In a March speech, Zhou Ziaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, floated the notion of a single international reserve currency, “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run.” (A reserve currency is maintained by central banks so that they can invest in and trade with other countries and manage the value of their own currency.)

Some analysts viewed the comments as little more than China stirring up trouble and flexing their growing economic clout. And, self-interest probably was one factor behind the idea, as this article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation points out. The Chinese, along with others around the globe, worry whether President Obama’s stimulus plan will prompt inflation, devaluing the greenbacks China holds. That would also increase the value of the yuan, cutting into China’s exports. more

This spring has seen corporate performance management (CPM) move squarely into the cloud, propelled by Host Analytics, a player that didn’t even find a place as a niche player or challenger among the quadrants (Niche, Challengers, Visionaries, Leaders) of the latest Gartner CPM Magic Quadrant report. However, the research firm did give a shout-out in the report to Host and competitor Adaptive Planning as CPM SaaS players.

According to Gartner, the market for CPM hit $1.8 billion in license and maintenance revenue in 2007, representing 19 percent year-on-year growth. Driving the growth is the replacement of spreadsheets for CPM by products with built-in analytics. Maybe, but spreadsheets remain the preferred CPM tool by the actual users, and a CPM product that doesn’t export its data to Excel is doomed. You can find the Gartner report here. more

One of the most enjoyable facets of the annual Beyond Budgeting Round Table (North America) conference, which took place in San Francisco last month, is the side discussions that take place among members, presenters, and other attendees.

John Boyd’s name inevitably crops up in some of these chats.

Boyd was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a highly influential military strategist whose insights also apply to business strategy. He devised the “OODA Loop,” first as an approach to air-to-air combat and then later as a much broader military strategy.

The acronym stands for “Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act,” and it helps illustrate one of the keys to the success of the Beyond Budgeting model. more

Whenever I read a David Smick column that does not detail the looming collapse of the global financial system, I breathe a sigh (or in this case, a half-sigh) of relief.

Smick’s latest Washington Post column starts by recounting how U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s assurance to a Chinese audience at Beijing University that their dollar investments were safe was greeted with laughter.

“The Chinese should be wary of such hubris,” Smick writes. “While America’s public finances are troubling, to say the least, Beijing and the rest of the world should examine the future for economies, including China’s, that have become overwhelmingly dependent on exports. Their future looks as problematic as the future of the debt-ridden United States.” more

As IFRS case studies begin to filter out, an interesting question arises: How will the conversion to/adoption of IFRS in the United States affect private companies?

If the widespread use of U.S. GAAP by U.S. private companies is any indication, IFRS consultants and implementers will find eager clients among private companies as well as public companies.

Some U.S. private companies currently use IFRS, according to IFRS experts, although in most cases these companies do so because they are part of a non-U.S. company (or an investor or venture partner) that already uses IFRS.

There are some unique IFRS issues facing private U.S. companies. more