The Emergence of Business Analysts as Leaders
At a recent conference of the Association for Operations Management (APICS), where I was a presenter, I attended a provocative talk by Alan G. Dunn, president and founder of GDI Consulting and Training...
View ArticleWhen Implementing a New Program, Start Small, but Think Big
Many organizations seem to have a problem getting started with performance improvement programs, initiatives, and projects including embracing business analytics. Is it analysis paralysis or brain...
View ArticleWhat Sabermetrics and Moneyball Can Teach Us about Predictive Analytics
When Game 6 of the World Series was rained out, manager Tony La Russa went to see the movie Moneyball. His impressions? read more
View ArticleThe Keys to Successful and Ongoing Benchmarking
Chuck Wise, senior principal, finance and performance management, Accenture speaks with Business Finance about the importance of benchmarking and how it can improve the performance of key corporate...
View ArticleThe Verdict is in: Innovative Management Wins
In my previous blog post, I shared how Statoil's innovative finance organization has eliminated budgets in support of their approach to strategic management. read more
View ArticleHow are the CFO's Team and Triple Crown Horses Similar?
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness horseraces, the first and second legs of the USA’s prestigious Triple Crown races, have been run. The winner of both races, I’ll Have Another, will be trying to win...
View ArticleGlobal Business Services: A Way to Improve Internal Services
A compelling business case is driving more and more enterprises toward a global business services (GBS) model. Building a mature, value-producing GBS organization requires many integrated elements and...
View ArticleThe Sustainability Index: How to Tell if You're Getting Greener
Every few years it gets more complicated to run an organization. It used to be if you had a solid financial result, that was enough to be considered successful. About 30 years ago, new types of metrics...
View ArticleOvercoming Unproductive Time in Budgeting, Forecasting and Planning
It's no secret that business and finance professionals are spending too much time on mundane tasks, and not enough on delivering insight and other value-added activities. read more
View ArticleHow to Deal with Continuing Volatility
Since 2008, the global business community has operated under extraordinary circumstances. After years of crises, extreme volatility and unforeseen events, the extraordinary is now the ordinary and the...
View ArticleA Little Knowledge Management Can Be a Dangerous Thing
The value of most organizations today is less determined by their physical assets than their intellectual assets. Intellectual property such as patents, technologies, ideas and designs are what keep...
View ArticleMarket-Proof Your KPIs
Leading organizations rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) to inform their most critical decisions and gain competitive advantage. In response to changing business conditions, organizations often...
View ArticlePerformance Management by Any Other Name Still Works the Same
Why is it that every business fad and management program has to be abbreviated with three-letter acronyms? This has been going on a long time, and it keeps getting more annoying and confusing. It might...
View ArticleHow to Achieve Better and Faster Rolling Forecasts
I recently took the Maryland Area Regional Commuter train from Washington, D.C.'s Union Station out to Baltimore airport. It is a great way to avoid the D.C. traffic. I boarded just before it departed....
View ArticleWhat CFOs – and 'CPOs' – Can Learn from Banks and Beyond
Do you ever get the sense that financial services firms think they occupy the center of the universe? I do. But in a good way. Banks seem to confront similar challenges earlier and of greater magnitude...
View ArticleThen & Now: Finance & Accounting Outsourcing Grows Up
The use of finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) once again is increasing following a slowdown in 2011. That said, managing FAO relationships in 2012 and 2013 is dramatically different than managing...
View ArticleAARP Streamlines AR Processes
For many organizations, processing incoming payments from customers is nothing sexy. Despite the steady shift to electronic transfers of funds, it often still involves opening envelopes to remove,...
View Article
