September 2011
Click article to read FREE pdf.
.
James Singh: Leading Nestlé’s House of Finance
By Leif Sjöblom, CMA, CFA, and Nina Michels-Kim, CMA
Nestlé Global Executive Vice President and CFO Jim Singh talks about the evolution of corporate finance from bean counter to business partner. The fundamental role of finance, he explains, is to ensure the company conducts its business in a controlled environment. His tip to budding financial managers? Get a professional certification early in your career.
The Effects of Currency Translation
By Susan M. Sorensen, CPA, and Donald L. Kyle, CPA
With globalization, the daily foreign exchange (FX) currency impacts forecasting, budgeting, performance evaluation, reported earnings, and even cash flow expectations. The authors review the many effects of currency translation on assets, common ratios, equity, timing of earnings, and relative FX rates, and then they revisit SFAS No. 52, which encouraged disclosing the effect of FX rate fluctuations on earnings.
Calculating Operating Variances
By Jason Porter and Teresa Stephenson, CMA
This is the third article in a series that describes how you can use an Excel-based Master Budget for making managerial decisions. Following the “Flexible Budget” created in part two, the authors now focus on the final statement to calculate the company’s operating variances. They build a third budget in the Contribution Margin Income Statement format and compare the original budget and flexible version to determine variances.
How to Adopt IFRS in Five Steps
By Joseph M. Langmead, CPA; Gloria Phillips-Wren; Jalal Soroosh, CMA; Hong Zhu; Kenneth A. Kelly, Jr., CPA; and Kenneth S. Thomas
U.S. public companies will likely soon need to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). To guide such a complex conversion, the authors identify both the key tasks and the organizational components involved at each of five stages. This staged approach lets those involved evaluate the degree of readiness for IFRS adoption, including both key executives and Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) staff.
PERSPECTIVES
Strengthening Ethical Awareness
TOP LINE
Who's Shaping the Future of Our Profession?
BEST PRACTICES
Evil—10 Years later
ETHICS
New Whistleblower Rules Broaden Opportunities
CAREERS
Fill in the Generation Gap
TAXES
What Is the True Tax Rate on Investments in Precious Metals?
FINANCIAL REPORTING
A Wealth of Ideas for Improvement
CERTIFICATION
IMA and CMA in China
IMA LIFE
My Dream Came True
SF BULLETIN
• SEC Issues Revised Proposed Rule on Shelf Registration of ABS
• Business Groups Roundly Criticize Proposed Rule on ABS Risk Retention
• Investors Defend Role of Credit Rating Agency
• Books: Sustained Success
• Sharing Your IMA Life
EXCEL
Evaluating Difficult Formulas
ACCESS
Master Budget Project: Report Groups and IIF Functions
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
iTwin USB Storage, Lenovo Tablets, Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, Griffin Technology A-Frame
TECH FORUM
The Selectric Lesson
Back
