Financial statements

Current accounting rules don't always communicate real value to investors.

Traditional accounting can't explain how companies like Uber and Twitter are valued.

Research shows it's an increasingly important form of insurance, particularly for small or vulnerable firms.

Managers fail to communicate effectively with Wall Street for all sorts of reasons. But neglecting the investment community--particularly the analysts...

When you understand financial statements-including the estimates and assumptions that go into them-you can offer insights that help ensure the statements...

Although the global cost of natural disasters has increased sharply, traditional sources of funding--governments, nonprofits, and NGOs--have not kept...

Riku Nakamura relocated six years ago with his family from Tokyo to San Mateo, California, to spearhead the launch of Kenko USA, the first foreign subsidiary...

With companies' financial statements being scrutinized as never before, executives are under pressure to forecast the cost of major projects accurately....

On July 30, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act addressing corporate accountability. A response to recent financial scandals, the law...

Green initiatives can, by reducing costs, enhance a company’s bottom line. Actions that harm the environment can have the opposite effect. Now, thanks to a burgeoning market in greenhouse gas emission credits put into effect by the Kyoto Protocol, environmental considerations will increasingly affect not only companies’ income statements but also their balance sheets. A […]

When crucial financial estimates rely on judgment, companies can minimize their risk by turning to appraisers, actuaries, and evaluators, whether internal,...

The key to selling well-designed, well-crafted products at high margins is the aesthetic coherence of the company and its goods. Embodying that ideal...

Quarterly earnings numbers dominate the decisions of executives, analysts, investors, and auditors. Yet for all the attention paid to these numbers, they're...

University of Chicago's Roman Weil charges that many audit committee members are financially illiterate--and he has the test results to prove it.

Traditional metrics like satisfaction and Net Promoter scores correlate poorly with what matters most: share of wallet. Managers need to think about how...

Instead of casting a wide net, try a more strategic approach.

In the wake of a series of gross corporate abuses around the turn of the century, Congress passed Sarbanes-Oxley, which was intended to make corporate...

Investors reward clear communication.

The use of stock options for executive compensation has become a lightning rod for public anger, and it's easy to see why. Many top executives grew hugely...

The sophisticated technologies used to understand costs don't illuminate revenue sources well. For that you need a whole new breed of accountant.