Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to access the qualified executive expertise needed for an organization to perform at a consistently high level. There are professional service providers in virtually all areas of executive purview including financial services, human resources, marketing, strategic planning, special project implementation, information technology and more. When...
Along with after-tax profits and EBITDA, revenue is among the most critical measures of a company’s health and growth potential. Therefore, when changes take place in rules governing accounting for revenue, it is a highly significant event. Hence, the importance of the new revenue recognition exposure draft. That is...
Pay policy plays a significant role in helping firms achieve organizational excellence. A carefully designed, well executed incentive compensation program will enable a company to attract, motivate and reward top-notch employees; sustain a creative, performance-driven work environment; and support behaviors that align with the organization’s business objectives, marketing goals and overall...
Proactive engagement in sell-side due diligence prior to a merger or acquisition is a step often neglected by companies contemplating an approach to the market. While acquiring companies will do their own due diligence, an acquisition candidate that commits to its own comprehensive discovery process will be better equipped to identify...
At most organizations, expense reporting has always been a frustrating, time-consuming and costly function for all concerned. Employees tend to dislike keeping track of and accounting for all the major and minor expenditures that they make when taking a business trip; attending a seminar, convention or conference; or simply...
As the financial leader of an organization, the CFO formulates financial direction and oversees multiple departments that execute on initiatives in support of that direction. The CFO’s position often encompasses several roles: financial strategist, financial steward, manager of the firm’s financial operating model, and financial catalyst. CFOs looking to excel...
There are two primary types of financial leadership within top organizations: the CFO and the controller. Many growing organizations do not have a clear understanding of the two positions, often overlooking the value that a CFO could bring to their business. To determine what level of financial leadership an organization...
It is a CFO’s responsibility to make sure the company can pay its obligations, achieve its business goals and fund its growth objectives. This calls for planning, analysis and solid cash flow forecasting. A cash flow forecast, or cash flow projection, forms the basis of a firm’s near-term financial processes as...
If your next audit were a stock you held, how would you characterize the return you’d like to see? You might say high RO(A)I—Return on Audit Investment—would include an accurate presentation that is in full compliance, completion in a timely manner, and fees that are fair and in line...
“I consider the ability to reinvent to be the core strength of all successful business people or institutions,” Stephen M. Ross, chairman of The Related Companies, told a recent graduating class at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Ross knows what he’s talking about. He built The...