FASB to Look at Pension Accounting

In a meeting next week, members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are expected to begin crafting a plan for improving corporate pension-plan disclosure under FAS 87.According to Dow Jones Business Wire, the standards-setting body will reportedly discuss whether companies should b...

By Jennifer Caplan • April 11, 2003

Fashion Accessory: Gap Promotes Old Navy CFO

Gap Inc. is continuing its management shakeup. Yesterday, Lee Bird was promoted to COO of the Gap’s domestic division. Bird was previously CFO of Gap’s Old Navy division.Patti Johnson is succeeding Bird as finance chief at Old Navy.Bird joined the apparel retailer in April 2001 as finance chief f...

By Lisa Yoon • April 9, 2003

CFOs Dodging Train-wreck Economy

In his Monday column, New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert addressed the brutal job market, quoting one out-of-work executive as calling the scene “the bleakest employment picture I’ve ever seen.” That view was echoed by several executive recruiters also cited in Herbert’s piece.But as the ...

By Lisa Yoon • April 8, 2003

The Enterprise Incident

At first blush, it sounds like a classic David-and-Goliath match.A former controller sues his ex-employer, a corporate giant, for wrongful termination. He wants $5 million in damages including damage to his reputation and loss of employment prospects. But when that controller is described by nume...

By Lisa Yoon • April 7, 2003

Twist: CFO Sues SEC

Apparently, finance officers dismissed under dubious circumstances don’t always go gentle into that good night.In recent cases, several former CFOs have resigned after SEC investigations implicated them in accounting scandals. Exhibit A: HealthSouth’s Weston Smith, who quit his job after reported...

By Lisa Yoon • April 3, 2003

Survey: Pension Plans Way Underfunded

Listen — it’s that great sucking sound.No, it’s not the noise of jobs going south of the border. It’s the gurgling of the amount of cash previously used to fund corporate pension plans.Indeed, fully funding a corporate pension plan seems to have rapidly become passé among corporate managers. In f...

By David Katz • April 2, 2003

HR Important — But Who Measures?

CFOs listed human-resources issues as one of their top concerns in a study released Tuesday by Accenture.But while finance chiefs say they’re willing to pony up the money for workforce development, the survey found that many fail to measure the effects of such programs on the bottom line.The stud...

By Lisa Yoon • April 2, 2003

Down with the Ship

As the sole possessor of rights to salvage the Titanic’s treasures, OTC-traded RMS Titanic Inc. had hoped to make its fortunes by exploiting those of the legendary wreck. Today, though, the company’s executives, including CFO Gerald Couture, are wishing they hadn’t gone public so fast.“Everyone h...

By Alix Stuart • April 1, 2003

The New You: Grooming a Replacement

Most CFOs know that their job, like life itself, is somewhat tenuous. They could get a great job offer from another company, be hit with a dire family emergency, or find themselves tapped as CEO tomorrow — all eventualities that focus attention on the need for succession planning today. While mos...

By Lori Calabro • April 1, 2003

The Case Against Cases

When an accounting scandal felled Enron Corp., it turned many MBA cases featuring the erstwhile high-flier into scrap paper. “For the most part,” says accounting professor John Shank, who is affiliated with both Babson College and Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School, “you can’t use those cases n...

By Roy Harris • April 1, 2003

Take Your Pick

The interactive Web version of this year’s buyer’s guide includes two feature articles by assistant managing editor David Katz; an extensive guide to 401(k) providers (the second half of which will be published in May); a directory of useful resources on the Web; and a library of articles on 401(...

By Dave Cook • April 1, 2003

You’re Getting Jobbed by Your Search Firm

About two years ago, Melissa Halpert got an unexpected phone call from a well-known executive placement firm.At the time, Halpert, managing director at New York City-based investment firm Providence Capital, was looking to find a director for one of the companies in the firm’s portfolio. Providen...

