CMA Management articles from October 2003

CMA Management archives from October 2003

Toward meaningful change.(from the editor)(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... This magazine is set to arrive on your doorstep in October, shortly after the deadline for comment on the OSC's proposed new governance rules. Though I'm writing this editorial prior to that deadline, I'm willing to assume that not a lot has...

Building strength: getting what you deserve, and giving employees what they need to biuld a business.(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... Women Don't Ask Whether they want higher salaries, better career opportunities, or more help at home, women are much less likely than men to ask for what they want. And in many cases, not asking means not getting. In Women Don't Ask:...

Steve Vieweg, MBA, CMA, FCMA, appointed President and CEO of CMA Canada.(News and views: new and noteworthy information you can use)
October 1, 2003... Steve Vieweg, a professional who brings a wealth of experience in the association management field, has been named President and CEO of CMA Canada. He succeeds Bob Dye, who retired in September 2003. Vieweg was most recently the executive...

New software.(News and views: new and noteworthy information you can use)
October 1, 2003... Visit www.managementmag.com for more information on the following software packages: * Coast Software's latest version of Coast Web Quality Central * Microsoft Business Solutions' Small Business Manager 7.5

CMA authors garner awards of merit.(News and views)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Three articles originally published in CMA Management will appear in the 2003 Articles of Merit booklet published by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). "Function Vs. Form," by Anthony Atkinson, CMA, FCMA, and Steven Salterio,...

Quick reaction time on Sarbanes-Oxley.(News and views)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Everyone is keen to know exactly how businesses are reacting to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. PeopleSoft is the most recent company to weigh in on the Act's impact. It recently released a study of CFOs and IT executives that asked them about their...

New role for internal audit.(News and views)(reporting structure for chief audit executives)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... In the past, the role of internal audit has been misunderstood--see our feature on this on page 28. But a new study by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) suggests this is changing. The results of the study state that approximately 45% of...

Confident but conservative.(News and views)(executive outlook)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, "Trendsetter Barometer," CEOs of the fastest growing U.S. companies are turning positive about the economy's prospects over the following year. But when it comes to their own operations, they...

High tech: picture perfect?(News and views)(protecting passwords with images)
October 1, 2003... Most people are incredibly lax about choosing and maintaining their computer passwords. Passwords are supposed to be chosen randomly and changed regularly--two things that few of us do. They also are supposed to be long. Most people, however,...

Mentorship memo: a time-honoured learning style is taking on new guises in the 21st century, but there are still some basic rules to follow in any mentor-mentee relationship. Make sure you understand them.(human resources)
October 1, 2003... Long before personal coaches and business schools, there was a less costly and informal approach for instructing and inspiring young, ambitious individuals. Mentoring was the traditional method of passing on wisdom and knowledge from fathers to...

Risk redoubts: keeping a stable asset base, through good times and bad.(management trends)
October 1, 2003... The corporation has been established. The management team is in place. The mortgage for the building has been finalized. The equipment is leased and functioning. The employees have been hired and trained. The company is in business and ready to...

Private equity ideas: which form is best for your growing company? Consider all of the angles before making a decision.(business strategies)
October 1, 2003... Private equity investing comes in many forms, and companies have to pick and choose which are best for their particular situation. This isn't always easy, so it's wise to review what each type of investing entails, how control over the company...

Rules and prevarications: Bill 198 is in force and the OSC's new rules are under review. All of this is promising, but it's only as powerful as we make it.
October 1, 2003... When the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was first introduced last summer, Canada and the rest of the world got a sense of how securities laws would change for everyone in the near future. It took the Ontario government longer to table a comparable bill,...

Reforming the boardroom: value creator and overseer? Bill 198 sets the ground rules but only effective boards can create lasting change.
October 1, 2003... Bill 198 and the new OSC rules do create good governance guidelines, but the question remains: can they make that change happen? For instance, the Enron Corporation board would have met with the most rigorous independence criteria, and...

In the director's chair: the Directors College ushers in a new era of senior executive professional training--focusing on board dynamics as much as regulations for a balanced perspective.(Conference Board of Canada, Michael G. DeGroote School of Business initiative)
October 1, 2003... If the new corporate governance rules established in Canada and the U.S. are strictly enforced, life is going to become more complicated for directors of public companies. It will also mean that many companies will be looking for fresh ideas...

Corner stones: internal audit looks for its rightful place in Canada's new corporate governance model.
October 1, 2003... Internal auditors have been misunderstood for a long time, and the merits of what they do haven't been as highly regarded as perhaps they should in many quarters. Much of this is due to the low profile they've had in Canada. But with the...

Are you ready for PIPEDA? It hardly rivals Y2K as a hard deadline, but that doesn't mean you can put compliance off any longer. Jan. 1,2004, is almost here and the clock is ticking. What does your company need to know to be ready?(Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electric Documents Act)
October 1, 2003... Whenever Murray Long gives a seminar, the Ottawa-based privacy consultant and author of The Canadian Privacy Law Handbook, asks his students if they remember Bob and Doug McKenzie. The infamous Canadian brothers who coined words such as "hoser"...

For the public good: CMA Michael McLaughlin brings clarity of purpose and astute financial management to air transport and public performance reporting.(Profile)(Interview)
October 1, 2003... Accountability and security have been two of the central watchwords in Canadian public discourse for the past two years. Market scandals and terrorism have demanded that we reconsider how companies report financial results and how we secure our...

Employee or independent contractor? The tax benefits of being an independent contractor are great, but make sure your position as an independent is well defined.(tax tips)
October 1, 2003... The changing nature of the workplace has opened up a lot of opportunities for more flexible employment arrangements. Given the chance, many people become independent contractors, selling their services to the highest bidder. Whether you are an...

Transfer troubles: will online banking agreements work for your non-profit? Make sure the model fits with your internal control systems, or it could be more trouble than it's worth.(information technology)
October 1, 2003... Organizations move to Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments to take advantage of reduced per item costs, to streamline in-house processing and to meet the demands of suppliers. Online Banking Agreements (OBA) give organizations the ability...

E-market moves: SourceCAN opens doors for Canadian trade.(government issues)
October 1, 2003... World markets each have a long history separately, and gradually their fates have been intertwined by the globalization of the marketplace and the advent of the Internet, The globe is shrinking, and with it the distance between key world...

Sharing experience, creating wealth: CESO offers executives the chance to share their knowledge to improve businesses and governments.(global view)(Canadian Executive Service Organization)
October 1, 2003... Throughout their training and their careers, CMAs develop diverse skill sets that help companies grow and compete in the marketplace. But many don't consider that those skills could also be used to help individual entrepreneurs and communities...