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

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

SEC to get tougher on corporate wrongdoers.(Regulatory Issues)(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Out with the old, in with the punitive. New SEC chair Mary Schapiro tossed out her predecessor's requirement that the full commission vote on financial penalties for companies, giving SEC staff a freer hand to punish...

To make investors happy, hire a woman as CFO?(Investor Relations)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Could it be that women make better finance moves than men? In some cases, yes, says a study by a Boston College professor. The study found that acquisitions and secondary equity offerings by companies with female CFOs resulted in a higher stock...

Chipping away at Intel's seemingly good news.(Capital Expenditure)
March 1, 2009... Intel scored a public-relations coup last month, announcing it would invest $7 billion over two years on three U.S. facilities that will "support approximately 7,000 high-wage, high-skill jobs." But the media's effusive praise failed to note...

Who put the brakes on Capex spending?(Tax)
March 1, 2009... The slowdown in capital spending has affected those that do it the most--companies in capital-intensive industries like mining, oil-and-gas exploration, and electric and telecom utilities. That doesn't bode well for their growth or for their...

Don't miss this.(Conferences)
March 1, 2009... The second annual CFO Green Conference in New York City (March 31) will focus on the cost/ benefit proposition of the green movement in Corporate America and will address the problem of staying on course with such initiatives in troubled times....

Stopping 401(k) matches: the new no-brainer.(Benefits)
March 1, 2009... Want to cut 2 to 3 percent of payroll without layoffs? Join the more than 40 companies that reduced or eliminated 401(k) matches in the second half of 2008, a move often buried under layoff news. An unpopular tactic, to be sure, but as one plan...

Next stop, Pottersville?(from the editor)(Editorial)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... "CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying!" That's the normally laconic George Bailey, of course, addressing a roomful of nervous shareholders at a key moment in...

Worth their weight.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I'm amazed at the ingenuity of the CFOs referenced in "Prognosis: Negative" (February). They are certainly thinking outside the box. However, there are many more options available for reducing double-digit increases....

Firing customers is risky business.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... "Playing Favorites" (January) is an enthusiastic presentation of benefits that can be sought by firing customers. But this is a risky approach, and I'd like to offer two cautionary notes. First, the determination of customer profitability must...

Restoring the value of your reputation.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Accountants speak of goodwill and balance-sheet intangibles ("Goodwill Hunting," January); in my world of intangible-asset and reputation management, we speak of the difference between book value and market capitalization. These intangible...

The blessing of crisis.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Reading through the myriad articles these days that highlight the doom and gloom surrounding the financial world, it was great to come across one that actually touched on some of the positives ("And Now for the Good News," January). But...

Don't be shortsighted.(letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I agree that focusing on improving revenue is the surest way to maintain viability during tough times ("And in This Corner, the Price-Fighter," December 2008). Let a third-party expert cut your expenses on a true gain-sharing model. Our...

Correction.(Correction notice)
March 1, 2009... Commenting on supply-chain pressures in "The Next Wave" (February), Sam Rovit was misidentified. He directs the Corporate Renewal Group at Bain & Co., a global business consulting practice.

So many questions ...(topline)(financial statements)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... A FEW OF THE MOST POTENTIALLY THORNY ISSUES SURROUNDING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION PROJECT: * Would separating "business activities" from "financing activities" provide information that is more "decision useful"? * Does...

How extreme is the makeover?(FINANCIAL STATEMENTS)(accounting standards)
March 1, 2009... A BALANCE SHEET that doesn't balance? Financing and operating classifications that depend on your company type? A cash-basis income statement? (FINANCIAL STATEMENTS) Well, not quite, or at least not yet. But accounting standards--setters...

Everybody into the pool.(top line)
March 1, 2009... ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GENERATES STRONG REVENUE, BUT COLLEGE SPORTS FACES A NUMBER OF FINANCIAL CHALLENGES.

Performance boost.(COLLEGE SPORTS)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN: March Madness, the annual men's Division 1 college basketball tournament. Hoops fans will soon be poring over team stats and filling out brackets for office pools. But college CFOs,...

Sweating over equity.(RESTRUCTURING)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY FIGHT to restructure, some companies have to take the nuclear option--a debt-for-equity swap. It's not impossible to corral support for this alternative to liquidation, despite lenders'...

A prayer for the not-quite-dying.(CRISIS MANAGEMENT)
March 1, 2009... FOR ACCOUNTING FIRMS, a crisis breeds new opportunities--for crisis management. Since October, firms such as WithumSmith & Brown, J.H. Cohn, and Wipfli have launched crisis-management or economic-recovery practices, offering to help struggling...

Making sense of relief?(THE BAILOUT INDEX)(United States. Department of the Treasury. Troubled Asset Relief Program)
March 1, 2009... LOOKING FOR A PERSONAL PIECE of the bailout pie? You now have a chance to partake of the government's bounty--indirectly, anyway. In January, Nasdaq OMX introduced its Government Relief Index (QGRI), bundling 21 equally weighted large caps that...

It's here (seriously).(XBRL)(interactive data-tagging language )(financial statements)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... "XBRL: YOU CAN'T IGNORE IT ANYMORE." So we declared in December 2006. Turns out you could afford to ignore it then, but no longer. Last month the Securities and Exchange Commission issued the final rule that spells out XBRL deadlines. The...

