Strategic Finance articles from January 2009

Strategic Finance archives from January 2009

Preparing for downsizing: message from the chair.(PERSPECTIVES)(Column)
January 1, 2009... It's the start of a new year, but, for some, 2009 isn't bringing the usual anticipation and optimism. The unemployment numbers reveal some hard economic truths--truths that we're hearing about over and over again. I would venture that most of...

A value pledge for IMA members.(TOP LINE)
January 1, 2009... Dear IMA Members: A new year has begun, a time when many of us renew our personal and professional commitments. The same is true for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]). I'd like to begin this new year by offering you our...

CMA certification: where do I begin, and what should I expect?(YOUNG PROFESSIONALS)(Certified Management Accountants)
January 1, 2009... The Certified Management Accountant (CMA[R]) credential represents practical knowledge that can be used on a daily basis, and, with more than 30,000 certifications issued since its inception, the designation is gaining popularity among finance...

Reviewing the Roadmap.(FINANCIAL REPORTING)
January 1, 2009... On November 14, 2008, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Proposing Release No. 33-8982, "Roadmap for the Potential Use of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S....

IMA issues new definition of management accounting.(NEWS)(Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Last month the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]) published a new Statement on Management Accounting (SMA) titled Definition of Management Accounting. The new definition reflects the increasingly strategic role of the management...

CMA exam question writers wanted.(Certified Management Accountant)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If you would like to use your experience and knowledge to help make the Certified Management Accountant (CMA[R]) exam better for everyone, then now is your chance. The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) updates the exam...

IFAC launches financial crisis website.(NEWS)(International Federation of Accountants)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Given that the global financial crisis has been affecting almost every organization and individual, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) recently launched a new page on its website to serve as an international clearinghouse of...

Where were the auditors?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... One of my favorite courses in business school was Auditing 101. In it I filled out workpapers, sample reports, description of operations, and an opinion of the reliability of financial statements, all for a sample, fictitious firm. It made such...

SEC publishes IFRS roadmap.(GOVERNMENT)(Securities & Exchange Commission)(International Financial Reporting Standards)(Editorial)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving forward toward a "staged" implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for U.S. companies. The proposed rule issued in late November by the Chris Cox-led SEC is...

A framework for creative thinking.(BOOKS)
January 1, 2009... Financial professionals are often considered the guardians of traditional practices and methods. But many of us are now called on to drive breakthrough ideas and results for our companies or clients. How can we break free of our traditional...

Treasury finalizes foreign acquisition rules.(GOVERNMENT)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Given the aggressiveness with which sovereign wealth funds are swooping in to pick up devalued U.S. corporations--and not just in the financial sector--it's worth mentioning the final rule from the Treasury Department implementing the Foreign...

Pension funding at issue.(GOVERNMENT)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Congress is likely to backtrack on some pension funding provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. That law requires companies to bring their pension plans to 100% funding on a phase-in schedule. Each year the companies must meet a...

XBRL reporting is now mandatory.(NEWS)(XBRL (Document markup language))(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Last month, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that the largest public companies, those with a worldwide public float greater than $5 billion, will have to begin reporting financial statements in eXtensible Business Reporting...

Determining fair value: the very essence of valuation is the professional judgment of the appraiser, not just a set of rules.(Cover story)
January 1, 2009... Fair value financial reporting is being blamed for the subprime meltdown, bank failures, the credit crunch, and the current recession. Global warming is about the only thing not being blamed on fair value (FV) and mark-to-market (MTM)...

What a University can teach you about choosing capital projects.(CAPITAL BUDGETING)
January 1, 2009... It's no simple task to make economic sense of which capital projects will help your organization compete with its peers (or at least allow it to catch up with them). The decision is complicated by the fact that only some projects are associated...

XBRL tools for small- to medium-sized firms.(FINANCIAL REPORTING)
January 1, 2009... XBRL has arrived! Since November 2005, firms have been submitting their financial data to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format on a voluntary basis. Now the SEC has mandated that...

Calculating depreciation in Excel.(EXCEL)
January 1, 2009... A common year-end activity is calculating depreciation expense. Excel offers several functions to calculate depreciation expense for various accounting methods. While some depreciation functions require more information, all of Excel's...

Select queries: using your data to answer business questions.(ACCESS)
January 1, 2009... Once you have data in your table, it can be analyzed by creating a query, which lets you select a subset of the data using criteria, sorting, and calculations. Each query starts out as a "select query." (Other types include update, delete, and...

Tools of the trade.(TECHNOLOGY)(MAX group Corp)(LaCie CurrenKey )(TurboTax[R] )
January 1, 2009... ATX Tax Programs At the center of the family of tax offerings for individual and business tax preparers, there's ATX[TM] MAX[R]. Within the MAX group of offerings there's MAX; MAX for Business; Total Tax Office, which includes Kleinrock's...

A Blue and White January.(TECH FORUM)(Editorial)
January 1, 2009... AS THE CALENDAR NUMBERS TUMBLE and we approach the end of the first full decade of the century, it might not be a bad time to look up and see how computing is faring in the upper atmospheres. Some say the phenomenon of cloud computing has...

Lifetime benefits.(IMAlife)
January 1, 2009... The famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, "Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]) is a great organization that has assisted me in recreating myself...