- The High Cost of Lax Regulation
- Who is accountable for the lack of oversight in Southern China, where dangerous and recalled pet food, toothpaste and toys are produced? [more]
- Information Tools Key in a Consumer-Directed Health Plan
- A whopping 90 percent of employers that offer a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) believe communicating the introduction of such plan is the biggest hurdle in implementing one. [more]
- How Finance Is Getting Physical
- Faced with the deep complexity of global sourcing, more and more companies are looking to integrate their physical and financial supply chains. [more]
- No More Tuning Out Wireless Costs
- Not so long ago, wireless communication costs were a tiny fraction of companies' overall telecom expenses, and many executives, even in the finance department, still think of them that way. [more]
- What P-Cards Can Do for You
- Companies that install a purchasing card program still tend to focus on achieving processing efficiencies, but the cost savings are impressive too, according to an Aberdeen report available here. [more]
- Insurance Industry Competition Up, Premium Costs Down
- Companies may be able to benefit from increased competition in the insurance industry this year: Property and casualty insurance premiums declined sharply in the first quarter, and insurers have been easing up on underwriting standards. [more]
- How To Win at the Offshoring Game
- Moving corporate functions to low-cost centers overseas can be risky, but the rewards are tangible for organizations that do it right. [more]
- Finance Shared Services Growing in Popularity in Europe
New research from The Hackett Group indicates that more European companies are adopting finance shared services organizations (SSOs). [more]
- How To Chop T&E Costs in Half
Companies are still largely dependent on manual processes -- paper forms or basic spreadsheets -- for travel and entertainment expense reporting. [more]
- Centralization Nation
Centralizing certain treasury operations makes sound business sense, but determining the appropriate processes and carrying out the mandate requires intensive introspection and planning. [more]
- Survey Finds Planning Is Key to E-Filing Compliance
A recent survey of 312 senior corporate tax executives has found that US companies that are obligated to e-file are spending more time and money to do so than before the IRS mandate. [more]
- An Rx Tsunami?
Managing the cost of prescription drugs is getting tougher as expensive new biotech drugs gain ground. [more]
- Procurement Outsourcing Poised for Rapid Growth
Fueled by a record number of large contracts in 2006, the procurement outsourcing market is on the cusp of an accelerated growth phase. [more]
- Health-Care Cost Increases Stabilizing
Health benefit cost increases will settle at around 8 percent for this year and next. [more]
- Asia-Pacific Corporations Push BPO Decisions to the Regions
Customers of BPO projects consumed in the Asia Pacific region (except Japan) in 2007 plan to pay more attention to unique regional requirements and get local decision-makers more involved in the BPO contract-award process. [more]
- E-Filing Tax Returns a Hassle, At Least For Now
Companies that were required for the first time to e-file their 2005 federal tax returns found the preparation and filing processes onerous, time-consuming and expensive. [more]
- How Presenteeism Impacts the Bottom Line
Medical plan sponsors who obsess over medical and pharmacy claims may be missing an even bigger threat to medical cost containment in the form of employee presenteeism — reduced productivity on the job due to illness or underlying acute or chronic medical conditions. [more]
- A Perspective on Outsourcing F&A
The finance and accounting function is a particularly viable candidate for outsourcing. [more]
- The "Other BPM": Business Process Management Can Boost ROI
Investing in business process management (BPM) tools is different than buying other software, since a BPM system by its very nature incorporates more than one process and addresses more than one problem. [more]
- Insurance Rates Drift Downward
As the insurance industry continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina, business insurance buyers are finding more demanding underwriters — but softer prices overall mean good news. [more]
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