March 2008
There are a few critical tasks that all finance chiefs must tackle in their first hundred days.
Abstract
December 2007
By focusing on talent development, new roles for finance, and creative benchmarks, CFOs can deliver a competitive advantage to their companies.
Abstract
December 2007
Chief financial officers around the world describe their first hundred days on the job as a time when most received guidance, but many had difficulty devoting enough time to their top priorities.
Abstract
October 2007
Chris Coughlin explains how spinning off some of the company’s largest businesses was the key to ensuring its long-term growth.
Abstract
September 2007
Investors reward high-performing companies that shift their strategic focus prudently, even if that means lower returns or slower growth.
Abstract
July 2007
Reforms that attracted little attention in the Western world mark a major step forward in the modernization of China’s capital markets.
Abstract
July 2007
Companies that stick to valuation basics can capture any value that would make them attractive for takeover bids.
Abstract
April 2007
Companies aren't getting the most out of their offshoring programs. Key design changes would help.
Abstract
April 2007
In a buoyant economy, the next recession seems far off. But managers who prepare during good times can improve their companies' chances to endure—or thrive in—the eventual downturn.
Abstract
April 2007
Few large global companies outperform their competitors on both revenue growth and profitability over a decade. Do those that do have anything else in common?
Abstract
April 2007
As investors demand that companies actively manage their business portfolios, executives must increasingly balance investment opportunities against the capital that's available to finance them.
Abstract
April 2007
The economy is more stable that it's been in quite a while, and many industries are riding high—for the time being.
Abstract
March 2007
Once companies reach a certain size, setting realistic performance aspirations gets a bit trickier.
Abstract
February 2007
Most measurements of performance are geared to the needs of 20th-century manufacturing companies. Times have changed. Metrics must change as well.
Abstract
February 2007
When changes in accounting rules provide no new information, they don't register with investors. Nor should they lead managers to shift focus.
Abstract
January 2007
Public companies will need to raise their governance game if they are to compete with private firms.
Abstract
December 2006
Bob Lane details the steps his company took to engage the whole organization in an operational and cultural transformation.
Abstract
November 2006
CFOs can bring much-needed skills to the CEO role, but the
career path isn’t always a direct one.
Abstract
October 2006
A panel of executives explores why private equity has been
giving public ownership such a run for its money.
Abstract
April 2006
What should a company do when a hedge fund shows up among
its investors?
Abstract
April 2006
Borrowing key principles from lean manufacturing can help the finance function to eliminate waste.
Abstract
March 2006
Companies find growth enticing, but a strong return on invested capital is more sustainable.
Abstract
March 2006
Companies provide earnings guidance with a variety of expectations—and most of them don't hold up.
Abstract
March 2006
Most companies plan to continue providing investors with
frequent earnings guidance, though executives disagree about its costs and benefits.
Abstract
February 2006
Finance theory isn't enough when companies set their expectations for reasonable returns on invested capital. A long-term analysis of market and industry trends can help.
Abstract
October 2005
Return on capital is the benchmark for comparing performance between businesses. But new math is needed when a company’s capital intensity is low.
Abstract
October 2005
TRS doesn’t reflect a company's performance or health. What does?
Abstract
May 2005
Allan Loren explains how he delivered double-digit earnings growth during each of the past four years and raised the company's value by more than 300 percent.
Abstract
April 2005
Markets may expect solid performance over the short term, but they also value sustained performance over the long term. How can companies manage both time frames?
Abstract
March 2005
Maximizing the value of companies means attending not only to their short-term performance but also to their long-term health.
Abstract
March 2005
Earnings per share and share prices aren’t the whole story—particularly in the medium and long term.
Abstract
February 2005
Microsoft is paying cash to shareholders, stressing transparency in its diverse businesses, and embracing Sarbanes-Oxley. Before announcing his departure in early 2005, CFO John Connors talked with The McKinsey Quarterly about why.
Abstract
February 2005
Given the difficulties of doing business there, direct investment in Chinese companies isn’t always the best option.
Abstract
February 2005
Investments don’t govern themselves; active ownership is the answer.
Abstract
November 2004
Valuations are linked to growth. So why are they lower in high-growth markets in Asia?
Abstract
October 2004
Financial officers in the high-tech sector should learn to balance six roles to help guide companies into a more mature market.
Abstract
August 2004
A changed competitive landscape calls for a different business model.
Abstract
March 2004
Value-based management programs focus too much on measurement and too little on the management activities that create shareholder value.
Abstract
January 2004
Whether leading or supporting the effort, the CFO often ends up at the center of risk management.
Abstract
January 2004
The largest companies eventually find size itself an impediment to creating new value. They must recognize that not all forms of growth are equal.
Abstract
November 2003
It’s good to take risks—if you manage them well.
Abstract
October 2003
Twenty-five years after alliances first paved the way into the world’s most dynamic emerging market, knowing how to structure them is more important than ever.
Abstract
February 2003
Companies now have an opportunity to rethink their use of stock options so that they serve shareholders as well as executives.
Abstract
January 2003
Off-the-shelf tools from other sectors won’t work. What will?
Abstract
October 2002
Large companies often have dozens of alliances—and little idea how they are performing. Here’s how to evaluate them.
Abstract
October 2002
Cutting costs might get more attention, but improving pricing discipline can add more to the bottom line. Here’s how CFOs can lead the way.
Abstract
June 2002
As investors home in on business fundamentals and credible accounting, the CFO’s traditional oversight of planning and performance takes on new urgency.
Abstract
May 2002
Identifying and understanding important individual investors can help corporate executives predict the direction of share prices.
Abstract
October 2001
Executives should be wary of bending strategy to suit the wayward long-term earnings forecasts of equity analysts.
Abstract
October 2001
The war on terrorism may change the shape and pace of economic integration. But the fundamental human forces that drive it will not be dislodged.
Abstract
August 2001
Telecom-equipment suppliers extended billions in vendor financing to aggressive start-ups and wireless companies. Many of them are now struggling or bankrupt—and their suppliers are suffering, too.
Abstract
November 2000
An increasingly significant part of active value management involves generating long-term growth expectations. Unlike traditional performance metrics, growth value maps reflect their importance.
Abstract
June 2000
Market expectations are hard for managers to understand and even harder for them to change. But there are ways of doing both that are much more science than black magic.
Abstract
February 2000
These days, the share prices of many companies have a giant built-in growth premium. How does this play out among Australia's leading companies?
Abstract
August 1998
Good companies haven’t always been good investments. Total returns to shareholders may not necessarily be a good measure of management performance. How fast is your treadmill moving?
Abstract
February 1996
Focusing on transaction risks may be a mistake. Structural and portfolio risks require more than hedging. Companies need to understand—not just correlate—the relationship between foreign exchange movements and cashflows.
Abstract
February 1996
For a hedging program to work, it must increase the “time to ruin.” The goal is to reduce the variability of cash flows. A new study shows that few companies succeed.
Abstract
November 1994
An excerpt from the second edition of Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies.
Abstract