Lagging rights.(PRICING)(increasing prices)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... RISING COMMODITY PRICES were a hallmark of the 2008 economy, and as they rose, the costs of many goods and services rose with them, creating what many claimed was an inflationary spiral But a marked decline in commodity prices has yet to...

Why the recession is good for you.(UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM)(Interview)
March 1, 2009... ARE YOU FEELING MORE FIT THESE DAYS? If so, you can possibly thank the recession. So posits Chris Ruhm, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, whose research shows that a deteriorating economy inspires...

The right to remain silent? In Asia, CFOs recruited by family-run businesses are often on the outside looking in.(global view)
March 1, 2009... READING ABOUT THE ARREST in January of the CFO of Satyam Computer Services--the Indian family-owned outsourcer accused of a $1.4 billion fraud--I recalled a conversation I'd had a year earlier with a finance executive in Hong Kong. ...

As the economy sinks, data breaches rise: many companies still fail to address rudimentary security issues. Despite budget pressures, they can't afford to ignore them much longer.(in tech)(Company overview)
March 1, 2009... ON JANUARY 20, AS PRESIDENT Barack Obama was being sworn into office in Washington, D.C., a little-known company called Heartland Payment Systems put out a press release announcing that it had discovered a serious data breach. So serious, in...

A zooming market.(Real Estate)
March 1, 2009... LOOKING FOR LOCATIONS IN all the wrong places? It's a vexing problem when companies expand or consolidate, especially in unfamiliar markets. A mere few miles may separate a great spot from any number of lousy ones. The width of a city street...

Lost and foundering? Why we (probably) won't repeat Japan's infamous "lost decade.".(insight)
March 1, 2009... THE NEWS ABOUT THE ECONomy hasn't been good for some time, but in early February it got worse. The Labor Department reported that the United States had shed 598,000 jobs in January, the worst monthly loss in 35 years, for a total of 3.6 million...

The next stage: want to ascend to a true leadership role? Be prepared to let go of what you're good at.(leadership)
March 1, 2009... HAVE YOU MASTERED YOUR job? Are you an expert in your subject matter? Do you work independently, show initiative, and take charge of projects? If so, you're on your way to becoming an effective leader, according to Dave Ulrich, Norm...

"This is the world series for finance." When times get tough, finance teams get granular--and find new ways to deliver value.(ON THE RECORD)(Interview)
March 1, 2009... As Pepsi Bottling Group marks the 10th anniversary of its initial public offering this month, times couldn't be tougher. Although the beverage company's revenues have nearly doubled in the past decade, research on consumer spending during past...

Clamor & trickle: companies want credit but banks remain slow to respond, despite massive government intervention.
March 1, 2009... The recession gives CFOs a lot more to fret over than the plight of banks, yet it's impossible to ignore such a vital pillar of the economy, particularly when it is under extreme duress and the federal government's efforts to help have so far...

The big freeze: CFOs hope government intervention will soon thaw frozen credit markets. That's not likely.(Cover story)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EVERY SPRING, the thawing of the Yellow River threatens lives and property across Inner Mongolia. Ice blocks break free and then pile up further downstream, causing floods and dam bursts. The Chinese army often has...

Waiting to exhale.(Banking: The Survey)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANY NOTION that two conspicuous symptoms of the recession--reduced head count and mothballed projects--will curtail companies' need for capital may be premature. A new CFO survey of finance executives at 268 U.S....

The standoff continues: as banks and companies hoard their cash, credit remains extremely tight. That's forcing CFOs to explore new (and old) options.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN THE GLOBAL PURSUIT OF CREDIT, few CFOs are as fortunate as Holly Koeppel. The finance chief of American Electric Power, one of the nation's largest generators of electricity (and consumers of credit), Koeppel has...

A world of trouble: Europe and Asia agree: credit is hard to come by and there is little relief in sight.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ALL STUART HALL wanted was a quiet drink. The CFO of Pace Plc, a Yorkshire, UK-based maker of digital TV set-top boxes, was relaxing in a hotel bar in Hong Kong late one night last October, having spent the day...

Taxed to the max: hefty tax rates continue to penalize U.S. companies, and the calls for reform are growing louder.(in practice)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As jobs vanish and Washington mulls a vast range of economic policy options, one that's conspicuously absent is corporate tax reform. That alarms many business advocates, who fear that current tax policy is outdated...

No way out? The Satyam scandal has prompted companies to be more careful about outsourcing arrangements.(outsourcing)
March 1, 2009... A STUNNING CONFESSION of fraud by the CEO of India's Satyam Computer Services sent major corporate customers into damage-control mode half a world away. State Farm Insurance, for one, was able to react quickly. In two weeks it reprioritized key...

A need-to-go basis: how to rein in airfare costs for everyone from road warriors to infrequent fliers.(travel)
March 1, 2009... WHEN THE CEOs OF Detroit's Big Three automakers flew to Washington, D.C., on private jets seeking a collective bailout, the resulting scornful guffaws echoed around the country. Suddenly corporate jets, the usual mode of transport for many...

Then vs. now.(the quiz)
March 1, 2009... "HAPPY FAMILIES ARE ALL ALIKE," Tolstoy wrote. "Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Does that hold true for economic cycles as well? We are certainly in an unhappy place at the moment, and while many pundits claim that this...