CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives articles from April 2009

CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives archives from April 2009

The growing concern over going concern.(Auditing)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Auditors are growing worried about the viability of some of their clients, and behind the fears are some uncomfortable discussions with CFOs. Experts say many highly leveraged companies will have to endure their...

Don't miss this: the CFO core concerns conference.(Conferences)(Conference news)
April 1, 2009... The focus is on critical topics that CFOs are facing due to the current financial crisis--working capital, cash, cost of capital, and risk management. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

How the crisis fooled BofA's Joe Price.(Banking)
April 1, 2009... The past, it seems, is not necessarily prologue. In an apparent--and rare--mea culpa from a top bank finance executive, Bank of America CFO Joe Price acknowledged that he and many other officials in the industry failed to foresee the economic...

(K)risis of (K)erkuffle?(from the editor)
April 1, 2009... AMID THE ENDLESS GRANDSTANDING on Capitol Hill regarding those toxic AIG bonus checks, Congress did find time over the past few weeks to address another financial crisis: the collective state of the nation's 401(k) accounts. "Address" may...

Get the health care you pay for.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... Consider the possibility that the HMO/PPO concept has outlived its usefulness ("Prognosis: Negative," February). Your customers don't buy a black-box product from you; why do you buy a black box for health care? Ask your supplier to switch to...

Don't underestimate HR.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... I agree that human capital is too important to be left to the human-resources department, but CFOs and CEOs should not underestimate HR's potential impact either ("Soft Is Hard," From the Editor, February). Laying people off is a good...

Stocks down, voices raised.(PROXY SEASON)
April 1, 2009... WITH GLOOMY PROSPECTS facing nearly every public company, shareholders are sure to be feistier than ever this proxy season. Once again, the center-stage issue will be executive compensation. "Shareholders want a cleanup in the compensation...

Yes, they can (be more impressed).(THE ECONOMY)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DESPITE SOME VERY CONSPICUOUS burning of the midnight oil in Washington, the Administration's efforts to restore order to the credit markets and take sundry other steps to shore up the economy have left CFOs anything...

Verbatim.(topline)
April 1, 2009... "HR people try to perpetuate the idea that job satisfaction is critical, but there is no evidence that engaging employees impacts financial returns." --RICHARD BEATTY OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY, SPEAKING AT THE CFO RISING CONFERENCE ON MARCH 10...

Watching where you misstep: can risk-management software show companies where things are going wrong?(in tech)
April 1, 2009... KOCH INDUSTRIES DIDN'T BEcome the nation's second-largest privately held company without taking risks, but the $100 billion conglomerate puts a premium on risk management, and its approach includes a strong information-technology (IT)...

Ex-factors: an upstart exchange offers a new option.(Accounts Receivable)
April 1, 2009... WHILE HOPING TO COMplete a second round of equity financing last fall, Data Drive Thru faced a cash squeeze. Needing capital to exploit rising demand for a patented high-speed data-transfer technology, CFO Brad Oldham had two viable options:...

Happy new year? Most CFOs say the outlook remains bleak until 2010.(business outlook survey)
April 1, 2009... CFOs ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR the bottom of this economic crisis, yet it seems to be receding ever further from view. Sixty-seven percent of respondents to this quarter's Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey are less...

Spring forward: the recession is withering the alternative-energy business. Can the federal government's stimulus package revive it?(insight)
April 1, 2009... IN 2008, ALTERNATIVE energy seemed poised to become the next big thing. As oil prices soared, seed money poured into the sector, and some saw a new investment bubble forming. Pundits envisioned a green future where wind farms would generate...

More than zero: with short-term Treasury yields at rock bottom, companies are seeking higher returns for their cash.(credit & capital)
April 1, 2009... BATTERED BY VOLATILE MARKETS AND burned by flaws in structured debt, companies face hard choices about where to invest cash. They commonly have three priorities now, say experts: liquidity, capital preservation, and transparency. "If an...

"What we do is life or death." No company has more demanding customers than the defense logistics agency.(ON THE RECORD: J. Anthony Poleo, CFO, Defense Logistics Agency)(Interview)
April 1, 2009... Ever wonder how the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps get the essential supplies they need to do their jobs--food, fuel, medical supplies, uniforms, repair parts, and more? Tony Poleo knows. As CFO of the Defense Department's Defense...

401(k)risis the stock-market meltdown has dealt a crushing blow to retirement plans. Brace for repercussions.(Cover story)(Company overview)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SOON AFTER SECTION 401(k) OF THE Internal Revenue Code took effect in 1980, it morphed from an obscure investment option into the goose that laid the golden nest egg. Has that goose been cooked? The value of...

The gauge of innocence: fraud takes many forms. Count on all of them to increase this year.
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In tough times, companies face plenty of honest challenges, and most managers and staffers rise to the occasion. But inevitably, as pressures multiply, some will cave in and demonstrate poor judgment, or worse. They...

Ready for anything: to keep supply chains lean and resilient, companies must keep a weather eye out for any and all disturbances.(Company overview)
April 1, 2009... John O'Connor doesn't mind Surprises-as long as he knows about Them before everybody else. Whether it's a power outage in Wichita or an earthquake in Chengdu, "if I hear about it for the first time on the news, something has gone wrong,"...

A tale of two markets: are your D&O premiums about to soar? That depends on which industry you're in.(insurance)
April 1, 2009... EVEN AS THEY SEEK BAILOUT dollars from Washington, financial-services firms shouldn't expect any relief from their insurers. Premiums for directors'-and-officers' (D&O) liability insurance are soaring, financial limits are contracting, and...