Strategic Finance articles from January 2002

Strategic Finance archives from January 2002

Strategic Finance: New Trends, New Technologies. (Letter from the President).
January 1, 2002... As you plan your activities for 2002, include a trip to San Diego June 22-26 so you can participate in IMA's Annual Conference. The Annual Conference draws on the best of IMA. There is something for everyone, and you can use this time of...

First Year of the 21st Century. (2000-2001 Annual Report Summary).(Institute of Management Accountants)
January 1, 2002... AS I STATED IN MY INITIAL ADDRESS TO THE members at IMA's Annual Conference in Philadelphia in June 2000, this will be the first year that ends in the 21st Century. At that time, I asked, "What do we want IMA to achieve at the start of this new...

Innovating with Customer Intelligence. (Strategic Management).
January 1, 2002... WE DEFINE GREAT COMPANIES AS THOSE THAT HAVE DISPLAYED LONG-term track records of exceptionally high returns and growth rates. This month we examine a common thread that's visible in the strategy and execution of great consumer products...

There Is a Tide in the Affairs of Men. (Best Practices).(successful companies)
January 1, 2002... GOOD COMPANIES HAVE GOOD FUNDAMENTALS. They are characterized by clear goals, accessible information, crisp decision making, robust follow-through, straightforward plans, capable people, aligned rewards, and strong customer focus. Every...

Avoiding Stress and Burnout. (Careers).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... You've been asked to review a memo that outlines your company's new compensation plan to make sure the financial components are explained correctly. While the information isn't particularly complex, you are unable to concentrate because you're...

Management Accountants, You're Needed. (News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... STAFF AND SENIOR ACCOUNTANTS, COST ACCOUNTANTS, COLLECTIONS SPECIALISTS, and accounting clerks are the specialties most in demand among businesses today, according to the Robert Half and Accountemps 2002 Salary Guide released last month....

Is Online Buying Hurting Your Productivity? (News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... A new study disputes recent claims by companies that they have reduced costs, increased control over who's buying what, and saved the purchasing department from tedious work by letting employees order their own supplies online. What's really...

Donate Your Inventory. (News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The uncertainty and the economic downturn after September 11 have left many businesses with backlogs of unsold inventory. But you can turn the nonmoving merchandise into a federal income tax deduction when you donate it to charity. Regular...

Errata.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2002... In the Certification column in the December 2001 issue, the left-hand column headings for Table 3 are incorrect. They should read Dec. 2000 CMA Rank and Dec. 2000 CFM Rank, respectively.

Best Corporate Citizens Have Better Financial Performance.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... THERE IS GROWING AWARENESS THAT PUBLIC COMPANIES HAVE A RESPONSIbility to be good citizens and consider the interests of more than just their shareholders. They also should consider the needs of their customers, suppliers, employees,...

Pitt's First Pronouncement.(Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Harvey Pitt)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... REPORTS ON SEC CHAIRMAN Harvey Pitt's first major speech--to the AICPA Governing Council at the end of October--focused on his intention to reverse the adversarial role between accountants and the SEC that, Pitt implied, characterized the...

How to Motivate Everyone (Even Yourself).(Brief Article)(Review)
January 1, 2002... MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER JAY ARTHUR SAYS IT'S possible to motivate just about anyone if you press the right buttons. His book, Motivate Everyone, published by LifeStar Publishing, presupposes five motivation styles, each consisting of two opposing...

Robert G. Chapman, 1919-2001.(Obituary)
January 1, 2002... Robert G. Chapman, NAA/IMA president in 1973-74, died November 12 in Medford, Ore. Born in Manhattan, Kan., Bob Chapman liked to point out that he was born the same year the Association was formed--in 1919. He was graduated from Kansas...

Protecting Information on Laptops, PDAs, and Cell Phones.(personal digital assistants)
January 1, 2002... Consider for a minute just how much damage could be done if your company's budget, five-year strategic plan, or even an e-mail discussion of a potential merger became public or fell into the wrong hands. The president of Qualcomm Inc. recently...

