CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives articles from March 2008

CFO, The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives archives from March 2008

It takes a bubble.(from the editor)
March 1, 2008... SAY WHAT YOU WILL about economic bubbles, it's only after they burst that you realize how badly they were distorting our collective perception. In the clear light of the post-subprime bubble, we can see how remarkably similar it was to the...

NIH syndrome.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sounds to me like the Financial Accounting Standards Board is on another one of its intellectually stimulating but oh-so-impractical tangents in testing its new format for financial statements ("A New Vision for...

The difference between RECs and offsets.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I applaud January's cover story "Carbon Trading" for attempting to bring some common business sense to one of the hottest corporate-social-responsibility tools du jour: voluntary carbon offsetting. However, as an active participant in the...

The price you pay.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... It's pretty amazing what can be done when Big Brother (in this case, shareholders and Sarbanes-Oxley) isn't watching every move you make in order to pounce on the thinnest hint of impropriety (On the Record, January). Koch Industries's...

Round and round on VSOE.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Allocating multiple deliverables such as software to revenue is tough enough, but now throw in a customer solution that contains leasing, a situation that any CFO with a captive finance company faces ("Why VSOE Spells Troublei' January). Under...

Keeping 401(k) plans on track.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Reading "The New Mix" (December 2007) brings to mind the issue of monitoring the "correct" investment choices. The selection, approval, and documentation process can be as important as the actual investment choices. The board of directors...

Thinking about the box.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Your article on real estate markets ('A Tale of Six Cities" December 2007) was accurate, but it oversimplified corporate real estate decisions. In our experience, many companies have not considered the full impact of real estate deals beyond a...

The purpose of sustainability reports.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I enjoyed your article "Earth in the Balance Sheet" (December 2007). There is one issue you alluded to but did not address directly: If sustainability reports are intended to influence investment decisions, is the information, by definition,...

Corrections.(letters)(Correction notice)
March 1, 2008... In the January Topline story"IFO Sightings ' we identified the CFO of the U.S. Postal Service, H. Glen Walker, as David Walker. '"Partial' Success7 our February Deals column, incorrectly stated that Hewlett-Packard and IBM received shams...

Contrarians at the gate.(PRIVATE EQUITY)
March 1, 2008... "I JUST FLEW IN FROM DAVOS AND BOY ARE MY ALMS TIRED" Such was the theme of January's World Economic Forum, where a keynote address from Bill Gates on corporate philanthropy became one of the touchstones of the annual event. Less noticed...

They don't like surprises.(FORECASTING)
March 1, 2008... FAULTY FORECASTS have been the downfall of many CFOs. Last year, two telecom giants, Motorola and Ericsson, saw their CFOs depart amid massive cuts in revenue projections (Motorola) and unpleasant surprises regarding profits and share price...

Pulp faction.(INVESTOR RELATIONS)(Survey)
March 1, 2008... DESPITE LAST YEAR'S LONG-ANTICIPATED GREEN LIGHT from the Securities and Exchange Commission that allows companies to issue online E-proxy statements in lieu of traditional paper copies, many companies continue to keep the presses rolling. ...

No cakewalk.(RISK MANAGEMENT)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] STILL REELING FROM ITS FAILURE to spot the subprime-mortgage crisis, Standard & Poor's is nonetheless moving ahead on a long-discussed plan to dissect enterprise risk management (ERM) practices at non-financial...

Living on borrowed time.(CREDIT)
March 1, 2008... AS BANKS TIGHTEN their purse strings, some companies are tapping an old standby--asset-based lending--to address their credit needs, ABL is backed by assets and is popular among cyclical businesses, such as garment manufacturers, retailers, and...

Who's where, when (and how much)?(E-PROCUREMENT)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HAVING CUT TRAVEL COSTS substantially through the use of online travel services, in 2004 Xerox began to explore the idea of doing the same for its many meetings and events. The company was ahead of its time, because...

A fatal flaw for CDHPs?(HEALTH CARE)(Consumer Driven Health Plan)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR SEVERAL YEARS, consumer-driven health plans have been billed as a potential solution to soaring healthcare costs--or at least to companies' share of such costs. CDHPs have made steady if unspectacular progress,...

