Small and mid-size companies looking for business-friendly markets overseas could check out a World Bank report that tracks regulatory reform efforts in 185 countries. Many of the top improvers are rarely found among up-and-coming economies.
Companies are increasingly turning to internal auditors to identify operational risks, provide business advice and analyse information at the speed of light. With so much on internal auditors’ plates, effective communication can easily be overlooked. Here’s a look at why communication is such a vital tool in an internal auditor’s armoury.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a 120-page guide Wednesday providing a detailed analysis of the agencies’ approach to enforcement of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which is designed to prevent bribery and corruption of foreign officials by companies seeking to gain a competitive business advantage.
Risk management has become an important issue for business because of volatile capital markets, uncertainty over the economy, fears about reputational damage and broader concerns over the sustainability of companies and the environments they affect.
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.
In the past year, CFOs worldwide have become less optimistic about the future success of their companies’ international expansion plans, a survey found. Discover which seven countries best meet their reduced risk appetite.
David Norton, one of the fathers of the widely used Balanced Scorecard, outlines five major challenges performance management systems must overcome to remain effective.
Emerging markets have great potential for rapid growth, but corruption can run rampant. Existing processes exist to identify and mitigate corruption risks, but fewer than 40% of companies doing business in countries most prone to corruption use them well in mergers and acquisitions, with third-party agents or when establishing new operations, research shows.
To establish footholds in emerging markets, companies are sending more and more employees overseas, but many of their global mobility teams are ill-prepared for the financial and compliance risks that accompany such deployments.
The study, which analysed data from 128 countries, quantifies the costs of gender inequality to a country’s economy and scores countries based on the effectiveness of their efforts to empower women.
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released a thought paper, Risk Assessment in Practice, designed to help organisations find the optimal risk-taking zone, which the paper refers to as the “sweet spot.”
Fear of making errors on the job was the most common workplace fear cited by workers in a recent survey. Experts say being averse to errors and mistakes is healthy, as long as fear of failure does not prevent workers from capitalizing on opportunities for innovation.
The likelihood of employees changing jobs in the next six months continues to rise, and the skills of employees frequently do not match job requirements in emerging countries, a new survey shows.
A string of bribery scandals and stricter enforcement of foreign and domestic anti-corruption laws is slowly raising awareness among Australian and New Zealand companies doing business abroad that they are at risk. But many remain in total denial, according to a Deloitte survey.
With the frequency and costs of cyber-attacks on the rise, organisations need to update and upgrade their IT security infrastructure and policies. What do movies and music have to do with that process? The article explores how costly free downloads can be.
With interactions between audit committees and external auditors a focus of a steady stream of news recently, a new tool has been developed to assist audit committees in annual evaluations of external auditors.
Private company business owners are turning to public company-style corporate governance strategies to protect their slim margins in the wake of the financial crisis. And unlike public company executives, private company owners are able to control costs by implementing just the policies that make sense for their businesses.
An American Institute of Certified Public Accountants committee is weighing in on a recent International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) proposal that would require expanded commentary in auditors’ reports.
How should US audit firms and audit committees be talking to each other? The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), affiliated with the American Institute of CPAs, examines the question in a brief guide released Wednesday on ways to enhance the flow of information on audit inspections and quality-control matters.
Companies are overhauling their business strategies to adjust to the rise of emerging markets, new research shows. But demographic trends will add new challenges over the next five to ten years, specifically in talent management.
