CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives articles from February 2006

CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives archives from February 2006

Who ya gonna call?(Enron Corp.'s Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay facing trial)
February 1, 2006... AT SOME POINT, ENRON will be as dimly remembered as Teapot Dome. * But that time is not yet. This month, roughly five and a half years after the first revelations of exotic off-balance-sheet partnerships, the next act of the Enron drama...

Sharing responsibility.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... More employees should be willing to share corporate responsibility--no matter what their positions ("Turning the Screws;' From the Editor, January). There is not a single person working in a U.S. public company today who should not be able to...

Who's the fiduciary?(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Randy Myers did a great job in the December 2005 article "Games They Play;' but he did not go far enough in terms of presenting solutions to the issue of pension consultants and conflicts of interest. Sending SEC-model questionnaires now...

Realtors to rely on.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Don Durfee's article on potential conflicts of interest in commercial leasing ("Divided Loyalties," December 2005) is excellent, and any experienced leasing expert should acknowledge that problems are legion. At the same time, one...

The insider.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Your article "Mum Is Not the Word" (Topline, December 2005) did a fine job flagging the cash buyback liability issue. However, the conclusion reassured readers that 10b5-1 type programs (corporate repurchases under a written plan) "can...

The role of IT.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Your December 2005 By the Numbers page ("Still Waiting"), which dealt with IT trends, was correct in noting that "it wasn't supposed to be this way," regarding the long wait for valid ROI approaches to IT. I'd like to offer a follow-up thought:...

So long footnoted liabilities.(ACCOUNTING)(retirement benefits in automobile industry )
February 1, 2006... VERIZON, FORD, AND EXXONMOBIL, PAY ATTENTION. It looks as though pensions and other retiree benefits are about to graduate from the footnotes to the balance sheet. And companies that have previously been able to hide underfunded retirement...

Under the covers.(EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION)
February 1, 2006... HOW FAR SHOULD A BUSINESS GO to protect its compensation information? For The Capital Group Cos., a holding company for asset-management firms including the American Funds, the distance extends all the way to divorce court. The Los...

Coupling again.(STRATEGIC ALLIANCES)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO, strategic alliances were decidedly out of favor as companies focused on consolidation and restructuring. No longer. "Strategic alliances are coming back quicker now than M&A activity," says Kees Cools, co-author...

Speed demons.(FILING REGULATIONS)(corporate reports filing)
February 1, 2006... IS THERE A HAPPY MEDIUM between speed and practicality? "When it comes to filing deadlines, the Securities and Exchange Commission thinks so. In December, the SEC created new schedules for annual and quarterly reports for different tiers...

Say what?(topline)
February 1, 2006... "There was no criminal activity at Enron other than what happened [with] Mr. Fastow.... And hopefully this trial will destroy all the myths that have been perpetrated over the past four years. Even though people have pleaded guilty, when they...

Will Washington really act?(PENSION REFORM)
February 1, 2006... STILL STINGING FROM ITS FAILURE to overhaul Social Security, the Bush Administration is setting its sights on pension reform for 2006. And while it's far from certain what Congress will serve up for approval, it's clear there will be plenty of...

It looks like securities-fraud lawsuits.(FRAUD FILINGS FALL)
February 1, 2006... IT LOOKS LIKE SECURITIES-FRAUD LAWSUITS went on hiatus last year, with 17 percent fewer securities-fraud class-action filings than in 2004. The year also saw a decrease in investor losses related to such suits. Experts say tougher governance,...

All together now.(STATE TAXES)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... NONUNIFORM STATE TAX LAWS wreak havoc on corporate collection procedures. But relief may be in sight now that the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) agreement--which promises to standardize sales tax and use regulations--has been enacted. ...

Cushioning the blow.(AUDITING)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... CHOOSE YOUR AUDITOR WISELY--in tough times, that choice may protect your stock price. At least that's what the authors of a new study from Indiana University concluded after delving into the correlation between material weaknesses and...

Where the listings are.(IPO UPDATE)
February 1, 2006... WHERE THE LISTINGS ARE: There may not have been many Googles in the mix, but last year was reasonably successful for initial public offerings worldwide--especially in Europe, where some 600 companies went public. One reason for the IPO strength...

Flabby or fit? A new survey of CFO readers measures finance departments.(by the numbers)
February 1, 2006... EVER SINCE TWO CONSULTANTS from A.T. Kearney Inc. launched the first finance benchmarking studies in the 1980s, CFOs have been avid consumers of comparative data. Now there are more numbers to feed their appetite. Last year, the American...

View from Europe: of bulls and bears: a look behind the scenes of Europe's surging stock markets.(topline)
February 1, 2006... ON NOVEMBER 28, THE DJ EURO Stoxx 50--the most actively traded barometer of big European companies--reached its highest level since its record low in early 2003. The major national indices in London, Frankfurt, Paris, and Amsterdam were all...

First, forget what works: the success of an innovative new business may depend on forgetting what makes the core business tick.(Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble)(Editorial)
February 1, 2006... GENIUS, SAID THOMAS EDISON, IS composed of 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Yet treatises on innovation often dwell on the 1 percent, offering ways to spark corporate creativity. Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble,...

They can get it for you wholesale: third-party negotiators promise big savings. So why are they struggling to get noticed?
February 1, 2006... WHEN HARCOURT INC. WAS IN the market for a new software package last year, it decided to get a little outside advice before it sealed the deal. The company turned to an Atlanta consultancy, NPI, made up primarily of former technology sales...

