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The article examines the ways on how three areas of strategic management can elevate the sustainability accounting of an organization. Cited are how to integrate balanced scorecard (BSC) strategy maps to navigate internal and external sustainability accounting, the insights of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) on sustainability reporting, and the benefits of integrating strategic management and sustainability accounting.

The article presents advice from chief financial officers (CFO) aimed to help accounting and finance leaders navigate anticipated challenges in 2024. Cited are ways on how leaders can overcome challenges brought by rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other innovations, trends to watch in 2024 and beyond such as the growing importance of data management and analytics, and the complexity associated with the rise of sustainability.

The article discusses the importance of adopting innovative technologies in managing finance and accounting. Topics include comparison of the use of innovative technologies in finance and accounting to other methods, activities covered in innovative processes, and processes that are improving the efficiency of accounting and finance functions, transforming how businesses approach financial management and cultivating a culture of innovation and adaptability.

The article discusses the need of leaders to approach diversity from an ethical perspective and make efforts to attract and retain talent that thinks differently. Topics discussed include some of the types of diversity that exists in today's environment, types of diversity that get the most attention, and one way for organizations and teams to get the most benefits from diversity.

The article details a survey of financial managers on the direct and moderated effects of traditional versus contemporary management accounting practices on organizational performance and competitive advantage. The survey analyzed effects of traditional practices including capital budgeting, standard costing, variance analysis and return on investment, and contemporary practices including activity-based management, balanced scorecard, value chain analysis and strategic cost management.

The article discusses companies' need for an advanced view of risk assessment, monitoring, and management amid an uncertain global economy in 2023. Topics covered include the creation and protection of long-term value with strategic resiliency and risk management skills, the increase of short-termism over the past decade due partly to activist shareholder funds, and the need to treat cybersecurity risk as a core strategic risk. Also noted is the important management of reputation risk.

The article discusses the digital transformation of sustainability data that finance and accounting professionals need to adopt to ensure that companies can make better and more accurate decisions and communicate business activities to stakeholders. Topics covered include how digital sustainability data can improve companies reporting and strategic planning, and the significance of digital transformation of sustainability information flows and data management.

The article describes the guided self-control management system for transforming performance management practices in an organization. Topics discussed include the reasons behind the reluctance of organizations to change their command-and-control (C&C)-based management systems, principles of the management model such as separating financial target setting from action planning and incentivizing progress, and benefit of constant monitoring of actual trends to performance transparency.

The article discusses the chief finance officer's (CFO) need to establish the right organizational mindset on cybersecurity risk and to create an plan to address it as of 2022. Topics covered include a strategic management's aim to enable companies to achieve their strategic and corporate objectives, the network for strategic risk assessment for cybersecurity risk, and the five core elements in a cybersecurity plan. Also noted are the tasks of CFOs to be ready for cybersecurity risks.

An interview with CSX senior vice president of sales and marketing Kevin Boone and Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) chief financial officer (CFO) Don Newman is presented. They explain the role of finance in the decision-making processes for establishing spending priorities. They discuss the role of the CFO in strategic planning and addressing budget pressures.

The article discusses how management accountants can help create superior long-term results for their organization by working to align strategy, execution, budgets and financial performance. Topics covered include how management accounting professionals can create value in various leadership roles using strategic analysis, the tools and frameworks for strategic analysis, and the emerging factors affecting strategic analysis, such as sustainability.

The article discusses the role of chief financial officers (CFO) in preparing their manufacturing organizations to meet the challenges of the transformation to digital manufacturing. Topics discussed include the impact of digital manufacturing, coverage and goal of digital manufacturing, challenges and opportunities for CFO and finance organization that adopt a digital manufacturing approach and changes in manufacturing strategies and business models.

An interview with Mark L. Frigo and Richard J. Anderson about their paper "Creating and Protecting Value: Understanding and Implementing Enterprise Risk Management," based on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) enterprise risk management (ERM) framework is presented. Topics covered include the strategic risk assessment process, examples of companies using effective ERM and the barriers in implementing the 2017 COSO ERM framework.

An interview with insurance firm Penn Mutual chief financial officer (CFO) Dave Raszeja and Huntington Bancshares Inc. CFO Zachary Wasserman is presented. They explain their strategy in advancing innovation programs. They cite the steps where CFOs can contribute in fostering a culture of innovation. They explain how CFOs can help implement strategic plans to achieve shared objectives.

The article focuses on halting cash leaks by avoiding procurement misconceptions and implementing best practices to reduce costs from supplier base. Topics discussed include procurement misconceptions, developing a strategic plan for reducing costs in the procurement processes and analyzing the company's purchasing history. Also mentioned are defining qualitative needs, understanding buying assumptions, understanding suppliers and their industries and creating a culture of cost reduction.

The article offers advice on how to create a training and development plan to enhance a human capital strategy. It discusses how to develop business objectives that align with employee goals before exploring the benefits of employee participation and collaboration in strategic planning. Employee training methods are also covered.

