Even as the economy shows signs of stabilizing and corporate finance execs feel a little freer to breathe a (small) sigh of relief, they remain focused on cash inflows and outflows. Indeed, corporate cash balances within the S&P 500 have risen steadily over the past year and a half, so that they’re now nearing $1 trillion.

To get there, many companies have focused on the basic blocking-and-tackling of cash management – consolidating cash balances, gaining visibility into the location(s) of their funds, and paying greater attention to early pay discounts, among other strategies. Ariba, a provider of collaborative business commerce solutions, has seen a 48 percent spike in the number of early payments between the buyers and suppliers that do business through its network, along with a jump of 73 percent in the dollar value of discounts. “We’re seeing increased scrutiny of cash in the supply chain,” says Peter Lugli, senior director of working capital management with the Sunnyvale, Cal.-based firm. more

Here’s how Deloitte & Touche LLP principal Rick Funston defines the concept of “risk intelligence” in five words: “Managing risk before it manages you.”

Not bad for someone who recently invested tens of thousands of words on the same topic in his and co-author Stephen Wagner’s new book, “Surviving and Thriving in Uncertainty: Creating the Risk Intelligent Enterprise” (Wiley, 2010).

I asked Funston about various elements of risk intelligence in this Q&A chat that I conducted for Business Finance. ###

Jefferson Wells isn’t naming any names, but a cautionary tale included in a new advisory from the audit firm definitely has the ring of truth.

It started when an electronics firm wanted to move from a spreadsheet-based provision process to a new FAS 109 software package. more