They will force you to change how you talk to them, manage them, and sell to them. These people, for example, almost never use conventional USPS mail and even avoid email as just too slow, according to the Beloit study. So, how will you communicate with them? Think social media or texting. They rarely use phone to just talk; yes, they are wedded to their cell phones but not necessarily for talking. As the Beloit researchers say: “The digital world is routine and technology is just too slow.” Here is an interesting study on social media trends, too.

These young people also have never known a world without the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Accommodating people with ramps and handicapped parking spaces is normal to them. Similarly, a quarter of these young people have at least one parent who is an immigrant. That will surely change the immigration discussion in your organization. (more…)

Tucked within the hundreds of pages of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is Section 627, “INTEREST-BEARING TRANSACTION ACCOUNTS AUTHORIZED.” This section repeals what’s known as “Reg Q,” which prohibited banks from paying interest on demand deposits. One year from the passage of the bill, or July 21, 2011, banks will be able to pay interest on checking accounts. (more…)

Here’s a possible preview of things to come. The article looks at some of the reasons why Motorola, KeyCorp, and Occidental Petroleum failed to receive majority shareholder support on say-on-pay votes (regarding compensation packages of named executives) this spring.

Say on pay votes are not new. (more…)

The long-awaited release Friday of a report from the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, headed by Paul Volcker, provides a rough answer: north of $40 billion per year, or more than 12 percent of the revenues collected.

That’s just one nugget from many in the report, which sheds a disturbing light on the tangle of dilemmas and inefficiencies that the tax code foists on companies of all sizes. (more…)

Twenty-five senior corporate finance executives from around the world address these questions in recent research from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

The postcrisis analysis follows a 2008 IFAC report that defines and examines the financial reporting supply chain.

The key insights of the more recent research (“Business Reporting Recommendations from Key Leaders”) are interesting:

• The primary responsibility of directors is performance, not compliance.

• Organizations should expand their view from a shareholder perspective to a stakeholder perspective.

• Organizations should take economic as well as social and environmental performance factors into account.

• Organizations should better integrate governance and sustainability into [corporate] strategy, operations, and stakeholder communications.

• Organizations should further improve their stakeholder communications.

Here is an overview of the report. ###

A final decision on IFRS for the U.S. has NOT been issued. In fact, such a decision is not expected until 2011, after the efforts of several working groups have been reviewed and public comments assimilated. In Canada, however, IFRS is a done deal and the first compliance deadlines are approaching.

So, if IFRS happens, what is the implication for the technology infrastructure? “It will be huge,” observes Matthew J. Kinver, director of the IFRS practice at Sunera Business Consulting. (more…)

You probably don’t want to phrase it in terms of: (a) the IRS is basically trying to get corporates to do their work for them; (b) it’s a case of “give us more rope to hang you with”; (c) the whole idea is to give the IRS full access to your innermost tax deliberations so that they can grab the full amount of the maximum tax adjustment that will likely be required in the proposed UTP Schedule. (more…)

The recent push for greater risk intelligence also extends to the board for directors.

Henry Essert, a former chief risk officer and a current executive in Ernst & Young LLP’s financial services office, identifies seven questions that directors should ask about their organization’s risk management capabilities in the following column.

Read through Essert’s questions so that you can be prepared the next time the board springs a risk-management pop quiz. (more…)

To optimize an organization’s working capital, CFOs must energize customer engagement along their organization’s front lines. Mark Vengroff, CEO of Vengroff, Williams & Associates, reveals how CFOs are embracing a “culture of innovation” to help streamline cash flow connections. ###