement for accounting and financial reporting reform, ...