Features

Finance Flies High
By Barbara Tarasovich, CPA, and Bridget Lyons
When the finance function at Unilever tried to envision what it would be like in the future, it realized that significant transformation was needed so that it could contribute effectively to the achievement of the company’s overall strategy and goals. The team reorganized itself into “Finance of the Future” and developed strategic thrusts to drive its agenda and frame its objectives consistently throughout the corporation.

Aiming Higher...Toward Significance
By Mark Mitchell, Gregory Krippel, and Sheila J. Mitchell, CPA
It’s easy to define success in your professional life based on individual achievements and material rewards. But focusing on your own progress can leave you feeling unfulfilled, as if something is lacking in your career. It may be time to shift the focus of your efforts toward a more significant purpose. The valuable skills and experience you’ve developed provide you with the opportunity to contribute to the greater good and enable you to leave a lasting impression on the world.

Renewing Your Will to Compete
By Tom FitzGerald
Effectively managing a company’s Operating Dynamic can have a far more profound impact on the bottom line than a major strategic change. It’s possible to manage the organizational forces that contribute to the Operating Dynamic just as you would the line items on financial statements. CFOs have the skills, experience, and training to measure and manage these items and help drive a company’s performance.

Making Stronger Statements: Cash Flow and Income
By Bruce Wampler, CPA; Harold C. (Carl) Smolinski; and Timothy Vines
Classifying cash flows as operating, investing, or financing is usually straightforward, although the sorting of some items has been controversial. Modeling the statement of cash flows after the income statement is a logical approach, the authors contend, and should enhance the statement of cash flow’s usefulness by providing greater consistency between the two financial statements.

Columns

PERSPECTIVES
A Winning Game Plan

BEST PRACTICES
Keeping Our Bearings with Difficult People

TAXES
Self-Employed and IRA Early Distribution

ETHICS
Can Government Manage More Ethically Than Capitalism?

FINANCIAL REPORTING
Keeping Up with the FASB Codification

IMA LIFE
Being a Volunteer

IMA EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS

Departments

SF BULLETIN
• New Chief Accountant
• SEC Issues Guidance on FASB Codification
• Is Information Overload Hurting Your Career?
• Letters: A Long Way to Go
• Books: U.S. GAAP and IFRS Convergence

EXCEL
Performing All Lookups in a Single Formula

ACCESS
Cross Tabulate Your Data

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Sprint HTC Hero, Refresh Recharger, Ezio Time Token, 3M Mobile Privacy Films

TECH FORUM
eBay Liberates Skype