Can I see your receipt?(SOFTWARE PIRACY)
February 1, 2006... DECEMBER WAS A BAD MONTH FOR SOFTWARE pirates. Nathan Peterson, accused of selling millions of dollars' worth of vastly discounted software via the Web, pleaded guilty to two counts of copyright infringement and agreed to pay more than $5...

America for sale: foreign firms are buying U.S. companies at the fastest clip in five years, creating concerns on Capitol Hill.(deals)
February 1, 2006... ONCE AGAIN, FOREIGNERS are heeding the call to "Buy American." Acquisitions of U.S. companies by foreign firms rose 27 percent in value last year, according to FactSet MergerStat LLC' a financial-publishing firm. Government statistics that...

The NFL's Kim Williams.(ON THE RECORD)(Interview)
February 1, 2006... THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE HAS SCORED several financial touchdowns this year. For starters, the league has signed some $24 billion in new long-term TV contracts and completed the successful launch of its own cable-channel, the NFL Network....

The best defense: in today's high-stakes legal environment, top white-collar attorneys are ready to defend the CFO.
February 1, 2006... Last year, former McKesson Corp. CFO Richard Hawkins faced criminal charges after a $20 million accounting error was discovered at HBO & Co., a subsidiary McKesson had acquired in 1999. Together, the charges, including securities fraud and...

Bondholder backlash: LBO debtholders are getting tougher about protecting their interests.
February 1, 2006... WHEN NEIMAN MARCUS became the focus of a leveraged buyout by two private-equity funds last year, it also became the latest battleground in an escalating war between equity holders and bondholders. As LBOs have become more highly leveraged,...

Monumental challenge: deploying new tech systems can be wrenching, but smarter project management will help you leave the past behind.
February 1, 2006... IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT information technology is a field that lives and (too often) dies by the project. Even when a project isn't dying, it may be weak, sickly, or on life support. Large IT initiatives are difficult to manage and can prove...

Corporate Performance Management (CPM) for healthcare: the path to healthier transparency and accounting.(Advertisement)
February 1, 2006... Saint Clare's Health System operates a group of hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the Northeastern United States. To meet the tough financial challenges faced by many hospitals in recent years, Saint Clare's recognized the need to...

Pay-per-view ERP: is on-demand transaction software ready for prime time?
February 1, 2006... MANAGERS AT THERMOS INC. FACED A painful choice. Stick with the old, outdated enterprise resource planning program and risk losing highly prized customers, or switch to a new, 21st-century ERP system and risk alienating the company's only...

Striking a balance on the build-out: as rents rise across the country, CFOs are negotiating more aggressively to save money on the cost of outfitting new office space.(spotlight)
February 1, 2006... THANKS TO A RESURGENCE IN mergers and acquisitions, 2005 was a very good year for Lane, Berry & Co. So good, in fact, that the small, scrappy investment-banking firm now faces one of the biggest challenges since its founding four years ago....

Penalty box: the SEC is handing out bigger and bigger fines for misdeeds. But is this the right approach?(Securities and Exchange Commission)
February 1, 2006... BY SEC STANDARDS, IT was an odd sort of press release. On January 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement regarding actions against McAfee Inc. and Applix Inc. The Commission reported that the suits had been settled,...

Meet your new bankers: hedge funds have a pile of cash to lend. Should you take it?
February 1, 2006... TRIDENT EXPLORATION Corp. needed money last year, and lots of it. Based in Calgary, Canada, the privately held company extracts natural gas from coal, but its business is too early-stage for most commercial bankers. So Trident turned to a new...

The little things: how CFOs reenergize their finance staffs.(your move)
February 1, 2006... EVERY YEAR FINANCE DEPARTMENTS put themselves through the wringer, racing to meet an endless parade of deadlines. The crunch has intensified recently as finance teams labor to comply with new regulatory requirements even as they try to keep up...

Bed Bath & Beyond.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Home-furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond has promoted Eugene Castagna to CFO from his role as principal financial and accounting officer. Former CFO Ronald Curwin is now SVP of investor relations.

Deere.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Michael Mack is the new finance chief at Deere. Mack was formerly treasurer at the truck and tractor manufacturer.

Hanley Wood.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Matthew Flynn left his post as CFO at magazine giant Primedia to head up finance at Hanley Wood, a publisher of trade magazines.

Marsh & McLennan.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Michele Burns is leaving Mirant, the energy company she joined in 2004, to take over the finance department at Marsh & McLennan in March.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... James Follo will step down as finance chief at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in March.

Constant Contact.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... E-mail marketer Constant Contact has named Steven Wasserman CFO.

Edwards Lifesciences.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Edwards Lifesciences has promoted Corrine Lyre from CFO to president of global operations. Controller Thomas Abate will be the new finance head at the medical-device maker.

Lowrance Electronics.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Paul Murphy is the new CFO at Lowrance Electronics, a maker of sonar and GPS products.

Nastech Pharmaceutical.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Nastech Pharmaceutical has named Philip Ranker CFO and corporate secretary.

Virage Logic.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
February 1, 2006... Jens Meyerhoff joins Virage Logic, a maker of software used in semiconductor manufacturing, as finance chief.

Group dynamics.(ACADEMIA)(University of Massachusetts Boston's Chief Financial Officer Think Tank )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... TYPICALLY, THE WORDS think tank conjure an image of tweed-dad philosophers formulating a unified theory of life, the universe, and everything else. But some times they are more down to earth. At the University of Massachusetts Boston, there...

Graceful exit?(ACADEMIA)(James Follo plans to resign from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... No one expected James Follo, the CFO at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., to master the fine art of glycerine soap-making or to make cranberry wreaths in his spare time. Simply keeping MSLO's finances in order qualifies as a "good thing."...