Unlike too many business forecasts these days, there is one forecast most of us in the United States pay close attention to this time of year: the hurricane forecast.

This year’s forecast was released a couple of weeks ago, and the picture looks troubling, yet instructive. more

Fraud lurks everywhere these days, especially in my inbox.

This spring, accounting firms, consultancies, and professional forensic associations are harvesting seasonal fraud surveys packed with criminal amounts of eye-opening information.

Whether or not North American risk management efforts – and the rise (or rebirth) of formal enterprise risk management programs – are putting a crimp on the corporate fraud crop remains to be seen (and will be something I blog on soon).

In the meantime, the results from Ernst & Young’s “11th Global Fraud Survey” and The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) “2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse” are available to prying eyes. more

The sports world lost one of its icons last week when the legendary former UCLA coach John Wooden died.

Wooden guided and inspired an incredibly talented and impressive group of players, including Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Marques Johnson, Jamal Wilkes, Henry Bibby, and many, many more.

He also inspired individuals and organizations outside the realm of college basketball. In fact, Wooden once said something that ought to inspire and motivate corporate finance executive and managers:

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Earlier in my career, during the early ‘90s, I had some exposure to the Coach Wooden, after he had retired from coaching. more

Several potential legislative and administrative changes may streamline the process of importing and exporting goods.

With the World Trade Organization predicting a 9.5 percent increase in world trade this year, businesses and government agencies know that it will pay to be as efficient as possible in importing and exporting goods. However, the U.S. appears to be falling short in its efforts. The World Bank’s “Doing Business 2010” report ranked America 18th in these efforts. While not terrible, it certainly leaves room for improvement. One reason for the less-than-impressive showing: The WTO estimates the cost of exporting one container from the U.S. at $1,050. The corresponding number for Singapore is $456.

Capitol Hill appears to be noticing. Last month, Rep. John Tanner, chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee, hosted a hearing on “U.S. Trade Facilitation and Enforcement in a Secure Environment.” The hearing was a prelude to a Customs reauthorization bill that Tanner and Kevin Brady, R-Texas, expect to introduce by the end of the year. more

I was happy to see Carnival Corporation receive a “GRC Achievement Award” from the Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG) last week.

I profiled Carnival’s GRC approach last year in Business Finance, and I still remember the passion with which the company’s GRC captain, chief audit executive Richard Brilliant, proclaimed, “GRC is everything.”

If you have not read the case study yet, it’s worth doing so for three reasons:

1) Carnival defines GRC clearly and practically;

2) Carnival demonstrates how GRC building blocks — including executive support for an internal audit function whose objectives include facilitating operational improvements — can be assembled; and

3) Carnival is committed to continuous GRC improvement. ###