Do you want to keep up to date with the latest developments in finance, but you are short of time? Don't worry. CFO South Africa weekly collects 10 of the most important articles from international media for your convenience.
1. COSO proposes update to enterprise risk management framework
Changes that reflect the evolution of thinking and practices related to enterprise risk management (ERM) are among the most significant updates proposed to a new integrated framework devoted to ERM. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) will issue an exposure draft Wednesday and seeks public comment. The update, Enterprise Risk ManagementAligning Risk With Strategy and Performance, provides additional clarity on concepts introduced in the 2004 framework. Those updates are in response to growing complexity and speed of risk over the past decade.
2. The Road to Higher Profitability
It's more important than ever to get profitability right. These days, that means looking beyond quick fixes, such as slashing more costs, and developing a more detailed understanding of the full set of profitability drivers for a company. Finance leaders see their work cut out for them and for their staffs. Especially when margins are thin, opportunities for fattening them rely on a detailed understanding of the factors affecting profitability and diligent efforts across the entire enterprise to apply that knowledge in making business decisions that optimize profitability.
3. 3 Trends Happening Now That Will Impact the Future of Accounting
The accounting profession is on the precipice of change and how it manages that change will proportionately impact its future. Technology like marketing automation, lead generation, firm improvement and development software, and collaborative learning communities continue to up the ante for accountants. Moreover, those who adopt the Uber model will be the ones who provide the flexibility and real-time information required for successful business.
4. Welcome to 'Risk Accounting'
Academics have codified a new accounting technique that could revolutionize enterprise risk management. The evolving risk landscape in which firms operate has undergone dramatic change in little more than a generation due to advances in science and technology and an ever-growing dependency on globally interconnected electronic data and information networks; globalization and geopolitical uncertainties leading to supply chain vulnerabilities; and the use of increasingly complex and sophisticated financial products to manage financial risks.
5. Five Crucial Things I Only Could've Learned By Scaling My Startup
Buffer COO Leo Widrich shares what he's figured out in the course of growing the company to reach $10 million in annual revenue. In five and a half years of Buffer, we've been fortunate to cross many milestones3 million registered users, 90+ team members, and most recently, $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Some of the lessons we learned to help get us there came easily. Others we learned the hard way. Here are some of the most important things we've figured out how to do.
6. 6 ethical questions about Big Data
While the internet of things has provided companies with more ways to collect increasing volumes and types of data about their customers, it also poses a significant challenge: Regulation is developing at a much slower pace than the technology, making it the responsibility of the company to decide how to harness the insights offered by data from mobile phones, travel passes, and thermostats among other devices, while living up to their core ethical values.
7. The Relative Risk of the Cloud vs. Data Centers? It Depends
Companies must choose among their existing data center, a colocation data center, or the cloud.
You are out of capacity. You've got data that you don't have a home for. So you have to decide whether to build out additional capacity within your existing data center (if you have one), in a colocation data center, or in the cloud. Let's consider each in turn.
8. Lease accounting implementation a challenge for preparers
Companies are encountering challenges with new lease accounting standards in a process few expect to be easy, according to a recent Deloitte survey. Almost half (47%) of more than 5,400 respondents in a Deloitte webcast poll of financial and accounting professionals in March said it would be at least somewhat difficult to implement the new standards, while just 15% said implementation would be at least somewhat easy. "Having a lot of leases or just a few complex leases in your portfolio can create management challenges," James Barker, a senior consultation partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP, said in a news release. "Other difficulties can arise due to disparate tracking systems, expanding global footprints, and M&A activity."
9. Nine Business Leaders Share The Best Lessons They Received From The...
In honor of Father's Day, we asked business leaders to share the most useful thing they learned from their dads. Father may not always know best, but he often imparts wisdomeither directly or by examplethat his children remember and use in their careers. From staying true to who you are to embracing uncertainty, here are nine things CEOs and business leaders learned from dads.
10. 10 Ways For New Leaders To Develop Their Leadership Skills
Being a leader doesn't mean you know everything there is to know about leadership. In fact, the best leaders are the ones who pursue their own education. Leadership, after all, is not about being an expert in your industry it's about being an expert in people management. Making time to improve your leadership skills helps everyone on your team do their jobs better. Find a way to weave in time for learning into your day, whether it's by soliciting feedback, reading a book focused on leadership on your commute, or asking your company to hire a coach. Here are 10 ways to pursue a leadership education from Forbes Coaches Council members.
