Features

Creating an Excel-Based Budget You’ll Really Use
By Jason Porter and Teresa Stephenson, CMA
Budgeting is often a source of consternation for department managers as well as the finance department. In this six-part series, the authors detail an effective, efficient budget method that involves the creation of a linked Master Budget within Excel. The results are a budget that enables managers to see how their estimates and assumptions impact the company’s critical financial statements and minimize attempts to game the system. Part 1 examines the Data Input Sheet and the Sales Budget.

The Business of Making Money with Movies
By S. Mark Young, James J. Gong, and Wim A. Van der Stede
Major film studios are constantly seeking new methods of generating revenue from their movies. These days, four-fifths of a film’s revenue comes from other downstream sources, including home video, pay TV, and syndication. With new technological breakthroughs, including distribution over the Internet, the studios continue to explore how they can generate more revenue while protecting their rights and property.

Improving Tax Competitiveness via Intellectual Property Management
By Emmalee K. Wus, CPA; Anthony Curatola; and Mitch McGhee
The global business environment has not only created new competition among companies, but governments have found it necessary to compete on tax rates and incentives to attract new business to their country. Multinational corporations can take advantage of these lower tax rates by incorporating intellectual property migration into their transfer-pricing strategies.

Accounting Meets Strategy: Share Repurchase Programs
By Jane L. Reimers and J. Clay Singleton
A share repurchase program is an important tool in managing a firm’s balance sheet. Integrating the underlying business objectives with the mechanics of these transactions provides an excellent example of strategic accounting. Here’s a detailed picture of treasury stock—why repurchases are made and methods of accounting for them—including examples of firms with significant buyback programs.

Columns

PERSPECTIVES
Acting Rightly

TAXES
The American Opportunity Tax Credit

FINANCIAL REPORTING
Is It Time to Consolidate?

ETHICS
Taxpayers Need to Shout: Enough Bank Bailouts!

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Take Networking to the Next Level

IMA LIFE
My Second Career

Departments

SF BULLETIN
• No Accounting for Healthcare Bill
• SEC Pay Reporting Changes Seen as Minor
• U.S. House Passes Two Bills Encouraging XBRL Use
• Letters: New CMA Exam Helps IMA Brand
• Books: Aging and the Economy

EXCEL
Picture Lookups

ACCESS
Refining Your Reports

XBRL
XBRL Implementation Strategies: Frequently Asked Questions

TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Google’s Nexus One, BlackBerry Presenter, LaCie USB Flash Drives, TaxWise

TECH FORUM
The New Newsprint