July 2004
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Outsourcing? At Your Own Risk
By Mark Beasley, CPA; Marianne Bradford; and Don Pagach, CPA
Outsourcing IT and other business functions to low-wage countries is not a win-win game. The downside includes strategic/market, operational, finance, human capital, legal/regulatory, technology, and reputation risks. That's why it is critical for management and the board of directors to consider in a comprehensive and objective manner all the risks associated with any outsourcing decision.
MA Modern View of Inventory
SBy Scott W. Hadley
When you manage inventory effectively by reducing uncertainty you help drive corporate profitability. The new technological tools enable business managers to zero in on inventory costs, predict them more accurately, and manage the cycle in a more cost-effective manner.
Go Figure
By Alfred M. King, CMA, CFM
How do you determine the value of long-lived assets, usually property, plant, and equipment? The Financial Accounting Standards Board seems to prefer "quoted market prices," while valuation firms use value-in-use prices. The two methods have different impacts on income statements, and the FASB and the SEC are urged to specify one uniform method to clarify this issue for financial officers involved in business combinations.
Stock Options Expensing and Corporate Governance
By Sanjay Deshmukh, Keith M. Howe, and Carl Luft
Companies that expense stock options tend to be those where the interests of management and stockholders are more closely aligned and where corporate finances are transparent. Firms already practicing good governance are most likely to expense stock options, according to this survey, but the impact on stock price will be minimal.
Heartland Furniture Company: Adapting to Change
By Susan B. Hughes, CPA, and Robert A. Taylor
CFOs and controllers have the most knowledge about their company's finances but not the power-hence the frustration and sometimes anger at the boss for not listening to their advice. The solution, according to this headhunter: Controllers and CFOs should control their own careers by finding a company that values and uses their knowledge.
PERSPECTIVES
Let's move management accounting to the forefront.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Making innovation pay.
BEST PRACTICES
Feedback.
CAREERS
The politics of hiring.
TAXES
Tax bracket myths.
ETHICS
Integrity is a strategy for performance.
XBRL
Why should management accountants care about XBRL?
STREETWISE
Is offshore outsourcing a threat?
Revising financial procedures
Congress begins to tip hands on options
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
They just get slimmer and lighter.
TECH FORUM
The 10 best.
STRATEGIC FINANCE QUIZ
Successfully answer 70% or more of the questions based on selected articles from this month's issue, and you will earn three CPE credits.
END NOTE
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