Light at the End of the Wallet

For the better part of three years, CFOs have consistently cited consumer demand (or lack thereof) as among their top concerns, if not their number-one worry. But a new report from CFO Research Services, in collaboration with KPMG, finds that there may be reason for optimism.In a survey of nearly...

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 1, 2011

The Great Divide

It turns out that the remedy to the global economic downturn comes in two strengths: a less-potent recovery for mature economies (the United States and most of Europe) and an extra-strength version for emerging markets (including India, Hong Kong, and Argentina). A new study from CFO Research Ser...

By Josh Hyatt • June 1, 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

Measured Response

In the mid-1990s, labor economist Laurie Bassi began to notice a strong correlation between public companies’ stock prices and how much they invested in training-and-development programs. On average, the more a firm invested in training in a given year, the higher its stock went the following yea...

By David McCann • June 1, 2011

Going Global

From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to political uprisings in Africa and the Middle East to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe, a seemingly unending series of dramatic global events has captured headlines in recent months. Many U.S. businesses have been directly affected by supply-c...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 1, 2011

Going Global

From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to political uprisings in Africa and the Middle East to the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe, a seemingly unending series of dramatic global events has captured headlines in recent months. Many U.S. businesses have been directly affected by supply-c...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 1, 2011

The Great Divide

It turns out that the remedy to the global economic downturn comes in two strengths: a less-potent recovery for mature economies (the United States and most of Europe) and an extra-strength version for emerging markets (including India, Hong Kong, and Argentina). A new study from CFO Research Ser...

By Josh Hyatt • June 1, 2011

Feeling the Pain

With oil prices averaging nearly $4 per gallon (as of late May) and gas prices reaching all-time highs in some parts of the country, finance chiefs are once again struggling to find ways to keep their energy and materials costs down. But the weak economy — and their companies’ relatively lean cos...

By Marielle Segarra • June 1, 2011

Back on the Map

Ian Curley, CFO of Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa Group, has it better than most of his peers. Like many of the other companies in the ISEQ 20 — the Irish Stock Exchange’s benchmark index — SKG, a $9.3 billion packaging firm, has managed to survive Ireland’s economic meltdown by outgrowing its home m...

By Janet Kersnar • June 1, 2011

A Two-Track World

The U.S. economy continues to bump along unsteadily, and the eurozone countries are grappling with ongoing debt crises. Japan, already stymied by years of economic stagnation, has been sidelined by a natural disaster. Yet, while these developed markets struggle, opportunities abound in the develo...

By Kate O'Sullivan • May 27, 2011

A Two-Track World

The U.S. economy continues to bump along unsteadily, and the eurozone countries are grappling with ongoing debt crises. Japan, already stymied by years of economic stagnation, has been sidelined by a natural disaster. Yet, while these developed markets struggle, opportunities abound in the develo...

By Kate O'Sullivan • May 27, 2011

Venture-Capital Returns Rebound

One day after LinkedIn’s smashing debut on the New York Stock Exchange, which left the social-networking company with a market value of $8.9 billion, venture capitalists are practically jumping up and down in hopes that one of their investments might be next to have a big payday. Initially valued...

By Alix Stuart • May 20, 2011

Socially Challenged

Social media strategies are rapidly gaining favor in Corporate America. Platforms like Facebook, blogs, and community Websites play an increasingly important role in a variety of functions ranging from marketing to customer support.Yet there’s a considerable gap in social media use between big co...

By Alix Stuart • May 19, 2011

Socially Challenged

Social media strategies are rapidly gaining favor in Corporate America. Platforms like Facebook, blogs, and community Websites play an increasingly important role in a variety of functions ranging from marketing to customer support.Yet there’s a considerable gap in social media use between big co...

By Alix Stuart • May 19, 2011

Does Growth Require Cash?

Chuck Mulford dates the birth of his brainchild, a just-launched metric he calls the Free Cash Profile, to a conversation he had about 20 years ago with the chief executive officer of a very small company called Information Resource Engineering. Mulford, a Georgia Tech accounting professor whose ...

By David Katz • May 18, 2011

5 Tips for Talking to Investors

A young company looking for outside funding won’t get very far without a well-crafted pitch. And pitching to investors doesn’t just mean showing them a raft of numbers; it also requires skillful storytelling. “The biggest challenge is distilling [the pitch] down to something that’s irresistibly c...

By Marielle Segarra • May 13, 2011

Bottom-Lining the Buzz

Add yet another metric to your watch list. A company’s daily tally of Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and YouTube views could predict its stock performance, according to preliminary research.Arthur O’Connor, a Pace University doctoral student, recently compared the popularity of three major bra...

By Sarah Johnson • May 1, 2011

Sustainable Gain?

The recession has derailed many once-popular business trends, and you might think that high on that list would be “sustainability.” After all, it’s hard to even define it, let alone spell out a clear business case for funding it. But a new study by MIT’s Sloan Management Review, in conjunction wi...

By CFO Editorial Staff • May 1, 2011

States Show Their Claws

In 2009, CFO Mark Poncin found himself in a situation many CFOs now face. Three years earlier, his company, boat-builder Chris-Craft Corp., struck a deal with North Carolina. If Chris-Craft created a certain number of jobs over the course of the year, the state would grant it more than $50,000. I...

By Marielle Segarra • May 1, 2011

Bottom-Lining the Buzz

Add yet another metric to your watch list. A company’s daily tally of Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and YouTube views could predict its stock performance, according to preliminary research.Arthur O’Connor, a Pace University doctoral student, recently compared the popularity of three major bra...

By Sarah Johnson • May 1, 2011

Bye-Bye Budgets?

“Budgets aren’t what they used to be,” one CFO told us for this month’s cover story. At a growing number of companies, in fact, budgets have ceased to be at all.Consider it the recession’s silver lining: the same volatility that has made running a business so challenging over the past three years...

By Scott Leibs • May 1, 2011

Let It Roll

It is a staple of financial advice, regularly offered by everyone from Suze Orman to your parents: if you want to keep your finances on track, make a budget and stick to it. After all, that’s what big companies do, right?Not necessarily. For a growing number of businesses, that pearl of fiscal wi...

By Russ Banham • May 1, 2011

Are You Reinvesting Enough?

Faced with new, desirable investment opportunities, the CFO of a client company of ours recently chose not to cut her substantial share-repurchase program to fund the investments. Instead, she decided to finance the new outlay by slashing investments in two other businesses, both of which were gr...

By Gregory V. Milano • May 1, 2011

States Show Their Claws

In 2009, CFO Mark Poncin found himself in a situation many CFOs now face. Three years earlier, his company, boat-builder Chris-Craft Corp., struck a deal with North Carolina. If Chris-Craft created a certain number of jobs over the course of the year, the state would grant it more than $50,000. I...

By Marielle Segarra • May 1, 2011

Bye-Bye Budgets?

“Budgets aren’t what they used to be,” one CFO told us for this month’s cover story. At a growing number of companies, in fact, budgets have ceased to be at all.Consider it the recession’s silver lining: the same volatility that has made running a business so challenging over the past three years...

By Scott Leibs • May 1, 2011

Too Big to Succeed?

In economics classes, students typically learn that a company can drive down its average cost of production by expanding. The ability to spread fixed cost across a larger base of business is supposed to result in better financial performance. We often hear companies wax eloquently about such bene...

By Gregory V. Milano • April 29, 2011