Recent TRG blog posts

The phrase “corporate sustainability” remains open for definition. While some organizations appear more concerned with hashing out its meaning and relevance, others are moving forward with sustainability initiatives designed to satisfy stakeholders, cut costs, and, in a growing number of cases, generate shareholder value.

“A major part of our sustainability effort is to support our sales and marketing team in gaining access to new market segments, reinforcing our pricing strategies, and improving our customer mix so that there is a strong fit between our product offer and what different segments of the market value,” notes Lyn Brown, vice president corporate relations and social responsibility of Catalyst Paper.

A new report jointly produced by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), and UK-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) sheds light on current sustainability practices. The 24-page report, “Evolution of Corporate Sustainability Practices,” suggests that corporate finance can and/or should play a central role in these efforts.

“Accuracy in measurement is an essential first step in the sustainability process,” says Steve Leffin, director of global sustainability for UPS. “In the short term, this accuracy enables you to understand if you are acting and reporting appropriately. Over the long term, customers, governments, and agencies are going to ask you for your sustainability numbers – via an accepted protocol and verified by third parties.”

The report presents a snapshot of current sustainability drivers and strategy; sustainability programs and their scope; measurement approaches; and the finance function’s involvement in corporate sustainability.

An awareness of the ever-deepening connection that now exists between the world’s economies should by now be hard-wired into corporate strategic thinking. Very few countries can escape the impacts of developments elsewhere, both positive and negative. Assessing the risks and opportunities presented by these impacts is a key responsibility of those who lead and manage companies. Unfortunately, as we move into 2012, the task has never been more complex and difficult, and the premium on judgment never higher.

Today’s corporations face increasing expectations for taking an active role in meeting the world’s environmental and social challenges. The accounting profession, too, has a critical role to play in helping to meet these challenges.

As Executive Director, Education, at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Robert Jelly is at the forefront of research on finance, accounting and related matters.

The financial management applications category is one of the most mature enterprise software sectors and the accounting application is one of the first tools that a growing company rolls out. In spite of its maturity and because of its indispensable nature, financial management tools need to continue evolving to meet the requirements of the business. It is essential, therefore, that the financial management tools of choice be supported by a successful vendor and a strong product management team.

It’s that time of year again. As 2011 winds down, financial experts are hard at work trying to predict what 2012 will hold in store for U.S. small businesses. Will it be more of the economic slump we’ve seen for the past few years — or are things finally starting to turn around?

Ventana Research recently completed groundbreaking benchmark research on how finance organizations use analytics these days. Of course, analytics have been a mainstay of finance organizations since people started using accounting ratios to assess the health and performance of a business. Yet perhaps because traditional analytics are so deeply entrenched, finance departments execute the basics well but don’t take the next step to fully utilize the power of information technology to use analytics more effectively. And they should: Our research finds that a majority of executives and managers outside the finance organization want the department to play a more strategic role in their company’s management.

The backbone of any organization, financial management applications are the foundation that helps a company manage and gain insight into the most important parts of their business. Financial management applications streamline processes to help an organization manage business-critical functions such as accounting, project management, payroll, and human resources. When the financial management software of an organization becomes disjointed or broken, the implications can certainly impact the success and profitability of that organization.

On January 31^st 2012, the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation is officially launched under a joint venture by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

The backbone of any organization, financial management applications are the foundation that helps a company manage and gain insight into the most important parts of their business. Financial management applications streamline processes to help an organization manage business-critical functions such as accounting, project management, payroll, and human resources. When the financial management software of an organization becomes disjointed or broken, the implications can certainly impact the success and profitability of that organization.