The article discusses the potential damage and losses that companies and professionals could face for breaching ethical principles and standards by citing the case of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos, Inc. Holmes was convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud charges in January 2022 for allegedly defrauding investors of the company. Also cited are the whistleblowing efforts of former Theranos officials Henry Mosley and Tyler Shultz.

The article compares the Stonehenge in the United Kingdom to the foundation and leadership relationships of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). Topics covered include the October 2022 IMA Global Board of Directors meeting in New Jersey, IMA's senior leadership team and management guru Stephen Covey's circles of influence and control.

The article profiles Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) chairman Marc P. Palker. Topics mentioned include Palker's working experiences in various industry groups, his goal of helping the institute to execute the strategic plan in order to become the leading association for management accountants worldwide, and Palker's educational highlights.

The article focuses on various challenges to face by chief financial officers (CFOs) in 2016. Challenges include the slow economic growth in China, the concern over the geopolitical risk in the U.S., and the impact of interest rate on various companies in the U.S. according to CFO Bob McMahon of Hologic, a developer, manufacturer and supplier of diagnostic and medical imaging systems.

The article discusses the nontraditional application of a balanced scorecard (BSC) in the U.S. Navy. Topics covered include the challenge for managers to implement organizational strategy, the logic to support the development of a BSC for a U.S. Navy F/A-18 strike fighter squadron, and the importance of retaining highly skilled individuals. Also mentioned are aircraft material readiness, foreign object debris (FOD), and the aircraft carrier landing grade point average (GPA).

12 / STRATEGIC FINANCE / April 2021 Bulletin Bulletin IMA/ HOW TO THINK LIKE A FUTURIST MY WEBB is a quantitative futurist, founder of the Future Today Institute, and a professor in the New Y ork University (NYU) Stern School of Business. Strategic Finance spoke with Amy about her role as a futurist, what led her to become a futurist, and how forecasting technology and AI can shape organizations. This year, businesses will have greater access to cloud-based AI systems offering robotic process automation and low- or no-code platforms that will allow them to create business applications using their company data. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents an interview with Patrick Stroh, a management consultant and author of the book "Business Strategy: Plan, Execute, Win!" Among topics discussed are how his book differs from other business titles, why companies need a chief strategy officer, and qualities that make a good management consultant.

The article looks at the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) in business enterprises as of 2014. It reports on a trend of CFOs taking on an expanded role in the overall strategic planning of the firm, as opposed to merely overseeing the finance function, and offers recommendations for enhancing and performing effectively in that expanded role. Topics include budget cycles and communication with other executives and with customers. INSET: A CFO's Cheklist for 2014.

The article focuses on what a board of directors should know about the organization's risk management process and on 10 questions that directors should ask. The topics outlined in the questions include how risk information is communicated to the board, how management identifies the emergence of external risks, and how risk management is integrated into strategic planning.

The article discusses financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams in learning organizations from the perspective that they are change agents because they provide upper management with information used in decision making. A model that includes principled leadership, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning is discussed. The characteristics of good and bad corporate growth are noted. Change management and sustained competitive advantage are also discussed.

The article focuses on the children's toy company LEGO Group. Information is provided on company's business strategy which includes appropriate growth, strategic risk management, and assessment of business projects. The article also presents a table of strategic scenarios and several charts on risk assessment.

The article discusses lean production strategy. A discussion of how and why two sister companies were successful in changing their organizational culture to welcome innovation and in implementing lean strategies is presented. Topics include the five lean success layers, improvements from lean implementation at each company, and definitions of lean manufacturing terms.

The article discusses several obstacles companies face to making effective use of business intelligence (BI). The author expands on five of these including difficulty in figuring the value of BI, uncertainty regarding the mission of BI, the lack of a link between business strategy and processes, a lack of urgency among top managers regarding BI, and a failure to align BI with a firm's other objectives and processes.

The article discusses leadership skills for management accountants and turnaround strategies that apply regardless of organizational size, structure, or location. Strategic planning activities that are discussed include establishing corporate visions, assessing environmental factors and regulations, and establishing measures of success.

The article discusses how companies can integrate the balanced scorecard and the criteria for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award to create a well-aligned management system. The author discusses the Baldridge process, fundamentals of the balanced scorecard, and how the Baldridge criteria can be used to build an aligned balance scorecard.

The author describes how earning the Institute of Management Accountants' Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification has helped advance in his career as a chief financial officer. Topics covered include the benefits of earning the CMA, how he established his own plan of studying and his journey to gain additional experience which began when he was a senior financial analyst with global oil and gas services company Schlumberger.

The article examines corporate financial risk management in the wake of the ongoing financial crisis of 2008. Given the dramatic increase in both degrees and categories of financial risk, corporations should merge traditional risk management with their long-range strategic planning, and make risk management part of the mindset and responsibility of all managers.