Cash Flow Management In a Leveraged Environment: A CFO Who's Experienced Managing Debt-Laden Companies Offers Some Advice.
January 1, 2002... BEFORE THE ECONOMY TUMBLED into recession in the aftermath of September 11, growth was slowing precipitously, and debt markets were tightening. Now, as companies lay off employees, will banks extend credit? Will bond markets be viable for...

Training: Time To Learn Or Time To Run?
January 1, 2002... It's 8 a.m. Employees shuffle into a large room, coffee in hand, maybe a doughnut or two, and a glazed look of "Why am I here?" The atmosphere is something less than cheerful. A few words cue exchanged, but mostly the room is filled with sighs...

New Geopolitics Spotlights Political Risk Management: What can you do About "Inefficiencies" of Overseas Economies?(includes table 25 Most Politically Risky Countries)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... American flags are raised and flown ubiquitously today in America. But in many countries overseas, American flags are coming down--not necessarily torn down by protesters in the streets, but voluntarily taken down by U.S. corporate officials...

Putting Strategy into the Balanced Scorecard.
January 1, 2002... Talk to any balanced scorecard consultant, and you'll find that the most important step in creating a balanced scorecard is defining your strategy. While that sounds like an easy thing to do, it's surprising how many companies struggle to...

'No-Suit' Agreements: Employers are Using Them for Severance Protection.
January 1, 2002... IN ORDER TO PREVENT LAWSUITS BY LAID-OFF EMPLOYEES, many employers are augmenting their severance packages with "no-suit" agreements that offer employees increased severance benefits in exchange for an agreement not to sue their former...

Programs That Talk and Listen. (Tools of the Trade).(from Fonix Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... i-Speak from fonix[R] is a text-to-speech utility that reads your files, e-mail, information in Notepad, or any text file in a natural-sounding voice. You can save iSpeak files in MP3 or Way formats so you can take them with you loaded onto a...

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 6. (Tools of the Trade).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Dragon Naturally Speaking 6 Professional is the latest version of the award-winning speech-recognition program from Lernout & Hauspie. NaturallySpeaking lets you dictate memos, reports, and letters; enter data on spreadsheets; fill out forms;...

L&H[TM]PD say[TM]. (Tools of the Trade).(Lernout and Hauspie N.V.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Lernout & Hauspie's L&H[TM]PDsay[TM] is for Pocket PC users, and it provides hands-free, eyes-free access to Pocket PCs. With spoken commands you can navigate through Personal Information Management (PIM) tools such as contact databases and...

PerSay's Orpheus 2.0 Speaker Verification Platform. (Tolls of the Trade).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... PerSay, a Comverse Company, has a voice-based verification solution that identifies an individual by matching his or her voice against a stored copy of his/her voice print. Orpheus 2.0 Speaker Verification Platform provides security for call...

Wiley's latest Lasser. (Tolls of the Trade).(J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2002)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has just released its J.K Lasser's Your Income Tax 2002. The 2002 edition has expanded coverage of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, along with other changes for 2001. Topics covered include...

The Song of the Turtle. (Tech Forum).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... IN THE WORLD OF COMPUTER DEVELOPMENT, there are tortoises and hares. Innovations like CD storage and instant messaging accelerate rapidly once they get their feet on the ground. The Internet itself dawned like the sun once computers had modems...

XBRL Makes Progress Worldwide. (XBRL).(Extensible Business Reporting Language)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... XBRL IS PICKING UP MOMENTUM ALL OVER the world, with several key developments taking place in the last few months. Here are some: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has adopted XBRL. Here's an excerpt from its website...

Risks Only the U.S. Government Can Insure. (Trends In Financial Management).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... BEFORE THE SEPTEMBER 11 massacres, property and casualty insurance companies readily wrote policies against losses from terrorist attacks. But the 9-11 attacks dealt a financial blow so severe to insurance companies that many said they'd renew...

End Note.(computer crimes)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Virus Takes Over CyberHome Last year was the PC's 20th birthday. Expensive gifts arrived from all over the world, from Code Red ($1.8 billion in damages) to the very pricey Nimda ($2.4 billion) in the last quarter. While still wondering...