I'm OK, you're in trouble.(EMPLOYMENT)
March 1, 2008... COULD FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, the career category that seems immune to job cuts, be subject to the same economic malaise that affects American workers overall? [GRAPHIC OMITTED] That's one interpretation of a recent survey conducted by...

IFRS: no longer if, but when.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's coming to a company near you. International financial reporting standards (IFRS), that is, which SEC chairman Christopher Cox says "will eventually empower investors to make better-informed investment decisions...

How to ax your auditor.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)
March 1, 2008... Breaking up isn't necessarily hard to do, if you know how to do it delicately. And few have more experience in ending an auditing relationship than lack Henrie, who has been involved with auditor replacements no fewer than eight times in his...

How to nab the rogues.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)
March 1, 2008... With the economy in poor shape, fraud becomes a greater risk. But unlike previous downturns, this time the insiders to watch are more likely to be middle managers. CEOs and CFOs know that their jobs are on the line if they violate the famed...

Texas roadkill.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Is it a $1.1 billion accounting error, politics, or both? Debate rages in Texas as to whether a massive shortfall in the state's transportation budget stems only from the double-counting of bond proceeds or also reflects some skullduggery on...

Preparing your company for recession.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush said that there is concern about the economy "at kitchen tables across our country." He might have mentioned conference-room tables as well, because businesses are feeling glum these...

What you don't know about headhunters.(Best of the Web: A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES FROM CFO.COM)
March 1, 2008... Whether by choice or not, if you're in the market for a new job your first instinct might be to reach out to an executive recruiter. If only you had thought to make contact while you were happily employed, you could have established a...

As the world churns: some of Corporate America's biggest names parted ways with their CFOs in the past year.(by the numbers)
March 1, 2008... TURNOVER HAS LONG been a hallmark of the top finance job, and 2007 was no exception. The 2,313 CFO changes at public companies marked just a slight increase from 2006's rate, but reshaped the executive suites of some of the country's best-known...

View from Europe: Europe has a skills shortage that's not easily solved.(top line)
March 1, 2008... FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A long while, unemployment levels have begun to fall across Europe. Broadly speaking, of course, higher employment is a good thing, but European companies are facing a massive shortage of skilled labor. Some companies had...

Web 2.0, confusion 1.5: is there something fundamentally different about the Internet today?(in tech)
March 1, 2008... WHEN A PHOTOGRAPH OF A flaming laptop computer circulated on the Internet in the summer of 2006, Dell Computer quickly got a two-part lesson in the power of Web 2.0. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The lesson had little to do with the risks of...

Thriller: the federal government's annual report is not for the faint of heart.(insight)
March 1, 2008... "IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WERE a private corporation and the same report came out this morning, our stock would be dropping and there would be talk about whether the company's management and directors needed a major shake-up." That was David...

A world of antitrust: complexity rules in M&A overseas, although there's hope for reform in hot spots like China and India.(deals)
March 1, 2008... WHEN YRC Worldwide Inc. decided to acquire Chinese trucking company Shanghai Jiayu Logistics Co. last year, the U.S. transportation giant discovered that it would have to travel a very long bureaucratic road. Because Shanghai Jiayu operates in...

Charles Schwab's: Joseph Martinetto.(ON THE RECORD)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... FORGIVE JOE MARTINETTO IF HE SLEEPS SOUNDLY these days. Despite volatility in the markets and chaos in the financial-services sector, The Charles Schwab Corp. has remained fairly insulated from the turmoil. A conservative risk profile saved the...

Atonement: companies in all industries are paying for the transgressions of the banking sector.(BANKING: THE SUBPRIME CRISIS)(Cover story)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UNTIL RECENTLY, the health of banks hasn't been a pressing issue for finance executives. After all, it's been almost two decades since the last swell of commercial bank failures, 10 years since a Financial crisis of...

