CFO.com: White Papers

DETECTING AND PREDICTING ACCOUNTING IRREGULARITIES: A COMPARISON OF COMMERCIAL AND ACADEMIC RISK MEASURES

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:22:00 GMT

Although a substantial body of academic research is devoted to developing and testing risk proxies that detect or predict accounting irregularities, the academic literature has paid little attention to commercially developed risk measures. This is surprising given the general consensus that accruals-based risk proxies in the academic literature are very noisy (McNichols [2000]). We compare the commercially developed AGR risk proxy with proxies from the academic literature to determine which measure best detects and predicts accounting irregularities. We find that AGR outperforms academic risk measures in all head-to-head tests for detecting and most head-to-head tests for predicting Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions (AAERs), egregious accounting restatements, and shareholder lawsuits related to alleged accounting improprieties. Incorporating commercially developed risk proxies into future research may yield interesting insights beyond what academic proxies have provided to date.

Getting focused, Getting ahead: Finance executives on managing leaner organizations equipped for growth--A report prepared in collaboration with American Express

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:30:00 GMT

The late-2000s recession is the deepest and most sustained economic crisis since the Great Depression. This research examines how finance executives at mid-size companies have weathered the downturn and explores their views on how they will manage the finance function and their companies through the recovery. Finance executives anticipate that many of the recent improvements made within the corporate finance function--in particular, improvements in working capital management and cost management--will arm their companies to excel during the recovery.

Delivering Enterprise Value with Oracle Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:03:00 GMT

Organizations spend more money on risk management and compliance than they should, largely due to inefficiency. In a complex and changing business environment, manually managed and fragmented risk and compliance programs can cripple organizations' agility, performance, and competitiveness. Success therefore requires that an organization integrate, build, and support business process with an enterprise view of risk and compliance. Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software can and must deliver value towards this goal.
In this whitepaper, Corporate Integrity's Michael Rasmussen, Risk & Compliance Lecturer, Writer, and Advisor, analyzes how Oracle, as a GRC solutions provider, delivers economic value to its clients.What you will uncover:

- The traps that have led most businesses to become encumbered by risk and compliance activities
- Commonly reported benefits recognized by clients of Oracle's GRC Applications
- Specific and quantifiable cost savings achieved by Oracle GRC users

Managing Sales Incentive Compensation amid Uncertainty--A report prepared in collaboration with Varicent

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:39:00 GMT

In this study among senior finance executives at large companies, we found that many companies aspire to encourage sophisticated sales behaviors using complex sales incentive compensation plans. But complicated sales compensation plans can contribute to higher administrative costs, increased risk of error--and uncertain outcomes. Survey respondents suggest that better use of technology can help resolve this dilemma, and offer advice to their peers who hope to improve sales incentive compensation management at their companies.

Tax Administration Without Borders

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:55:00 GMT

Tax policy and tax administration are undergoing monumental changes, with more on the horizon. How are businesses being affected, and what does this mean for you? This report highlights the forces that have been driving unprecedented change in the global tax landscape and the impact that resulting increases in tax controversy and risk management are having on companies.

Taxing Board Discussions? A Framework For Action

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:40:00 GMT

More and more, a trend toward greater board focus on tax issues is prevailing. As tax is elevated on the board agenda, CFOs and their finance organizations increasingly will be asked to engage in substantive conversations with their boards on taxes. CFOs are encouraged to team with their tax executives in fulfilling the important role of communicating the company's process for identifying, assessing, and accounting for uncertain tax positions to boards. Focusing on four areas - rate, risk, resources, and reward - can provide a useful framework for tax executives and CFOs to organize discussions around tax matters with the board. To learn more, read the attached paper.

Risk Management The Best Approach For Profit Retention

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:38:00 GMT

Risk management is an important element of corporate life because almost every effort contains elements of uncertainty, i.e., varying amounts of funding, changes in contract delivery date(s), changes in technical requirements, increases/decreases in staffing or quantity. Risk management should be thought of as an independent function distinct from other functions and mandated by the executive team.

Advice From The Trenches: How Running A Global Organization In The Cloud Delivers Real Benefits To The CFO

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:31:00 GMT

At the CFO Rising West event last year, Intacct CFO Marc Linden spoke to his peers about how Cloud applications have simplified and streamlined his organization. Joining Mr. Linden was Adrienne Uy, Corporate Controller at 3TIER who spoke about her organization's decision to move to the cloud. Download the "Advice from the Trenches," and you'll learn:

- How the cloud helped 3Tier reduce their close by 5 days, simplify their business operations, reduce IT costs and gain real-time business visibility.
- The top 4 questions you should be asking any SaaS vendor to determine whether you're making the right choice for your company.
- The one key consideration you should always remember, so you can leverage your financial investment.

New Methods To Optimize Sku Rationalization In An Era Of Growing Complexity

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:14:00 GMT

SKU rationalization, the process of managing efficient category assortments, is an important objective for today's supermarket operators. In an era of Shopper Marketing, shopper segmentation, and store clustering, the category assortment equation has gained new variables and complexity. Traditional ýrank and cutý methods for trimming assortments are proving to be less than adequate solutions, and there is a growing recognition that chain-wide category assortments based on average consumer response are no longer sufficient. To remain competitive, grocers must draw a more detailed and less uniform picture of shopper behavior by examining market basket composition and interactions between items, and incorporating these insights at a store cluster or even individual store level. This paper outlines strategies for success, methods, and tools that Category Managers can use to make confident assortment decisions on an everyday basis.

ARE YOU LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:54:00 GMT

Today many finance executives are going "back to basics," but that's just the beginning. They're also relentlessly seeking new and creative ways to help ensure they maintain the cash flow their companies need to survive. Some of these include:

- Re-evaluating their financial toolkit
- Looking for operations and back-office efficiencies
- Considering "one-off" savings such as selling assets

The competition is already using these ideas and more to save money and maintain liquidity. Find out how you can implement them too. Download now for free.