Good Advice: Start an Advisory Board

As optimism about the economy grows, companies are beginning to hire again. Some firms, however, are acquiring expertise in a less direct way: through advisory boards.Advisory boards are separate from boards of directors and generally don’t have legal obligations. They are particularly popular at...

By Alix Stuart • March 8, 2011

Good Advice: Start an Advisory Board

As optimism about the economy grows, companies are beginning to hire again. Some firms, however, are acquiring expertise in a less direct way: through advisory boards.Advisory boards are separate from boards of directors and generally don’t have legal obligations. They are particularly popular at...

By Alix Stuart • March 8, 2011

Explore the Trendline➔

Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

Going Deep

With job creation now the top priority for the Obama Administration (last month the President even paid a visit to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has reached often into its deep pockets to oppose him on just about everything, to make a plea for job creation), we could think of no better topi...

By Scott Leibs • March 1, 2011

Small Biz to Congress: Deep-Six the 1099 Expansion

The expansion of Form 1099 reporting requirements that lawmakers buried in the health-care reform bill has caused no shortage of anxiety among business owners and executives, many of whom already feel buried in paperwork. Following the Senate’s vote last week to repeal the measure and President O...

By Alix Stuart • Feb. 11, 2011

Small Biz to Congress: Deep-Six the 1099 Expansion

The expansion of Form 1099 reporting requirements that lawmakers buried in the health-care reform bill has caused no shortage of anxiety among business owners and executives, many of whom already feel buried in paperwork. Following the Senate’s vote last week to repeal the measure and President O...

By Alix Stuart • Feb. 11, 2011

Finance’s Expanding Borders

If you’re a CFO at a small or midsize company and your role hasn’t expanded in the past two years, you might want to think twice.A recent survey by Accenture of more than 1,000 CFOs at companies of all sizes found that the vast majority of them — more than 80% — have been asked to take on new res...

By Alix Stuart • Feb. 7, 2011

Finance’s Expanding Borders

If you’re a CFO at a small or midsize company and your role hasn’t expanded in the past two years, you might want to think twice.A recent survey by Accenture of more than 1,000 CFOs at companies of all sizes found that the vast majority of them — more than 80% — have been asked to take on new res...

By Alix Stuart • Feb. 7, 2011

Forget What You Think You Know

Finance chiefs, by their nature, rarely need to be reminded that, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” But with domestic demand sluggish at best, many are looking to overseas markets for growth, and there is a marked tendency to put on rose-colored glasses when doing so.Of course, ...

By Janet Kersnar • Feb. 1, 2011

Forget What You Think You Know

Finance chiefs, by their nature, rarely need to be reminded that, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” But with domestic demand sluggish at best, many are looking to overseas markets for growth, and there is a marked tendency to put on rose-colored glasses when doing so.Of course, ...

By Janet Kersnar • Feb. 1, 2011

Back in Business

Finance chiefs are welcoming 2011 with plans to loosen their purse strings and hire new workers, while also expressing more optimism than they have in many months.Nearly 50% of CFOs are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were last quarter, while just 14% are less optimistic, accordi...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Feb. 1, 2011

Tweedie Takes a Bow

In June, Sir David Tweedie will retire as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, a position he has held since the organization’s inception 10 years ago. We recently asked him about the future of accounting.Some critics grumble that if the United States does not adopt IFRS, it s...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 1, 2011

Back in Business

Finance chiefs are welcoming 2011 with plans to loosen their purse strings and hire new workers, while also expressing more optimism than they have in many months.Nearly 50% of CFOs are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were last quarter, while just 14% are less optimistic, accordi...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Feb. 1, 2011

Let the Good Times Crawl

Let’s kick off 2011 by admitting that the phrase “cautious optimism” has become redundant. The only form of optimism on display anywhere in the business world these days is the cautious kind, and that is very unlikely to change over the next 12 months.But optimism, however tempered and qualified ...

By Scott Leibs • Feb. 1, 2011

For This CFO, Nine Gigs Are Better Than One

If variety is the spice of life, it explains why Tom Kelly is so happy in his work.After spending the early years of his career as a Peat Marwick accountant and a finance executive at Pepsico, the famed CFO factory, Kelly landed finance-chief spots at several companies — large and small, public a...

By David McCann • Jan. 28, 2011

Credit Still Scarce for Small Companies

The relationships between small businesses and their banks continued to be tense in 2010, according to Greenwich Associates’s annual survey of banking experiences for companies in the $1 million to $10 million revenue range. Overall satisfaction levels were down across the board, in large part be...

By Alix Stuart • Jan. 27, 2011

Want Preventive Care? Join the Club

Small businesses that don’t provide health insurance for employees may be able to help them stay healthy anyway — by telling them to join Sam’s Club.This month the members-only retailer launched its new Prevention Plan, a personalized online health-management program. Available only to Sam’s Club...

By David McCann • Jan. 19, 2011

Want Preventive Care? Join the Club

Small businesses that don’t provide health insurance for employees may be able to help them stay healthy anyway — by telling them to join Sam’s Club.This month the members-only retailer launched its new Prevention Plan, a personalized online health-management program. Available only to Sam’s Club...

By David McCann • Jan. 19, 2011

Late to the Party: Small Biz

Weak sales are continuing to keep small businesses cautious, according to a monthly barometer of small-business optimism.Based on a survey of business owners done in December, the index released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) shows that the moderate recovery being...

By Sarah Johnson • Jan. 11, 2011

Best of 2010: Budgeting and Planning

Budgeting and planning continued to challenge CFOs and their finance teams in 2010. Although revenue stabilized at many companies, worries about demand and when (or whether) it would return to prerecession levels plagued finance chiefs all year. Many finance chiefs sought new ways to get better d...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Jan. 4, 2011

Best of 2010: Budgeting and Planning

Budgeting and planning continued to challenge CFOs and their finance teams in 2010. Although revenue stabilized at many companies, worries about demand and when (or whether) it would return to prerecession levels plagued finance chiefs all year. Many finance chiefs sought new ways to get better d...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Jan. 4, 2011

Best of 2010: Risk Management

Risk came at CFOs from seemingly every corner in 2010. Two major global brands faced reputational disasters, as Toyota’s safety problems and BP’s record-breaking oil spill grabbed headlines. The unstable global economy made news throughout the year, prompting finance chiefs to evaluate their curr...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Dec. 30, 2010

CFO Outlook: Onward and Upward

Finance chiefs are more optimistic than they were last quarter and plan to increase their spending in 2011, according to the latest Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey. The survey, which polled 848 finance executives worldwide and concluded December 10, finds nearly 50% of...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Dec. 14, 2010

CFO Outlook: Onward and Upward

Finance chiefs are more optimistic than they were last quarter and plan to increase their spending in 2011, according to the latest Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey. The survey, which polled 848 finance executives worldwide and concluded December 10, finds nearly 50% of...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Dec. 14, 2010

NetSuite’s Vertical Leap

When NetSuite went into business in 1998 as NetLedger, it sold a software-as-a-service product that competed with Intuit’s QuickBooks, the ubiquitous small-business accounting tool. Over the years, the company added inventory management and CRM tools, attracting ever-larger customers in the proce...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Dec. 8, 2010

NetSuite’s Vertical Leap

When NetSuite went into business in 1998 as NetLedger, it sold a software-as-a-service product that competed with Intuit’s QuickBooks, the ubiquitous small-business accounting tool. Over the years, the company added inventory management and CRM tools, attracting ever-larger customers in the proce...

By Kate O'Sullivan • Dec. 8, 2010