Missing pieces: how poor risk-management techniques contributed to the subprime mess.(BANKING RISK)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN EARLY 2007, BELIEVING THAT TROUBLES IN THE subprime-mortgage industry would worsen, Morgan Stanley's fixed-income traders built a $2 billion short position on the sector. As protection, they bought $14, billion...

Pedaling as fast as they can: why companies will need to work harder for credit.(BANKING CREDIT)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FADE IN: a bankruptcy court in downtown Manhattan, late January, minutes before the close of business. The equity markets have taken a nosedive, and nervous bankers are putting pressure on executives of Quebecor...

No uncertain terms: in a tight economy, CFOs must learn the delicate art of turning the screws.(BANKING COLLECTIONS)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "IT'S JUST BUSINESS, DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY." That's what the sales and marketing team at Arrow Electronics told CFO Paul Reilly seven years ago, in the last major credit-cycle downturn, when a large customer...

Offshoring spreads its wings: from East Asia to Eastern Europe offshore outsourcing is taking off.(in practice spotlight)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the last U.S. Presidential campaign, offshoring was a particularly touchy subject. Candidates denounced "Benedict Arnold CEOs" for sending U.S. jobs offshore, while CNN anchor Lou Dobbs kept a disapproving...

Skin in the game: why, on the whole, CFOs should buy more of their companies' stock.(in practice: compensation)
March 1, 2008... WHEN JAMES Lawrence left General Mills to become CFO of Unilever last September, investors hoped he would help boost the Dutch consumer-products giant's lagging stock price. What they probably didn't expect was that he would use his own money...

Custom fit: in finance training, one size may not suit all.(in practice: your move)
March 1, 2008... WHEN IT COMES to doling out development dollars for finance training, CFOs have a range of choices, from in-house classes and personal coaching to outside seminars and continuing education. They must also decide how to balance training with...

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Checkers Drive-In Restaurants has appointed Todd Lindsey as its new CFO. Previously finance chief of Michaels Stores Inc.'s Specialty Retail Group, he succeeds Janette McDugald, who left to pursue other opportunities.

Oxford Bank.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Thomas H. Dorr has been named CFO of Oxford Bank, taking the reins from Nick Hevron, who retired at the end of last year. Dorr is the former AVP and controller at United Bank and Trust.

Symphony Services.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Product-engineering services firm Symphony Services has selected S.L. Narayanan as its CFO. Replacing Jeff Van Zanten, Narayanan joins the company from Bharti Enterprises, where he was corporate director (finance).

Amyris Biotechnologies.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Jeryl L. Hilleman is the first-ever CFO at Amyris Biotechnologies. She was previously CFO of Symyx Technologies Inc.

Brooks Automation.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Brooks Automation has chosen Martin S. Headley to fill the CFO post. He succeeds Rob Woodbury, who left in December and is now CFO at GT Solar International.

Carlton Advisory Services.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Jeffrey J. Wyner has joined real-estate investment bank Carlton Advisory Services in the new position of CFO. He comes from ACA Capital Holdings, where he was senior credit officer for structured finance.

Circor International.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Instrumentation and fluid-regulation products maker Circor International has named Frederic M. Burditt as its CFO. Previously CFO of Danaher Tool Group, part of Danaher Corp., he succeeds Kenneth W. Smith, who has retired.

Active Aero Group.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Andrew W. Kirk is the new CFO at Active Aero Group, a transportation-management solutions company. Kirk spent the last year as director for turnaround-consulting firm BBK Ltd., and prior to that had been CFO of heavy-equipment distributor...

Initiate Systems.(CFOs ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2008... Initiate Systems, a provider of master data management solutions, has appointed Dan Kossmann as its new CFO. He most recently served as CFO of Outstart, an E-learning software company.

Closing remarks.(grapevine)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AT THE END OF THE DAY, a CFO is only as good as the people around him. Those are the words of wisdom Dennis Powell, the retiring CFO of Cisco Systems Inc., has to offer--not just to his successor, Frank Calderoni,...

CSI Pennsylvania.(grapevine)(Christian Schools International )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... SOME VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE students are learning first-hand how accounting skills can help take a bite out of crime. Every six months, Pennsylvania's Delaware County District Attorney's office accepts an accounting student from...