The decision to set up a shared service centre should not be motivated by lowering costs, according to one of the creators of the Balanced Scorecard. Robert S. Kaplan says business units should always question why they want to provide a service internally rather than using external suppliers before making a decision on a shared service centre.
When it comes to corporate boards, CFOs increasingly are in demand for their financial and strategic expertise. The benefits of serving in those positions include gaining general management or board knowledge, and gaining exposure to different companies or industries, according to a new report.
Harvard Professor and Balanced Scorecard co-founder Robert Kaplan has applied his performance measurement expertise to the US healthcare system. See what problems he has found and what solutions he recommends.
Core accounting remains a requirement in business, but as those duties are handled more and more by outsourced work, companies are seeking more strategic analysis from the finance department.
US finance executives who are worried about the fiscal cliff and long-term federal government deficits are not optimistic that the upcoming election will improve business conditions.
Cyclical reporting burdens are preventing finance teams from taking on a broader, strategic role. British Gas financial controller Chris Ling shares career insights on how finance professionals must overcome capacity, mandate and skills barriers in order to broaden their roles.
Corporate reports should be driven by proactive integrated thinking and decision-making rather than compliance requirements – a change from today’s corporate reporting regimes that produce reams of reactive information with limited value, according to experts who gathered in Amsterdam for the one-year celebration of the IIRC’s Integrated Reporting Pilot Programme.
The idea of being able to outsource all or part of the treasury management function is an attractive proposition to CFOs. But it only makes sense if the outsourcing partnership is well planned. Experts offer tips on how to best execute the process.
Unknown, complex risks that often are outside the executive team’s control increasingly threaten companies. Here are five strategies for battling those unknown risks.
CFOs in the Middle East were the most optimistic about their companies’ prospects worldwide, but this optimism was muted by concerns about political tensions in the Middle East and the euro-zone crisis, a Deloitte survey suggested.
After about a decade of outpacing advanced economies, BRIC economies are seeing their growth slow. Deloitte’s most recent global economic outlook largely blames the euro-zone debt crisis but also on domestic challenges in some of the BRICs.
Finance professionals recognise the need to shift the emphasis in how they spend their time toward providing management information and decision support to business managers. They also recognise that they need to develop the ability to contribute commercial insight or managerial skills. These enhanced skills are necessary to help them succeed in their careers and to help their employers’ businesses succeed, according to a new CGMA report.
This decade, Asian companies are projected to expand rapidly across the globe. A poll of more than 600 business executives in East and Southeast Asia provides clues about their business growth strategies and how they plan to face potential growing pains along the way.
Although the release of a long-awaited US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff report discussing IFRS adoption is imminent, uncertainty over the issue appears certain to linger.
The need to measure and manage the human dimension has never been greater if companies are to achieve sustainable success. That was the clear imperative acknowledged by CEOs in the report that marked the launch of the CGMA, Rebooting business: Valuing the human dimension. In addition to surveying 280 CEOs
While enduring a difficult economy and increased regulation, banking executives are re-examining their operating models in hopes of stimulating growth.
Three senior finance professionals talked with CGMA Magazine about what transparency means to them, and how they aim to improve it at their organisations.
Finance professionals can expect to play a bigger role in sustainability reporting, says Stephen T. Starbuck, CPA, the Americas leader for climate change and sustainability services at Ernst & Young, who offered some tips for the finance team at the AICPA’s International Business Conference in Washington.
The corporate finance professionals who climb the value chain will be interpreters and collaborators able to leverage data as a strategic asset while working across functional areas to solve problems and innovate, according to executives speaking at the American Institute of CPAs’ Council meeting in Washington.
Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Many of its countries have less corruption, are easier to do business with, and are more democratic than several fast-developing nations in Europe and Asia. But dated perceptions still keep many investors away, according to an Ernst & Young report.