The article examines strategic business planning designed to minimize or even profit from exposure to financial risk. Corporations are becoming exposed to large risks to a much greater extent than in the past. including ones of a magnitude which threaten their actual business model and for which no insurance is available. Suggestions are made on how to incorporate risk assessment into strategic planning.

The article reports on the Return Driven Strategy Initiative, which measures performance via sustainable returns on investment (ROI), growth during superior ROI, and high shareholder returns. Strategic activities in high-performance companies include a commitment to creating shareholder value and to innovation. Evaluating business strategy and managing risk are mentioned. INSET: Return Driven Strategy: The Research.

The article focuses on the role of management accountants. It explains that the job of management accountants is often misunderstood by the general public. The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) is mentioned and the expertise of its members is explored. The article outlines a framework of the skills which effective management accountants should possess. The qualifications examined include leadership, strategic management, operational alignment, and continuous learning and improvement.

The article examines the role managerial accountants play in the corporate strategic planning process. Planning is the activity through which accountants create the longest-term impact on stakeholders in the corporation. Surveys show it is also a process management finds unsatisfactory. The managerial accountant is uniquely placed to help the corporation set the measures by which it determines the success of its strategic plan.

This article reports on how Olympic Steel employed good management and accounting practices to profitably navigate the volatility of the steel service industry. The author cites the flux in raw material costs disrupting the inventory and planning of steel and all the other industries it serves. Olympic Steel's history is profiled against charts of converging market forces in production and shipping. Management's ability to forecast and make strategic use of capital and credit is documented.

The article focuses on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), a top-down holistic approach to effective risk management. ERM seeks to increase the chance an organization can achieve its objectives by managing risks to be within stakeholders' appetite for risk. This differs from traditional risk management, often referred to as a "silo" approach, where risks are managed in isolation. Many boards and senior executives are shifting their ERM approach to a strategic orientation. INSET: ERM Defined.

The article discusses the budgeting process as a communication model for reducing information asymmetries and uncertainties between organization and its business partners. Interorganizational information sharing can be based upon the budgeting process, which identifies the information that needs to flow from one unit to another within the organization. This process can help determine how to: distribute profits, losses and cost savings; allocate overhead and support services costs; acquire, distribute, and use business intelligence; and set and achieve target-costing goals.

The article discusses the costs of expatriation and the expansion of Fletcher Core, a manufacturer of snowboard equipment in Colorado. Fletcher Core decided to expand into Europe after analyzing the potential market with a geographic information system, which focused on upstream and downstream costs, direct or cash-outlay costs, and indirect or behavioral costs. Resources for global mobility and the foreign earned income exclusion are mentioned.

The article focuses on the effective internal audit department (IAD) at Schwan Food Company, which was founded in 1952 by the son of German immigrants, Marvin Schwan. New leadership at the family business led to changes in corporate governance and the addition of an IAD. The steps in establishing an IAD include hiring an experienced chief audit executive and using risk assessment to determine business objectives. INSET: History of The Schwan Food Company.

The article discusses the connection between performance measurement and risk management. A strategic performance measurement system (SPMS) improves organizational performance and employee efficacy. It can also enhance an enterprise risk management (ERM) system. An SPMS and ERM have several similar characteristics. In SPMS, managers view the organization from multiple perspectives--financial, customers, internal business, while ERM assesses risk enterprise-wide. Also, both SPMS and ERM educate employees about strategic objectives. This leads to actions consistent with organizational strategy. So, using an SPMS strengthens risk management in an organization.

The article focuses on the ongoing changes at the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). The IMA chairman Carl Smith believes the organization's focus on the value of its members and innovation will help it become a leader in the field of management. He hopes to increase branding efforts, add new products and services, add awareness of itself within the business community, and diversify its membership base.

The article discusses strategic planning in international business enterprises. The author believes that to create additional value through parenting advantage, a corporate headquarters must clearly define its role and strategic priorities to optimize the competitive advantage that lies within its global network of business units and people. The author stresses the importance of relations between business units and the alignment of corporate goals.

The article discusses the goals of corporate-level business units called offices of strategy management (OSM). The responsibilities of the OSM include ensuring that the organization's strategy gets translated into the objectives, measures, targets, and balanced scorecard. The OSM should receive and filter strategies that emerge from within the organization annually. The OSM plays the leadership role in transferring ideas and best practices throughout the organization. These units play coordination roles to ensure that budgets, human resource planning, information technology investments, and marketing are all aligned with the organization's overall strategy.

The article discusses effective corporate governance practices. The Integrated Governance Scorecard (IGS) is highlighted. The management tool includes compliance but also addresses performance and knowledge management. Knowledge management and learning processes can enhance an employee's commitment to the goals and promote managerial compliance and organizational performance. Accountability can be addressed through the different dimensions of governance including corporate, knowledge-based, and measurement-based.

The article discusses aspects of strategy management. Experts say increased competition often leads to product imitation and industry convergence. A strategy approach is presented which incorporates the achievement of superior economic performance, customer bonding through a unique and differentiated value proposition, and attracting and retaining superior talent.