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

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

Obama's accounting expert?(Accounting)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Is there no crisis that can't be solved by dispatching 81-year-old Paul Volcker to the rescue? Most recently mooted about as a potential "car czar," Volcker is already on tap to chair President Obama's Economic...

Time's up: new M&A rules in effect.(Capital Markets)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Economic reality and accounting collide again. Companies racing to avoid new M&A rules in 2008 instead ran smack into a dearth of deal financing. Now the rules are in effect, forcing acquirers to incorporate more fair value, report negative...

Change agents.(Video)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Al Drewes, CFO of Pepsi Bottling Group, explains how dramatic changes in consumer behavior complicate finance decisions and require that the finance department work ever more with its partners closely in the...

Nobody doesn't like ... outsourcing?(Finance)
January 1, 2009... As if finance folks weren't under enough stress, leave it to Sara Lee to put the icing on the cake by announcing plans to outsource finance jobs. The cake-mix maker is not alone: The Hackett Group says nearly half of the more than 350,000...

Cox: accounting is not a fiscal policy tool.(Regulatory Issues)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sorry, banks. Those hoping that the best part of Congress's Wall Street bailout would ultimately prove to be a rollback of fair-value accounting rules were disappointed, in a December speech to accountants, SEC...

How to define "crisis".(from the editor)
January 1, 2009... YOU'VE NO DOUBT HEARD that the Chinese word for "crisis" combines "danger" with "opportunity." Any number of business books and management seminars have enthusiastically seized on this idea as a way to package alleged insights on how to profit...

Rethinking the dining experience.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Right now many chain-restaurant operators are hunkering down, cutting costs, and hoping for a turnaround ("Table Stakes," December 2008). But restaurants must continue to fundamentally restructure. Adapting to...

Predicting the future.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I think the key issue in all spheres of development is the concept of predicting the future ("Future Tense," December 2008). Why do we consult astrologers? To determine what lies ahead. What is the need for budgeting and depreciation costs? To...

Smart cost cutting.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I agree that focusing on improving revenue is the surest way to maintain viability during tough rimes ("And in This Corner, the Price-Fighter," December 2008). Let a third-party expert cut your expenses on a true gain-sharing model. Our...

Acting responsibly.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... When companies do not act responsibly with regard to executive compensation, they disenfranchise their employees and shareholders, and invite government involvement ("Beyond the Bailout," Topline, December 2008). This is especially true for...

Fossil-fuel betas for all.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... The idea of fossil-fuel betas ("What Goes Down Will Come Up," December 2008) is a great one. There are very few topics and measures in finance that appeal to investors, corporate managers, and society at the same time. This measure should be...

Do the ends justify the means?(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Businesses should reevaluate operating structures and the current business model, rather than merely cutting employees ("Cold Cuts," December 2008). Moreover, shareholders should more closely scrutinize and potentially sack executive managers...

Green analysis.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Your article suggesting investment in green jobs as an answer to our economic problems is a good start ("The Great Green Hope," November 2008). It would be valuable to finance executives if you could provide some analysis of the net...

Correction.(letters)(Correction notice)
January 1, 2009... In December 2008's On the Record with Robert F. Bruner, a passage should have read: "The big unknowns are, first, the potential amplifying impact of emerging economies. Will they be able to weather the crisis as well as the developed [not 'the...

No lifeline for underwater options.(COMPENSATION)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN THE TWO YEARS following the Internet bubble burst, some 400 U.S. public companies offered to buoy underwater employee stock options by exchanging them for something of value, including new options with a lower...

Contingency fans.(LITIGATION)
January 1, 2009... THE SURPLUS OF CORPORATE LITIGATION in the United States is rarely viewed as a positive, but for at least one British firm it constitutes a unique investment opportunity. Juridica Capital Management, a UK-based investment firm, has put $90...

In silence, a golden opportunity.(FINANCE)
January 1, 2009... KEENLY AWARE OF THE WORSENING ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, Solutia Inc. CFO James Sullivan was intent on paying off the company's $400 million, 15.5 percent bridge loan--debt the specialty chemical and materials maker had taken on to emerge from...

The year that was: A look back at the lows and ultra-lows of an all-too-historic year.(ONE-LAST-TIME DEPT.)
January 1, 2009... JANUARY January began with the Dow at its peak for the year (13,265) but with rumblings of trouble ahead. Alan Schwartz replaced Jim Cayne as CEO of Bear Stearns, Bank of America offered $44 billion in stock for Countrywide, and Citigroup...

Top 10 things to do with top 10 lists.(ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT)
January 1, 2009... THERE'S NO SHORTAGE of city rankings available to companies that might want to pull up stakes. In the aggregate they provide an almost dizzying amount of information that might influence expansion or relocation plans. Want to know which U.S....

