Risk Test: 7 Answers You Need to Know

Ensuring that a company’s risks are effectively identified, evaluated, and managed is among the most important responsibilities of a board of directors. The science of risk management continues to evolve. Lessons learned from past failures are being leveraged to ensure that a company’s risk management is built on the right foundation and evolving in the right direction. By asking the following seven questions today, directors … [ Read more ]

2006 Finance Executive Career & Compensation Survey

Lucrative opportunities for short-term rewards in the corporate world are tempting managers to forgo crucial development experiences, suggest the results of Business Finance’s annual Finance Executive Career & Compensation Survey.

The 7 Rules of Engagement

Companies hiring management consultants have more choices than ever before, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find a bargain.

How to Weigh the MBA Decision

To MBA or not to MBA? If that is the question, there are some important questions you should be asking yourself about your career ambitions, the type of program you need and the schools you can afford. An MBA can smash the number-cruncher stereotype, bolster your experience and enhance your career options, but is it the right move for you right now?

Foolproof Compliance For Your IT Systems

Sarbanes-Oxley’s requirement that external auditors test key controls in financial systems makes the finance-IT relationship more important than ever before.

Finance Breaks Out

Finance executives who develop effective relationships with external customers can add value by boosting sales, identifying new business opportunities and gathering performance feedback.

The IT Asset Money Pit

Many companies grossly mismanage IT assets. Vendor invoicing errors, poorly enforced contracts and failure to track technology resources through their entire life cycle cause a hemorrhaging of dollars that could be put to better use. Here are some ways to stamp out the waste.

The Total Cost of IT Outsourcing

Offshore outsourcing of IT services can save companies 30 percent or more on labor costs, but that’s not the whole story.

Why Benchmarking Doesn’t Always Lead to Best Practices

Read about getting maximum payoff from benchmarking efforts as well as how to grab the benefits and dodge the pitfalls.

Use IT or Lose IT

Companies fail to take full advantage of their IT resources for many reasons, including poorly planned implementations and a lack of understanding of how big-ticket financial systems align with strategic objectives.

The Alliance Advantage

Strategic alliances are challenging the dominance of acquisitions as primary drivers of growth, and CFOs are steering those coalitions toward impressive returns.

The Case Against Budgeting

New survey data reveals problems in budgeting, planning and forecasting and ideas to strengthen those processes. Early movers are gaining competitive advantage.

Getting IT Together

Readers weigh in on their utilization of and satisfaction with their business technology systems, the business objectives driving technology investment, ease of integration, and more.

New Governance Rating Services: How Does Your Company Score?

Most companies are paying scant attention to reports about the quality of their governance practices. But that may soon change as investor and regulator interest rises.

Internal Audit in Flux

The internal audit landscape may never be the same — and the picture is looking very different from one company to the next.

Sourcing Goes Strategic

The outsourcing of business processes, particularly in finance and accounting, is moving to a higher level, requiring greater attention to the tactics of sourcing management.

Patently Correct IP Risk Management

Companies that concentrate all of their intellectual asset management efforts on protecting patents from infringement ignore much more costly threats connected to their intellectual property portfolios. The greatest risk is not having an IP management strategy in place – an omission that can lead to loss of market share.