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.
Supply-chain executives believe digitally enabled customers in the future will be willing to pay for value-added services rather than demanding the lowest prices, according to a recent survey. That may force supply chains to become more agile as complexity is pushed upstream.
Domestic manufacturing has gone through a rebound in the past four years, but structural changes that go way beyond rising labour costs in China may be able to sustain a revival of US manufacturing, a PwC analysis suggests.
US public company board members surveyed by BDO opposed mandatory audit firm rotation by more than 2 to 1. In the wide-ranging survey, board members showed support for the idea of voluntary adoption of IFRS for financial reporting by US public companies and listed corruption and bribery as the top fraud risk facing their company.
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.
Pay for CFOs of S&P 500 companies rose nearly 6% in 2011, and numbers compiled by Mercer show a continued shift to more variable compensation. CFOs received a median $2.75 million in 2011, and those at the top 100 made an average of $4.34 million.
How can a hurricane affect internal control over a company’s financial statements? Proposed documents released by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) provide real-world examples, as well as a revision of COSO’s internal control framework update.
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released for public comment proposed guidance for applying its updated Internal Control—Integrated Framework to external financial reporting.
Large gas and oil reserves are attracting foreign investment and trade to Latin America, but the hydrocarbon riches harbour risks for foreign investors and governments in the region.
The number and complexity of cyber-attacks, especially those targeting mobile devices, grew at an alarming pace in the second quarter, security technology company McAfee Labs said in its latest Threats Report.
For Marks & Spencer, the iconic British retailer, listening to customers is key growth. Alan Stewart, M&S's CFO, discusses responding to customer needs, understanding risk, leveraging internal communications and assessing what technology can bring to the business.
Although shareholders are voicing their frustrations by registering disapproval of executive compensation packages, business leaders believe shareholders ought to have more say in top execs’ pay. There is considerable support for linking public company executives’ pay to performance.
Change apparently is coming to the auditor’s report, but views vary over the appropriate content and structure for reports, and particularly over the issue of “auditor commentary.”
