Standout Stories
CFO Square-Off on human capital… The cover story for the November 2011 edition of CFO magazine, “Power from the People,” introduced a topic that had been discussed among human capital experts for some time but had been the subject of little media coverage. The discussion was about whether investors and other stakeholders would benefit if publicly held companies reported more information about their work forces.
Human capital “disclosure” had been mostly limited to executive compensation data, executive succession plans, and perhaps a headcount total. If people were indeed a company’s “most important asset,” as so many executives said, shouldn’t investors have more information about them? Read article.
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Serious emerging-market risk… In Azerbaijan, part of the former Soviet Republic, the plunge in oil and gas prices has the government raiding its sovereign wealth fund to make up a budget deficit. The nation’s currency, the manat, is worth about 61 cents (U.S.) down from $1.27 just one year ago. To stanch the bleeding, Azerbaijan has imposed a 20% tax on any transaction that takes money out of the country.
If there is anything that’s worse for multinationals than having to write down foreign assets or take a 3% hit to earnings because of unfavorable exchange rates, it’s capital controls — government measures to restrict the movement of money. Read article.
Headlines
Oracle Beats Q3 Estimates, Shows Cloud Growth
Oracle’s total cloud revenue in the quarter ended Feb. 29 rose 40% to $735 million.
Should Companies Expand Human Capital Disclosure?
Four viewpoints in a debate that won’t quit.
Human Capital Disclosure Is ‘Unambiguously a Good Thing’
It’s crazy to report a company’s “most important assets” as nothing more than costs.
Caution: Human Capital Reporting Zone
Thorny issues muddy the outlook for companies to expand what they publicly report about their workforce.
SunEdison Again Delays Filing of Annual Report
The renewable energy firm cited “material weaknesses” in its accounting caused primarily by “deficient information technology controls.”
Material World: Human Capital Disclosure Matters
It’s really quite simple: Because human capital is material to a company’s success, much information about people should be disclosed.
The Risks, Rewards, and Fallacies about Human Capital Reporting
The quality level of the most important human capital — the executive kind — can’t be quantified.
U.S. Industrial Output Falls 0.5% in February
The larger-than-expected decline reflects sharp drops in the mining and utilities sector that outweighed an increase in manufacturing.
The Most Serious Emerging-Market Risk
Currency volatility is an annoyance, but it’s when governments institute capital controls that multinationals really have a problem.
U.S. Man Accused of Jamaican Bridge Loan Scam
The former chairman of a Jamaican call center company allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme that raised $10 million from at least 21 investors.
LivingSocial Lays Off 280 in Shift From Daily Deals
The company is investing in a new, card-linked product as it evolves from its money-losing, voucher-based model.
Sports Authority Sues Dozens of Suppliers
The suits seek to resolve a dispute between the insolvent retailer and its consignment vendors over $85 million worth of goods on its shelves.
Crime Watch
Think you know where and in what form economic crime is occurring? Take our quiz.
Reversing the Aging Process
When it comes to capital investment in plant, property, and equipment, age is more than just a state of mind.
Cashing In on Insight
A recent report from CFO Research documents the value that faster, more accurate cash reporting and forecasting has for growth ambitions.
The Digital CFO
From ERP systems to smartphone apps, information technology is reshaping the role of the chief financial officer.
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