By Marie Leone • April 1, 2003

The Dealings of Madame X

Let’s look in on a business lunch with an imaginary CFO, who we’ll refer to simply as “X.”In the normal course of events, X has lunch with one of her company’s bankers, as she has several times before. On several previous occasions, she has asked the banker about a new loan for X’s company, and t...

By David Katz • April 1, 2003

Retirement Rage

For at least another few weeks, Ellen Vinck will be worrying.The vice president of risk management and benefits for United States Marine Repair blames the 22-day blackout of the company’s 401(k) plan. Until April 17, when plan participants are scheduled to regain access to their accounts, worst-c...

By David Katz • April 1, 2003

Revenge of a Pension Fund

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), the nation’s largest pension fund, added six companies to its corporate governance focus list. These businesses will be on the receiving end of recommendations from Calpers’ during the upcoming proxy season.The hit-list includes Xerox,...

By Stephen Taub • March 28, 2003

The First Girl Scout

The next time you pass a Girl Scout selling cookies, take notice. That pint-sized sales agent may be a future CFO.As merit-badge laden Girl Scouts around the country celebrate March as Women’s History Month, women finance chiefs are in the spotlight.For this year’s Celebration Luncheon, Girls Inc...

By Lisa Yoon • March 27, 2003

Insecurities About Job Security

As the economy continues to flounder, more executives worry about job security.That’s one of the main findings of a recent survey conducted by executive-career resource ExecuNet. A startling 68 percent of the 1,185 executives surveyed express concern about retaining their current job, mostly for ...

By Lisa Yoon • March 26, 2003

Sarbanes-Oxley Increases Risks, Costs

Finance department chiefs are stepping up Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance activity throughout their organization. But, according to a new survey, many say they feel like they’re just going through motions.In the latest Management Barometer survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), rel...

By Lisa Yoon • March 25, 2003

CIOs Stunted by CFOs, says Tech Heavyweight

Call it Revenge of the Nerds, Part II.Despite the dot-com bust, many chief information officers say technology has never been more important to business. In fact, one well-respected IT expert insists that tech managers would play a larger role in corporate decision-making — if not for the meddlin...

By Lisa Yoon • March 24, 2003

Why Did the Pension Sponsor Cross the Road?

Relatively few large pension plan sponsors bundle outsourcing with actuarial services, according to a recent analysis of the Fortune 100 by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Among the 100 companies, 84 sponsor a defined benefit plan, but only 18 plan sponsors obtain outsourcing services from the same firm ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 21, 2003

Survey: Venture CEOs Making Out Just Fine

Recession? What recession?It seems the stalled economy and the stock-market bust aren’t cutting into executives’ paychecks — at least, not at venture-backed startups.According to the latest executive-compensation survey from VentureOne, a VC research group, executives at venture-backed companies ...

By Lisa Yoon • March 20, 2003

March Madness Maddening to Employers

That basketball pool currently circulating around your office might be more expensive than you think.According to a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, U.S. businesses lose about $1.4 billion each year in worker productivity because of the NCAA basketball tournament.How...

By Lisa Yoon • March 19, 2003

Businesses Slashing Medical Benefits

In case you’re still not convinced that health care is the next great corporate crisis, read on.According to a nationwide survey of 600 large and small businesses, 92 percent say they are likely to increase the amount their employees pay for health-insurance premiums next year.The study was part ...

By Stephen Taub • March 18, 2003

Buffett: Restore Investor Confidence the Old-Fashioned Way

Billionaire investor, and Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, says that companies will continue to be saddled with bad reputations as long as executive compensation rises as company share prices fall.“What really gets the public are CEOs that get very rich, and stay very rich [whi...

By Lisa Yoon • March 18, 2003

Desk Be Not Proud

It’s telling that corporate employees, lauded as “stakeholders,” “clients,” “team members,” or what have you in certain contexts, are simply — one might say disparagingly — labeled “users” by IT folks. But, to paraphrase George Bailey, these rabble that pester the help desks do most of the workin...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 17, 2003