ContractualCFO.Com International Consulting Firm

Athena Chiefs Opens To Provide Interim Executive Services; Interim CXO's'' new trend among early stage and fast growth companies: Business Wire; Jun 16, 2004 Athena Chiefs, an interim executive management consulting firm, today announced its opening to cater to early-stage and fast-growth companies. The company, which started work for clients in April, is part of a trend of companies outsourcing executive positions to experienced professionals to retain more flexibility, reduce costs, and move faster.

"Athena is an alternative to conducting a long and expensive search for an executive," said Tom Ryan, President of Athena Chiefs. "Few small and fast- growth companies realize that it's possible to engage a top-rate executive without the long-term commitment and cost associated with an employee. It also lets you see if the chemistry is there in case you want to make a long term commitment -- 'try before you buy' -- probably the biggest reason for its growing popularity."

Corporate Governance; Sarbanes-Oxley; Contractual/Interim (including Contract-to-Hire) CFO & Controller; Accounting; Business Plans, SEC Compliance Issues; Marketing; Troubled-Companies Restructuring and Not-for-Profit

m&a strategy : june 04

A target that already is publicly traded presumably is in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and stock market rules. And if the target, whether public or private, is immaterial in size relative to the acquirer, the likelihood of the transaction causing the acquirer any significant Sarbanes-Oxley issues is diminished. However, a public company can face real challenges when it acquires a significantly sized target that was privately held, and therefore historically not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley.

By Neil D. Falis and David M. Eaton Two attorneys analyze the ways in which the law could impact companies' merger activity - including internal control issues and public company deals for private firms.

Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management

The United States has a new accounting law to deter corporate scandals, but the consequence of this law could make American markets less attractive to global investors. Thunderbird accounting professor Thomas I. Selling, Ph.D., CPA and member of the advisory board of the Association of Audit Committee Members explains the potential consequences.

Free white paper on implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for Nonprofits.

While nearly all of the provisions of the bill apply only to publicly traded corporations, the passage of this bill should serve as a wake-up call to the entire nonprofit community. If nonprofit leaders do not ensure effective governance of their organizations, the government may step forward and also regulate nonprofit governance. Indeed, some state attorneys general are already proposing that elements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act be applied to nonprofit organizations.

by Tad Leary

The traditional budget can't coexist peaceably with business performance management software. One has got to go -- and it won't be the BPM system. There may be some CFOs out there who feel deep affection for the traditional budget. But if such people do exist, they're a rare breed. Nearly everyone who's been involved with that process knows what an onerous ritual it is and how it hampers corporate performance by shackling managers to an inflexible timetable that's unresponsive to changes in the organization's needs and strategies. Yet every year companies go back to the same broken-down process and do it all over again. Why?

How to meet the needs of a growing business -- and the demands of new regulations -- without burning out the finance staff.

Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley is taking quite a toll on corporate finance staffs these days-particularly on controllers. "When my controller is going home for dinner and then coming back to work, there's something wrong," says Scott Youngstrom, CFO of Compex Technologies, a New Brighton, Minnesota- based maker of electronic muscle-stimulator devices.

Stanley & Kilcullen's Federal Income Tax Law. Warren, Gorham & Lamont

Section 162 (Trade or Business Expenses) provides for the deduction of trade or business expenses, This provision is the most important of all the provisions contained in the deduction sections since these expense deductions generally produce the largest dollar amounts of all deductions,

(1) Ordinary and Necessary. All the "ordinary and necessary" expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business are deductible. The term "ordinary and necessary" implies that only those expenses which are usual or common and essential or reasonably necessary come within the framework of this section. The words ordinary and necessary are not used alternatively; to be deductible, an expense must be both "ordinary and necessary"-neither qualification alone would be enough. May 3, 2004: Treasury Issues Guidance on Business Meal & Entertainment Expenses. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today issued a revenue procedure providing guidance on the use of statistical sampling in determining deductible business meal and entertainment (M&E) expenses.

No form of education is more commercialised than management education. But are business schools teaching the right things?

Thus 15 years ago, schools launched executive MBAs, charging premium prices and suggesting to companies that such programmes might be a handy tool to retain itchy-footed high-fliers. Whereas individual students usually carry the cost of an ordinary MBA, companies often finance an EMBA. However, employers have since grown wary of sending good managers on a course from which they may be poached by a rival or where they may suddenly decide to make a career change and leave to start their own business. The MBA Roundtable's figures suggest that applications for executive MBAs are 15-20% lower this academic year than they were in 2003.

Corporate Governance

The Public Company Audit Oversight Board (PCAOB) has also declared auditor independence one of its top priorities for this year. In particular, board members have reportedly said they want to focus on whether corporate auditors should continue selling tax- planning services to their audit customers. "It's one of our priorities among a fairly large number of priorities," George Diacont, director of registration and inspections for the PCAOB, recently stated. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act expressly prohibits some non- audit services by auditors to their clients. These include, for example, bookkeeping, financial information systems design or implementation, actuarial services, and certain management functions.

By: Eva Jenkins (evaj@ContractualCFO.com)

So what's the answer? Many employers have found that pre-employment assessments help take the guesswork out of the hiring process. Assessments like the Step One survey from VIP Innovations are designed to help hire honest, dependable, hard- working and drug-free employees. "If this survey is used consistently, it will help gain productivity, improve morale and increase profits," explained Eva Jenkins of VIP.

"But the investment can be well worth it"

Inc. Magazine, February 2004 "After all the corporate downsizing of the past few years, the rent-a-CFO business is booming. Such services don't come cheap. While rates vary from city to city, a part-time temp can cost at least $1,000 a day...But the investment can be well worth it.."

"Forty-eight percent of companies will spend at least $500,000 on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance", Alix Nyberg, CFO Magazine, September 01, 2003

by Spencer Stuart

Abuse at the top of some prominent companies has fuelled many changes in board structure and process. Since audit and compensation committees were seen to have either acquiesced in mismanagement, or failed to stop it, those committees became the target for regulations aimed at preventing further Enron-like collapses.