Creating value, driving behaviorIn times of economic downturn, businesses look to the finance function to lead the way with sound financial management. This means benchmarking performance to identify efficiencies and savings. It means improving your systems and processes so that your business information is more accurate and readily available. And it means considering alternative operating models for running your finance function, such as a shared services or outsourcing arrangement. Ernst & Young can work with you in this. We have the breadth of experience that comes from working with many of the world’s leading and fastest growing companies. We can help you make sure you have effective processes that enhance control, create value and drive organizational behaviors. So your finance function has the agility it needs to advance the changing business agenda and sustain future business success. | Finance performance improvement starts with framework Amid signs of economic recovery, we suggest in The future of Finance (pdf, 248.8kb) that CFOs establish and implement a holistic framework that identifies weaknesses and potential improvements, and which helps enable Finance to be more effective, lower costs and help deliver more value to the bottom line. Meeting today’s financial challenges A number of transformational events and trends are reshaping the global business landscape. Financial challenges currently facing companies around the world must be addressed by management, the audit committee and external auditor. Assess your most critical business issues (pdf, 2.2mb) and identify the best way to respond to those challenges. Finance performance improvement starts with framework Amid signs of economic recovery, we suggest in The future of Finance (pdf, 248.8kb) that CFOs establish and implement a holistic framework that identifies weaknesses and potential improvements, and which helps enable Finance to be more effective, lower costs and help deliver more value to the bottom line. Cash on the meter Ernst & Young has analyzed the effectiveness of receivables management of the leading European electric and gas utilities. We have published our analysis in our new report Cash on the meter – Electricity and gas utility receivables: performance and leading practice. The report reveals that the European power and utility industry has achieved improvements (pdf, 2mb) in the past. However, the deteriorating economic conditions across Europe appear to have had a marked adverse effect on utilities’ receivables performance. The results suggest plentiful opportunities for releasing cash from receivables. US$1 trillion in cash all tied up Despite an increasing focus on active cash management by many companies, our annual working capital report for 2009 (pdf, 1.4mb) found that up to US$1 trillion of liquidity may still be tied up in working capital in 2,000 of the largest companies headquartered in the US and Europe. Viewpoint: The credit crunch and asset managers This article from our Viewpoints series (pdf, 96kb) reviews the impact of the credit crunch on asset prices, funds under management and asset management revenues, looking at the possible short and long term implications for the industry. Financial reporting in a time of crisis The economic crisis presents an opportunity to modernize financial regulation in a way that will help to prevent future financial meltdowns, while also promoting global economic stability and opportunity (pdf, 62kb), said EY Chairman and CEO Jim Turley in a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. |
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