When Aberdeen Group conducted a study in 2011, they identified three classes of performance in corporate financial planning, budgeting and forecasting: Best-in-class, industry average and laggard. The research group outlined steps to help companies improve their performance, regardless of their current class.

Adopting IFRS alongside VAS requires technical, strategic, and operational changes. There also will be an unavoidable impact on information technology (IT) systems, as companies change the way they manage and report on numerous business activities. Hence, companies should employ a methodical approach when building the IFRS framework.

As an accountant, you may be faced with some ethical dilemmas in which you have to make difficult decisions or you hardly know what to do. These ethical situations do not always have a clear cut response, and often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing the other.  

Professional ethics are a sensitive definition in any professions, especially during the recession. According to a survey by ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners), the recession has led to an increase in corporate fraud. In Vietnam, there have been neither official reports nor statistics about the state of professional ethics in companies. However, when looking at recent Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index, Vietnam is listed in the red zone with alarming professional ethics.

Retailers constantly strive to provide great experiences for customers who visit their brick-and-mortar locations. With the strong emergence of internet shopping, these satisfactory experiences are becoming even more vital for merchants with physical storefronts. Recent research has revealed that consumers are highly likely to stop frequenting businesses that offer poor experiences, which could lead to sharp decreases in retention and loyalty for retailers. To prevent this, there are several strategies that companies can use to effectively bring shoppers into their stores.

In the last post, three out of five criteria to assess business performance in relation to the corporate planning, budgeting and forecasting process were discussed. The last two, pointed out by Aberdeen Group in its 2011 study, are technology and performance management.

Investors are usually tempted to skip the seemingly wordy introductory pages as well as footnotes. If the financial statements are all about figures and hard data, these non-financial sections of the corporate report add the “human touch”.

Finance and Accounting is always one of the first choices for many students when they need to make their career decisions. According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, the number of students registered for Finance and Accounting in annual Vietnam’s university entrance exam from 2009 to 2011 accounted for 41% of the total number of students taking part in the exam. Moreover, in recent years, international bodies and associations such as CIMA, ACCA, CPA, etc. have also gained more and more popularity in Vietnam. It is not surprising that careers in Finance and Accounting are becoming very attractive and rewarding as Finance and Accounting are the backbone of most organisations. Finance and Accounting teams play an important role in providing the Management Board with strategic decisions in the uncertain economy. The important status of Finance and Accounting team has placed higher challenges and responsibilities onto the hands of finance professionals and accountants. In order to support the organisation to meet its strategic objectives and grow, they are required to be not only excellent at their core finance and accounting specialism but also skillful in other leadership and soft skills.

Effective planning, budgeting and forecasting processes are indicative of good business performance. A study conducted by Aberdeen Group in 2011 identifies five key performance criteria that distinguish the best-in-class (top performing) from industry average and laggard companies.