Strategic Finance articles from June 2008

Strategic Finance archives from June 2008

Transitions.(Perspectives)(Jeffrey C. Thomson appointed at Institute of Management Accountants)
June 1, 2008... Change isn't always easy. But it can often lead to better things than before. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As some of you may know, the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]) just named a new acting president and CEO: Jeffrey C....

In gratitude: Robert W. Gunn, 1947-2008.(Best Practices)(Obituary)
June 1, 2008... AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING ON APRIL 22, Bob Gunn's alarm went off. That wasn't unusual. But it was odd that he failed to shut it off. His wife, Brook, turned to rouse him. She could not. At some time during the night, Bob had died. ...

Quid pro what?(Best Practices)(Personal account)
June 1, 2008... Judy is a masterful accountant, but she can't add a column of figures to save her life. The books Judy keeps are in her head. Each entry in her credit column is something she does for another person--fulfilling a request, doing a favor, giving...

Who wants to be top management?(NEWS)(Survey)
June 1, 2008... According to the IMA Salary Survey (see p. 26), there's still a gender gap in compensation and corporate management, and that's the finding of another study, too. Although the ratio of men to women in middle management is about even, fewer...

Roger Martin named Academic Fellow.(streetwise)(member at Institute of Management Accountants)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... IMA member Roger Martin, CMA, has been named an Academic Accounting Fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). His term begins in August and runs through December 2008. In this position he will...

A great loss.(Letters to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... The IMA lost a good friend, and the world lost a magnificent human being, when Bob Gunn died in his sleep last month. His memorial service was attended by several hundred people, and everyone could be heard saying the same thing: "Bob was the...

House bill would increase corporate costs and disclosures on 401(k)s.(GOVERNMENT)
June 1, 2008... A bill (H.R. 3185) heading to the House floor would require employers to provide employees with much more detail about the fees associated with the 401(k) plans the company offers and the portion of those costs that the company pays. Rep....

The effect of China's rise.(BOOKS)
June 1, 2008... In The Coming China Wars, Peter Navarro paints a grim picture of China's economic emergence, comparing its unintended consequences to the destruction caused by actual warfare. According to Navarro, China is slowly poisoning itself and the rest...

IMA 2007 salary suvey.(Survey)
June 1, 2008... With the subprime mortgage mess, the rising cost of gasoline, the weakening of the dollar in the international market, and indications of a possible recession, 2007 wasn't a good year for the U.S. economy. For members of the Institute of...

Making more for effective financial analysis: it's a great way to add value to your company.(Career Skills)
June 1, 2008... Time. No one has enough of it--especially financial professionals. We come to work each day with the best of intentions but never seem to get everything done that we want to do. And the things we put off are usually the activities that are...

The waterfront complex; How current employees can make things more difficult for new hires and negatively impact the entire organization.(Human Resources)
June 1, 2008... A new employee faces many obstacles while trying to get accustomed to a job.Meeting coworkers, getting used to a new work environment, learning office policies, figuring out the specifics of the new position--the list can seem imposing.Many...

Creating summary reports with pivot tables.(Excel)(Column)
June 1, 2008... In last month's column, I described how to use Excel's Subtotal function to produce various summary reports. A more powerful tool for creating summary reports is the pivot table command. In many cases, a pivot table will allow you to summarize...

Tools of the trade.(ErgoTech Inc.)(Lenovo Group Ltd.)(Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.)
June 1, 2008... The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is one of three new IdeaPad notebooks released earlier this year. The U110 is an ultra-portable (small and lightweight), 11-inch wide-screen notebook PC. At 2.3 pounds, it's both lighter and thinner than the MacBook Air,...

Rent-free office space available online.(Tech Forum)(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... SOMEWHERE OUT IN THAT SEA OF CABLES and server islands there's a small office space waiting for you to tack up your nameplate alongside the door. It's modest, but it does have several file cabinets and a desktop where you can work at any time...

How good are your standards?(XBRL)
June 1, 2008... What if you come into the office tomorrow and discover that the keys on your computer's QWERTY keyboard had suddenly been rearranged? Whether you type using one finger or 10, my guess is that your productivity would be seriously affected and...

America in a single moment.(End Note)(United States. Bureau of the Census)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The U.S. Census Bureau was moving to a new headquarters, and they commissioned Chicago artist Jason Salavon to create an installation to celebrate their work. What Salavon produced was striking--both visually and intellectually. Titled American...