Coronavirus looms over positive economic outlook
Projections for the next 12 months are generally positive, but concerns about the effect of the virus diminished that enthusiasm, according to a quarterly survey.
Corporate Finance and Treasury Management
Finance priorities for post-merger integration
Management accountants can take a lead role in post-merger integration with the right planning and execution of key steps.
How smart contracts can create a competitive edge
A smart contract is an electronic agreement that uses computer programming and blockchain technology to execute without third parties.
Blockchain opens new era for cross-border payments
Blockchain could streamline how money moves between nations.
Currency turmoil, price, and profit in global markets
Small and midsize multinational companies can use these strategies to manage the risks of volatile foreign currency exchange rates.
What CFOs need to know about the rise of CVC funds
CFOs are key players when a company establishes a CVC fund because they are an integral part of allocating the money required to invest.
Compliance costs, complexity rising in finance
CFOs feel barraged by new compliance mandates, and they don’t expect complexity associated with such regulation to subside any time soon.
What CPAs can learn from fighter pilots
Fighter pilots can teach controllers, CFOs, and other CPA executives how to out maneuver the competition.
Analyzing liquidity using the cash conversion cycle
A good assessment of a company’s liquidity is important because a decline in liquidity leads to a greater risk of bankruptcy. FASB describes liquidity as reflecting “an asset’s or liability’s nearness to cash” (Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 5, Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises). Creditors
Treasury basics for an overseas expansion
Understanding regulatory requirements and standard operating procedures in international locations is essential for domestic corporations expanding into overseas markets. The following tips, compiled by Wells Fargo’s international banking division, can help companies establish an effective global treasury policy: Consult with key advisers early. Draft the overall scope and plan for
Three common currency-adjustment pitfalls
Although the rules on accounting for foreign-currency translations have not changed in many years, mistakes in this area persist. Such mistakes can result in misstatements in financial reporting, hurting the bottom line, creating false understandings of business results, and exposing companies to possible regulatory scrutiny. A key factor raising the
How to Manage Fluctuations in Foreign Currency Rates
Managing the P&L and cash flow impacts related to foreign exchange exposures can appear daunting. The following steps, while not all-inclusive, make this task easier: Develop a foreign currency policy and procedure. Include the company goals related to foreign exchange management, types of derivatives that may be employed, and personnel
CPAs Can Help Builders Increase Profits, Cash Flow
At a time when the construction industry is faced with unprecedented economic conditions, companies must do everything possible to remain profitable and maintain positive cash flows. Consider the following tips to help your clients in this industry: Take every available tax credit. These include, for example, various Enterprise Zone tax
Best of Both Worlds?
Over the past several years many companies pursued extremely aggressive growth, resulting in an accumulation of fixed assets on balance sheets. Many of these assets (especially land and buildings) have enjoyed an unprecedented appreciation in value. However, the current recession and accompanying credit crunch have caught some companies in a
Optimizing Company Cash: A Guide for Financial Professionals
by Michèle Allman-Ward and A. Peter Allman-Ward AICPA, 2007, 271 pp. Cash flows, liquidity, the banking system and other touchstones of business finance are laid out in this comprehensive and easy-to-follow guide to cash management, with copious exhibits and examples. Of particular interest to practitioners in this increasingly specialized field
Golden Business Ideas
The Right Way to Use PowerPoint Do you use PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation software, to make sales pitches for new clients? Or do you use it, as a consultant would, to lay out in-depth analyses in an effort to convince a client or your boss to adjust complex business strategies?
Maximize Your Global IP
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES NEED TO PLAN for issues involving identification, use, reporting and valuation of their intellectual property (IP) in order to avoid misdirecting internal investments or depriving their international business units of the use of such intangible assets. CPAs CAN ASSIST BUSINESSES in planning IP strategies by using
Recovery of Embezzled Assets Half a World Away
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE FIRST STEP IN A FORENSIC INVESTIGATION is to gather as many details as possible about the facts of an alleged misappropriation. But CPAs need to be systematic to guard against “information overload,” which can lead to important factors being overlooked. CPAs, INVESTIGATORS AND ATTORNEYS need to develop
The Station Never Sleeps
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A TREASURY WORKSTATION INCLUDES both hardware and treasury management applications. Systems that go by that name generally allow companies to automate most of their core treasury operations seamlessly with a database and communicate directly with banks, other financial institutions and sometimes even customers and suppliers. They can typically
