How would you rate your organization’s performance in dealing with its sales-and-use tax obligations — best-in-class, industry average, or laggard? If you’re not sure, or you suspect you’re in that last category, you might want to take a look at a new report from Aberdeen Group that sets out to isolate the factors that distinguish the top performers from the so-so operations as well as from, let’s say, the seriously sales-and-use-tax challenged. more

To what extent does risk management need to be better aligned with internal control?

That’s the essential question within a new survey you can complete in 15 to 20 minutes.

The survey represents a joint effort among The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO).

The objectives of the research are threefold:

• Investigate how risk management and internal control frameworks, standards, and/or guidance are being used around the globe;

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing risk management and internal control systems; and

• Determine the need for international alignment among the various national frameworks, standards, and guidance that already exist in this area. ###

I saw a new survey on the evolution of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and my first reaction was: How quaint – do people really still do that?

First, I apologize for my removed insensitivity. I am removed for a couple of reasons, including the fact that I’ve invested the vast majority of my research time in the past 18 months on risk management: enterprise risk management (ERM), risk culture, risk committee, human risk, model risk, scenario planning, etc.

Also, the term “SOX” sparked a little nostalgia for someone who started writing about SOX compliance the day the act appeared … well before everyone and their mom started writing (or, in many cases, “typing”) about GRC.

Despite the onslaught of GRC content and my own personal focus on risk management lately, SOX compliance continues to evolve, particularly for folks in the trenches who are too busy adding value (the survey suggests) to blog about their process, technology, and relationship work. more

As leaders of the G-20 nations gear up for a summit in Toronto this weekend, a “progressive” alliance of lawmakers in the European Parliament has unleashed the ultimate weapon in a bid to force Canada to sign on to proposals for a global financial transaction tax. The group has launched a “Twitterstorm” against Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, a staunch opponent of the tax scheme, and is threatening to bombard him mercilessly with tweets until he capitulates. more

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