Today In Finance

The Shortest Distance to Cash

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Supply-chain strategies now include clever ways to improve cash flow. Which is more valuable, gold or beryllium? John Grampa's answer — gold — probably won't surprise you, but his reasoning might. Gold is worth more than beryllium...(read more)

How to Get on a Board

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT

CFOs may seem like strong director candidates, but few actually make the final cut. How can they improve their chances? By any measure, Geoff Hibner is an experienced financial executive. The 60-year-old Harvard MBA has been CFO of five companies (four...(read more)

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending March 19

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

PepsiCo, Lincoln Financial Group, Affymetrix, HealthCare Chaplaincy, PostRock Energy, Pericom Semiconductor, Foundation Radiology Group, nGenera, SmartSynch. Richard Goodman, CFO of PepsiCo, will leave his position at the end of the month and take on...(read more)

Jerry York, Iconic CFO, Dies at 71

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:00:00 GMT

The former finance chief at Chrysler and IBM predicted the downturn six months before Lehman Brothers collapsed. Jerome "Jerry" York, a pioneering and prophetic finance chief who served as CFO of IBM and Chrysler, died on Thursday after being...(read more)

Jobs Bill Becomes Law

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Will new incentives prompt reluctant employers to hire again? President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act into law Thursday morning, taking aim at the nation's persistent 10% unemployment rate, which is widely...(read more)

Now You Don't See It

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Auditors are less likely to find manipulated earnings when management directs their attention away from areas of financial statements that contain errors. Distraction and deception go hand in hand, whether in a magic act or at a dishonest company. Sam...(read more)

How the SEC Would Spend $1.3 Billion

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Chairman Mary Schapiro explains her agency's need for a 12% boost to its budget. A 12% increase in the Securities and Exchange Commission's budget would enable the regulator to hire 374 more employees, some of whom would work for its corporate...(read more)

Is Your Broker Mediocre?

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

It may be a buyer's market, but choosing the best broker is far from easy. These are bargain-basement days for insurance buyers. In the fourth quarter of 2009, workers'-compensation and general-liability premiums dropped 5.5% and 5%, respectively...(read more)

The Wait for Worth

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Investors have shown little appetite for IPOs so far this year, driving down pricing on new issues and delaying others. CFOs hoping for a revival of the market for initial public offerings may have to bide their time for another quarter — or two...(read more)

Lords of the Brass Ring

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

The time may be right for financial chiefs to ascend to the CEO post. Your phone may be about to ring, and you may want to answer it. Executive turnover, which usually proceeds at a brisk pace, ground to a near-halt last year as many CFOs and CEOs chose...(read more)

Testing, Testing: The New Innovation Game

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Harrah's Entertainment exemplifies the burgeoning use of broad, IT-enabled experimentation to improve businesses. Business innovation, once the province of teams in white lab coats doing research and development, is moving into the front lines. Increasingly...(read more)

Looking at Historic Businesses Through an NOL Lens

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:00:00 GMT

As companies emerge from the financial crisis and begin to consider applying NOLs against taxable income, two older court rulings seem more relevant than ever. When a corporation with net losses undergoes an ownership change, within the meaning of tax...(read more)

Finance Chiefs Look Warily Ahead

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:00 GMT

A new survey of finance executives finds them preparing for a slow recovery. According to more than 100 finance chiefs who responded to a survey by CFO at this week's CFO Rising conference in Orlando, Florida, the worst of the economic downturn is...(read more)

Good to the Last Drop

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Even though revenues are scant, plenty of cash remains to be squeezed from supply chains, says a new study. Despite the overall lack of top-line growth during the economic downturn, many companies have stayed afloat by downsizing staff and eking out supply...(read more)

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending March 12

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Dow Chemical, Providence Equity Partners, DF King Worldwide, Human Genome Sciences, CB Richard Ellis Group, Active Network, Healthcare Solutions, BigBand Networks, Strategic Hotels & Resorts, DaVita. The Dow Chemical Co. has tapped William Weideman...(read more)

Who Should Be in the Boardroom?

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Directors want to see more faces at board meetings, but not necessarily more data. With board members more concerned about risk management and succession planning these days, CFOs should make sure they — and their staffs — have a strong presence...(read more)

Goodwill Impairment: Open to Interpretation, Again

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Companies and auditors are clamoring for clarification about measuring goodwill impairment. A relatively new goodwill accounting rule got its first real test drive last year when the ripple effect from the 2008 recession hit company balance sheets. More...(read more)

Your Loss Is Your Gain

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Uncle Sam has extended the time frame for loss carrybacks. Should you take advantage? When companies closed their books on 2008, the financial crisis made itself very apparent: 3,700 publicly held corporations reported losses, a 9% increase over the...(read more)

Do-It-Yourself M&A

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:00:00 GMT

Companies should limit their reliance on consultants when executing mergers, says the CFO of Thomson Reuters. Consolidating two companies after a merger may require liberal use of consultants for integrating systems, evaluating human capital, and other...(read more)

Instead of Best Practice, Next Practice

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

A strategy expert encourages finance chiefs to cut back on benchmarking and focus on the future. For the most part, CFOs have forgotten an oft-repeated lesson learned in grade school: keep your eyes on your own work and don't pay attention to what...(read more)

A Prescription for Cutting Health-Care Costs

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

The finance chief of Cardinal Health says there is plenty that the private sector can do to bring health-care spending under control. Jeff Henderson, CFO of Cardinal Health, may not know the future of health-care reform in the United States, but he is...(read more)

Low Rates, Huge Deficits to Continue

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Economist David Levy says the U.S. government will have to continue to finance the economic recovery with its balance sheet. Don't worry about higher interest rates or inflation, said one economist today. But also don't expect huge government...(read more)

No Excuses, No Surprises

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 GMT

How the discovery of major lapses in its internal controls helped Siemens become a better company. Painful and costly as a major corporate financial scandal can be, it can ultimately help a company grow stronger if executives can unearth the problems...(read more)

"Because It's the Right Thing to Do."

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:00:00 GMT

A veteran CFO discusses the finer points of bottle design and why paying higher wages makes sense. An interview with Richard Galanti, EVP and CFO of Costco Wholesale Corp. In 1984, Richard Galanti was a young investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin &...(read more)

Homebuilder Loss Claim Crumbles

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT

A homebuilder's assertion that its losses are related to "product liability" had no foundation in existing law, says IRS. Homebuilders recently scored a major tax victory by securing the ability to carry back certain losses — ...(read more)