What's next--the Louisiana spin-off?(BAILOUTS)(Roosevelt University's Steve Balkin)(Interview)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... THE SPECTER OF DETROIT'S Big Three CEOs begging Congress for handouts has become all too familiar in recent months. At least one observer, though, begs the question: Why is Michigan making cars when it could be manufacturing money? Steve...

From bad to worst: CFO optimism sinks to an all-time low as companies foresee a dismal year ahead.(business outlook survey)(Survey)
January 1, 2009... FOR THOSE SEEKING A GLIMMER OF HOPE amid the current economic news, the latest CFO Magazine/Duke University Global Business Outlook Survey is not the place to look. With CFO optimism plummeting to its lowest level in the 12-year history of the...

Driving a hard bargain: European consumers are increasingly in the driver's seat, but will they step on the gas?(global view)(Editorial)
January 1, 2009... IF YOU'RE WONDERING HOW the financial crisis is rippling through the European economy, just log on to Broadspeed.com. Since November, the Essex, England, online auto broker has extended an offer that even cash-strapped customers can't...

An open secret: open-source software is quietly gaining ground well beyond the data center.(in tech)
January 1, 2009... LAST NOVEMBER, Openbravo, an open-source software (OSS) company in business for less than three years, celebrated the one-millionth combined download of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point-of-sale applications. While the number of...

No exit: where are companies trapped in the IPO pipeline turning for additional financing?(credit & capital)
January 1, 2009... WHEN PHENOMIX CORP. finally with drew its IPO registration in October--after waiting nine months for the markets to improve--it had to figure out how to navigate the tough economy without the roughly $87 million it had hoped to raise. ...

"We are the green solution": what's a few billion dollars spent on infrastructure when your vehicles get more than 700 mpg?(ON THE RECORD)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... Rob Knight is one CFO who is still bullish on his business. And why not? His company--Omaha-based Union Pacific Corp., the country's largest railroad--has managed to deliver earnings and dividend growth even in the teeth of recession. The...

All eyes on treasury: the function that no one likes to think about is now getting plenty of attention, and even a little respect.(the year ahead)
January 1, 2009... Cash-flow traffic top, investment expert, in-house banker, judge of capital-investment decisions, financial risk manager--treasury departments wear all these hats and more. Yet treasury doesn't get much respect. It's often the leanest...

Which one when? A roundup of key accounting deadlines, developments, and detours to watch for in 2009.(the year ahead)
January 1, 2009... Molasses gets a bad rap for being slow--particularly in January--but 90 years ago this month more than 2 million gallons of it flooded the city of Boston, killing 21 people. Unbelievable as it sounds, a burst storage tank sent a tidal wave of...

Playing favorites: it's tempting to feel grateful for every customer you have. You should fight that feeling.(the year ahead)(Company overview)
January 1, 2009... Ready to meet the new Chief Profitability Officer? OK, then, grab a mirror: you're it. No need to have new business cards printed, you're still the CFO as well. But you now have additional duties in line with the company's new...

And now for the good news ... here are ten bright spots to savor amid the economic gloom.(the year ahead)
January 1, 2009... The financial headlines are grim, but every cloud has a silver lining, right? Right? That old adage is being severely tested these days, but we did manage to unearth a handful of positive developments, optimistic commentators, and growth...

Rethinking risk: companies have never been more motivated to revisit risk management, but improvements will come slowly.(in practice)(Company overview)
January 1, 2009... Last August, when Virgin Mobile CFO John Feehan spotted signs of looming bankruptcy at Circuit City, a retail outlet for his company's cell phones, he didn't sit idly by. Instead, Virgin Mobile tightened billing terms, demanded cash payments,...

Goodwill hunting: for companies mulling write-offs, economic turmoil is a terrible thing to waste.(write-offs)
January 1, 2009... WHEN BOARDS OF DIRECTORS convene to review a dismal 2008, many will vote to leave shareholders with even less. They may have little choice. At dozens of public companies, market values now languish below book values, a situation that makes...

A defining moment: stung by charges that customers never saw risks coming, vendors of governance, risk, and compliance software are rebuilding their image.(software)
January 1, 2009... LIKE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software business has experienced plenty of recent turmoil. Unlike the economy, however, the GRC world is used to it. Almost from the beginning, uniting governance, risk, and...

Seeing green.(the quiz)
January 1, 2009... THIS MONTH'S INAUGURAL VERSION of our new back-page feature tests your knowledge of all (or several) things green. From solar panels to oil consumption to carbon emissions, green is to the business pages these days what gas stations once were...