- Are Boards to Blame in Backdating Scandal?
Academics at Harvard and Cornell have released a new study of stock-option grants made to directors of US companies that claims to present evidence that outside directors' option grants "have been favorably timed to an extent that cannot be fully explained by sheer luck. [more]
- Finding the ROI in Wellness Programs
Corporate wellness programs can help businesses control health-care spending -- but not unless they understand what they're getting for their money. [more]
- Earnings Gap Shrinks as Men Make Less Money
The gap between men and women's earnings is shrinking -- not because women are making great progress in the workplace, but because men are making less. [more]
- Huron Consulting Group Releases Audit Committee Research Report
Huron Consulting Group has released its Audit Committee Research report, based on a sample of more than 700 audit committee members at 178 public companies from the NASDAQ 100 and Fortune 100 listings. [more]
- Executive Cash Bonuses Rise 48 Percent
The highest-paid executives in America received a 48.2 percent increase in their average annual cash bonus and were paid 31.2 percent more total cash compensation, according to the November 2006 Executive Compensation Index figures released by ERI Economic Research Institute and CareerJournal.com. [more]
- Last Top Enron Exec Gets Five Years
Former Enron chief accounting officer Richard Causey was sentenced yesterday to five and a half years in prison, after pleading guilty in December to securities fraud, according to the Associated Press. [more]
- Tenure in Past Jobs Important Factor in Hiring Decisions
According to a new survey of CFOs by Robert Half Finance & Accounting, chronic job hoppers may bounce themselves out of consideration for future opportunities. [more]
- Pumping Up P-Card Programs
Purchasing card (p-card) programs are often underutilized, but they have the potential to save companies a bundle due to lower processing costs and incentive rebates. [more]
- Deciphering the New Pension Protection Act
It's no secret that 401(k) plans in their current form are unlikely to leave today's workers with the level of income they need to retire. [more]
- Study Reveals Leading Ethics Topics
Corporate ethics and compliance training firm Integrity Interactive has announced the results of a study of millions of employee compliance-training records that reveals the top ethics and compliance-training topics addressed by major corporations today. [more]
- Accountants' Salaries Should Rise in 2007
Accounting and finance professionals will be in high demand next year due to business expansion and ongoing compliance requirements (and possible changes), according to the 2007 Salary Guide from Robert Half International. [more]
- Updating Whistle-Blowing Mechanisms
There's still some speculation about whether the accounting improprieties at Enron and WorldCom could have been nipped in the bud if a well-designed whistleblower complaint-reporting process had been in place at these companies. [more]
- Employee Self-Service Matures
When employee self-service technologies first appeared in the early '90s, many businesses quickly found that they could save time and money by making benefits information and retirement fund data available electronically. [more]
- FASB Changes Pension Accounting Rules
- The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) finally brought the hammer down Friday and announced it will require publicly traded companies to account for pension and benefit plans on their financials upon completion of fiscal years ending after December 15. [more]
- 4 of 5 Executives Considering Outsourcing Pension Plans
- Pension "reform" is fueling the growth of plan management outsourcing -- a market that's already growing like crazy. [more]
- Despite F&A Outsourcing, Nobody's Worrying About Accounting Layoffs
According to the most recent Hudson Employment Index, layoff worries among accounting and finance workers hit a record low last month. [more]
- AICPA Finds CPAs' Confidence in Economy Declining
CPAs are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the economy, according to the most recent Business and Industry Economic Outlook survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). [more]
- Control Expenses with Health-Plan Eligibility Audit
Businesses can save substantially by implementing a formal process to determine whether they're carrying people who aren't entitled to health-care benefits. [more]
- Is Phased Retirement a Win-Win?
Organizations that offer formal programs to retain retiree talent on a part-time basis extol the virtues of phased retirement. [more]
- The Latest Word: The Vision Thing
Ten years into its Vision Awards — the only awards recognizing excellence in business performance management — the editors of Business Finance report that this year's crop of nominated companies was the most competitive they've seen. [more]
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