CFO optimism remains low worldwide, dampening expectations for 2012 in many countries. CFOs in Europe and the Middle East feel the most pessimistic as they brace for fallout from sovereign debt troubles in the euro zone, social upheaval in the Middle East and dwindling global demand, surveys showed. CFOs in the US, meanwhile, expect some revenue growth.
Optimism for the US economy among CPA financial executives in the United States rose in the first quarter of 2012 over the previous quarter, according to results of the latest “AICPA Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey”. Despite the improved outlook, though, just 14% of CPA decision-makers said they expect to hire in the short term.
Four upcoming reports will offer glimpses of how much the global economic slowdown and the continued euro-zone debt troubles are affecting economies in EU countries.
Seventy-seven percent of senior finance professionals participating in a recent survey said they have gained greater responsibility for IT purchasing decisions in the last two years.
Good risk management goes beyond keeping the company out of trouble, a new study on risk investment levels suggests. Companies that did it best reported three times EBITDA than those that just did basic risk management.
China on Monday is expected to offer an economic forecast for 2012 – an outlook that could be affected by the debt crisis in the EU, which is expected to release gross domestic product (GDP) data on Tuesday. On Thursday, the AICPA releases its first-quarter US “Economic Outlook Survey”. On Friday, the US releases unemployment data.
A survey of North American corporate financial professionals pinpointed financial risks as the primary driver of earnings uncertainty. Regulatory changes, natural catastrophes and the ups and downs of the economy were also troubling.
We asked Albert Birck, the head of performance management for Maersk Oil, and Roger Blanken, CPA, the vice president of finance – supply chain, for International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), to explain how technology, better planning, and communication about performance can unlock hidden potential.
A year after moving from London to New York, Gillian Tett, US managing editor of the Financial Times, contrasts the two financial centres’ responses to the global downturn – and prospects for the future.
A visit to Washington by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, reports on the ailing European economy, and figures on US retail sales, homebuilding and jobless claims will be atop the economic news agenda in the coming week.
Economists will get a better sense of where the global economy is headed when reports on European interest rates, international trade and the US labour market are released next week.
As their best-known creation turns 20, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, the founding fathers of the world’s most powerful performance management tool, survey the horizon and offer five key steps for maximising the Balanced Scorecard.
Corporate failure is normally a reflection of deep-seated corporate shortcomings, according to a report by the Cass Business School in London and published by Airmic, the risk management association. Paul Hopkin, Airmic’s technical director, discusses the implications.
Shared services are no longer solely the preserve of large organisations. So what are the benefits for midsize businesses, and how can they manage a successful transition to shared services? Shared service centres rose to prominence in the early 1990s, when far-flung companies decided to end back-office duplication. Instead of
What does “sustainability” mean in practice to finance chiefs in the US and Europe? CGMA Magazine asked the CFOs of iconic furniture maker Herman Miller, shipping giant UPS, infrastructure builder Balfour Beatty, technology group ABB and power supplier EDF Energy to explain the bottom-line benefits of their sustainability strategies.
A new study finds that a coalition of nations in west and central Africa has accelerated the pace of business reform, making it easier for entrepreneurs to operate there.
The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working together to reduce differences in their respective classification and measurement models for financial instruments.
