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Governance failures can be caused by opaque jargon and can be triggered with poor accountability and overt fraud. An example is the infamous, failed JP Morgan hedge strategy in 2012. This is called the “London Whale,” with the bank losing more than $6 billion and government fines exceeding $1 billion. A transparent, outspoken, unusually self-critical internal investigation conducted for the Board and a 2013 parliamentary investigation by the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees identified a massive deal catastrophe that was not a deliberate managerial deception but was the result of a disruption in governance over terminology.On January 26, 2012,…

Recent changes in tariffs have business executives searching for how to best respond. Yet one potential solution has existed for over 90 years—and was adopted by Congress in the 1930s response to the last major trade war.  If you can qualify your business within a Foreign Trade Zone (“FTZ”) or utilize a service provider such as third party logistics provider that is located in an FTZ, you may qualify for deferred or reduced duty payments, while simultaneously making your supply chain more efficient materially reducing your U.S. Customs compliance costs, as well as a host of other benefits.What is a…

As AI changes the world around us, the big challenge that leaders face is to bring their organizations into one part of storms and tumultuousness. There is something paradox here because organizations need to change to survive in a changing world. If so, what will remain constant on that journey? What is it that unifies businesses and other organizations from time to time, every day, every year, and every year, and every year, and every day, with changing market conditions, physical exercise, staff turnover, and even changes in names and ownership? What currently means decisions that will affect the future…

The era of merciless corporate expansion has ended, and is revealed by rising interest rates and technological disruptions. This is a shift that undermines all the cost mentality that has shaped corporate America over the past decade. Survival now calls for businesses to relentlessly prioritize profitability, strategic focus and sustainable financial management over blind expansion, and change the rules of successful CEOs.For years, businesses were supported by cheap capital, paying some attention to financial health, and often prioritizing growth over profitability and cash flow. Venture capital and low interest rate loans have promoted a culture of relentless growth, which measured…

Editor's Note: For most CEOs and CFOs of middle market companies, landing a seat on a public or private board is a great career move and a lucrative and exciting way to get decades of experience to work in a whole new way. But will you make that happen? It's not easy. To help, we are launching a new occasional series with practical tips and ideas. And if you're serious about trying to get on the board, I recommend looking at the Sister Publications of CFO Leadership. Corporate board members, This offers a high-value online learning program to give you…

About half of the small, micro-companies Godaddy recently voted for predicted that the US economy will be weak over the next six months. However, less than 10% of the company expects a decline in revenue. The confidence and resilience of those business owners, and their craving for digital tools to make their organizations more visible and efficient, is what makes GoDaddy CFO Mark McCaffrey exudes confidence in what's going forward. Once known as the Domain Name Registry, GoDaddy is a publicly-grossing company with nearly $5 billion in revenue and currently offers website building, marketing, e-commerce and payment solutions to 20…

In pursuit of better governance, the board increasingly relies on old argument tactics assigning devil defenders. The idea is simple. Not because some people disagree, but because structured acts of objection can reveal weaknesses in reasoning and improve decision-making.However, while the intention is good, execution is important.”It's important that you're not the same person every time,” said Paul Denikola, of the PWC's Governance Insights Centre. “You certainly don't want that person to become known like a chronic opponent.”Instead, turning roles and linking them to specific strategic debates, such as major pivots and controversial investments, can help normalize disagreements as a…

In a world fascinated by the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, it is easy to assume that difficult and technical skills, such as coding, data analysis, and robotics, dominate the future of the job. However, the paradox is: As technology advances, soft skills (what has historically been considered secondary or “good”) are becoming the real differentiator of success. Future soft skills crisisToday, 80% of executives agree that soft skills are important, if not more important than technical skills for corporate success. However, there is a huge gap between consciousness and action. Organizations are putting billions of dollars into high-tech skills,…

Advanced Computing Chips are the engines of our digital world, and in this episode, we go behind the scenes with a true industry leader.Host Jack McCullough welcomes Shelagh Glaser, CFO of Synopsys, a company at the forefront of this technological revolution. This conversation dives into the human side of innovation: How do you empower the brilliant minds designing these complex chips? What’s the vision driving the future of computing? Shelagh offers a glimpse into the mission-critical work that shapes our world, one chip at a time.To book a demo with Planful, click here.—Listen to the podcast hereYou can follow us…

I recognize that stories about birds and bees attract more clicks than stories that tell about collective sighs, buyers. However, there are lessons that can be learned about the innate behaviour of buyers and honeybees that will help us rethink how to manage supply chain strategies in this era of unprecedented volatility and systemic risk.As a former supply chain management executive, I am the first responsibility that is often listed in the buyer's job description. Low cost of land! The second bullet is usually a variant of “see first bullet”. This quest to reduce costs pursued over decades has created…