Author: admin

Editor’s Note: Each year, CBM’s Board Leadership Awards recognize outstanding directors selected by a panel of their peers for exemplary service in distinct categories—advancing the principles of good governance, courage in the boardroom and making an impact. This year’s honorees stood out not only for their individual achievements, but also for their track records traversing an increasingly complex governance landscape at a time of accelerating transformational change. We’ll celebrate their accomplishments at the upcoming Boardroom Summit in Washington, DC, Sept. 18-19. Join us >Few retail brands have staged a transformation as striking as Abercrombie & Fitch’s in recent years. Voted America’s…

Few retail brands have staged a transformation as striking as Abercrombie & Fitch’s in recent years. Voted America’s most hated retailer in 2016, the 130-year-old company spent the past decade clawing its way back into shoppers’ good graces, reestablishing itself as a revitalized, digitally savvy lifestyle brand. The effort paid off, bringing its shareholders total returns of 54.4 percent over the past five years, far outpacing the 12.4 percent average delivered by peer companies. Behind that performance is a turnaround strategy and cultural evolution steered by a focused management team with support from an inquisitive and engaged board. As an…

Tracking work efficiency can be the smartest move you make in this inflationary environment, revealing whether your growth is actually generating cash or quietly eroding.In 2023, I received a call from a $100 million travel agency based in Florida. Out of the pandemic, their revenues rose 40%, up from $100 million to $140 million. Despite the increase, they found themselves “growing.”Like many scale-ups, they began to throw more expensive people into the matter, even while they were guarding some kind of labor. As inflation became rampant it put even more pressure on wages and charged the company's vacation products faster…

Last week I spoke to a client who runs 300 construction companies. They have been around for over 70 years, operating in 12 cities and manage multi-million dollar contracts each year. Do you know what they don't have? In-house legal team. They fired them two years ago. However, they maintain full SOC2 compliance and an improved audit trail compared to before. Please listen to me before closing this article. This is not a reckless startup. It is the construction of Yates. It's a company that saved $15,000 a month after eliminating the legal department. They handle contracts faster, have fewer…

Joanne is the CFO of a private equity support appliance manufacturer. For Joanne to do her job effectively, she needs to have a (relatively accurate) measure of how much the company sells by the end of the year. In that prediction, Joan usually relies on historical trends. There's no more. This year, AMID tariff whiplash, lower customer sentiment, higher interest rates, and the fear of a recession – historical trends have proven somewhat meaningless. And that's a big problem for Joan and almost every other CFO. Without a precise way to predict revenues in a volatile economy, too many CFOs…

Over 800,000 franchise business facilities operate in the US for some entrepreneurs. The business model is attractive. It leverages existing brands and provides almost turnkey business operations. For franchisors, the business model generates capital in the form of franchise fees, raises brand awareness and reduces certain risks. But business history is full of failed franchises. Many of them are filled with many of the well-known businesses that have started brilliantly but ultimately faced financial difficulties. Clearly, franchise work between the parties is not simple. To gain insights on Requirements for success in today's franchise world, Katie Kuener Hebert spoke with…

The world of finance and accounting is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by technology and innovative business models. In this episode, Michael Burdick, founder and CFO of Paro, shares his insights on the evolving landscape of finance and accounting solutions. He discusses the vision behind Paro.ai, a two-sided marketplace empowering finance professionals to work on their own terms, why he looks to hire rising stars and in what circumstances people learn the most. To book a demo with Planful, click here. — Listen to the podcast here Before we start out, a big shout out to our sponsors Planful and…

Recent headlines on AI (AI) employment are phenomenal. A $100 million package is creating news. The “Acquihire” deal (purchasing a company for key talent) is rewriting the norms of startups, with the board rushing to compete for talent that appears to violate traditional compensation logic.Compensation is important, but it is just part of the Employee Value Proposal (EVP) needed to attract and retain people. The pressure to compete for AI talent is intensifying, and today's board faces familiar decisions. Escalate your pay package to meet talent pressures and build a competitive advantage throughout the rest of your EVP. The most…

As governments around the world and US states and local governments seek new revenue streams, they often try to increase revenue from businesses through indirect taxes. Budget pressures have caused US states to raise sales tax rates, for example, and apply sales taxes to new product categories. This applies to the new product category, as Maryland has recently done with a 3% sales tax on data and IT services. One of the companies that helps businesses deal with the complexity and scale of indirect tax compliance worldwide is publishing its pinnacle software in King, Prussia, Pennsylvania. With approximately 2,000 employees,…

Talent has long been seen as a differentiator in boardrooms across the country. But today it's more than that. It's an existential lever. In an age characterized by AI disruption, labor shortages, hybrid models and changing employee expectations, labor planning is no longer a post-operational thinking. This is a strategic imperative and deserves the same scrutiny and foresight as cybersecurity, capital allocation and corporate risk.Risk of inactionThe board, which failed the rigorous pressure test talent strategy, missed opportunities for growth, faced with increased exposure to execution risk. According to McKinsey & Company, nearly 50% of executives cite skills gaps as…