What’s next for health care reform?
A health care reform expert discusses what will come next and what accountants need to know about it.
Business planning
The countries most likely to be affected by automation
Automation is inevitable, but its impact won’t be felt evenly across the globe.
Using surplus budgeting to advance and sustain your mission
A disciplined budgeting approach helped not-for-profit Ducks Unlimited overcome serious financial concerns following the most recent recession.
5 biggest challenges controllers face—and how to take control
This article examines how controllers can address technology issues, budgetary constraints, and more.
Brexit lesson: Focus on consequences, not cause in scenario planning
The Brexit referendum underscores the need for companies to be ready for upheaval through robust scenario planning.
Business practices that not-for-profits can’t afford to overlook
A strong foundation and structure can help not-for-profits reach their full potential. Appropriate business practices can help these organizations develop the governance, strategy, and fundraising prowess they need to survive and thrive.
Trends that will shape the CPA profession in 2016
This column highlights some of the top economic trends to be mindful of in 2016, and ways they will affect CPAs.
U.S. finance execs remain optimistic, envision growth, according to survey
Overall optimism among U.S. finance executives in business and industry took a slight quarterly dip, but sentiment remains positive compared with previous first quarters in the post-recession era, according to an AICPA survey.
How to better connect planning, forecasting, and budgeting
Finance professionals are taking on strategic duties in addition to traditional reporting and compliance roles, and they’re becoming more influential in their organizations. But they still have an opportunity to make improvements, particularly when it comes to the use of forecasts.
Cutting the clutter: Streamlined operations reports engage key stakeholders
Carol Kenner, CPA, CGMA, knew her company’s financial statements backward and forward. Every number on every page made sense to her. But not everyone at Solix Inc., the New Jersey company where Kenner is CFO, knew what the numbers meant.
Forward roll: How companies can move beyond traditional budgeting
For more than a decade, Tim Quinn, CPA, CGMA, negotiated the tedious, back-and-forth magic of building the annual budget for Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Every year, it was the same time-consuming endeavor: Quinn, the company’s vice president of finance, would send out budget worksheets to 45 department heads. The
Embrace uncertainty to develop more business acumen
A mere accounting professional is not the same as a full-fledged finance professional. At least that’s how consultant David Axson sees it. The more evolved finance professional, Axson says, considers the business environment, embracing its volatility, and then adapting to it. “Being comfortable with uncertainty is, to me, the difference
Boot the budget? Why rolling forecasts might make more sense
When it comes to budgeting, accountants should stop presenting the numbers and letting others analyze what those numbers mean. If accountants don’t change, warns consultant Steve Player, CPA, CGMA, they’ll lose relevance and possibly lose jobs. “It’s our process that’s broken,” Player said. “We’ve got smart people in finance doing
Tax compliance for acquisitions: Prepare before purchasing
Fears of a “double-dip” recession in 2012 may have subsided, but the overall economic forecast remains uncertain. Therefore, companies are looking beyond organic, internal growth to external growth sources to bolster company performance. A recent study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) touted the power of acquisitions for growth during
A strategic approach to IT budgeting
Organizations of all types struggle with information technology (IT) budgeting. This often happens because the IT team doesn’t understand the budgeting process and the finance team doesn’t understand IT. CPAs, whether in public practice, business and industry, the not-for-profit sector or government, can remedy this disconnect by changing their organization’s
Intergovernmental Financial Dependency: Why It Matters
Current economic conditions, including job losses, illiquid credit markets, an ailing construction industry and reduced consumer spending, have combined to increase risk and uncertainty not only across all private industries, but also in the public sector, including local governments, states and, perhaps most importantly, the federal government. AICPA Statement of
Planning for Uncertainty
With national debt crises in both Europe and the United States, a shaky recovery from the deepest recession since World War II and volatile currency markets, it’s not surprising that recent research conducted by the Beyond Budgeting Round Table found that more than two-thirds of corporate budgets are irrelevant before
Asset-Based Financing Basics
Once considered financing of last resort, asset-based lending and factoring have become popular choices for companies that do not have the credit rating or track record to qualify for more traditional types of financing. In general terms, asset-based lending is any kind of borrowing secured by an asset of the
Asset-Based Financing Basics: Step-by-Step Examples
Editor's note: Also read "Asset-Based Financing Basics," by Robert A. Modansky, CPA/CFF, and Jerome P. Massimino, CPA, in the August 2011 issue of the JofA. Example 1: GAAP Treatment of Acceleration Clauses and Lockboxes The following is a summary of the provisions of FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Subtopic 470-10
Scenario Planning: Navigating Through Today's Uncertain World
Imagine you are sitting at your desk in September 2007. The Dow is close to 13,900; U.S. unemployment is 4.5%; and oil is $45 a barrel. You are in the middle of developing your organization’s plans and budgets for 2008. How likely is it that the assumptions in your 2008
