Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA), a leading worldwide cost-reduction consultancy, is helping the companies that help Americans keep their #1 New Year's resolution -- get in shape.
"We have reduced expenses for clients that include NutriSystem, New York Road Runners and CytoSport, the maker of Muscle Milk," said Ken Hagerstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ERA-USA. "Just as their clients are trying to get fit and trim fat, we are helping our clients with financial fitness, trimming 'fat.'" Other ERA clients in the U.S. include companies that provide specialized fitness and weight-loss programs; make high-end mountain bikes; manufacture popular nutritional supplements; and grow healthy fruits and vegetables.
The consultancy's experts have helped them reduce G&A expenses such as merchant card fees, office supplies, packaging, factory consumables, chemicals, telecommunications and small package freight.These clients report that ERA's recommendations lead to strengthened P&L statements and cash flow, which they can reinvest in their core business. "We help them save money so that even in today's economy, they can continue to offer the tools necessary for a healthy lifestyle," said Hagerstrom.
Sponsor- Cambridge Consulting Group has helped numerous Fortune 500 Companies reduce their costs by creatively looking at commercial real estate leases.They have saved Ford Motor Credit, KeyBank, AOl and other companies millions of dollars by restructuring or removing commercial real estate obligations. For more information please visit their website-www.commercialleaseterminations.com
CytoSport reduced its merchant card fees by 42%, saved 29% on office supplies, cut telecommunications expenses by 19% and brought down costs for temporary labor by 13%. The company saved more than $250,000 last year.
"Our company is growing rapidly," said David Weber, former CFO and now COO of CytoSport. "The savings have provided an additional source of funding for us to continue to strengthen our position in the marketplace." ERA Expertise The U.S. practice includes more than 250 Consultants located across the country.
Clients can take advantage ERA's extensive knowledge and market intelligence in expense categories common to a wide variety of industries. Few companies would be able to justify hiring this level of expertise internally. ERA clients save about 20% and clients start to realize those savings quickly, usually in less than 90 days. If ERA finds no savings, there is no fee.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Cost Cutting Improve Profits at Lowes
new York Times reports that Lowe's Fourth Quarter profit rose 27%. These resuklts came from cutting costs and nd a modest sales gain according to figures released by the retailer.
Lowes said it expects sales to rise this year as the housing market and broader economy recover. Forecasted earnings for the spring quarter were below analyst expectations which led to lower share prices in early trading activity.
Home improvement retailers have seen their business decrease dramatically as the housing downturn continues and homeowners are still concerned about the economy. This may change according to Lowe's CEO Robert A Niblock,'' the worst of the economic cycle is likely behind us,'' CEO Robert A. Niblock said.
He said the ''psychological impact'' of falling home prices and job worries continue to weigh on consumers, but improving sales trends, including more purchases of higher-ticket items, are an ''encouraging sign'' consumers will begin to take on larger home-improvement projects.
Quarterly profit rose 27 percent to $205 million, or 14 cents per share, from $162 million, or 11 cents per share last year.Revenue edged up nearly 2 percent to $10.17 million, from $9.98 billion last year.
The company, based in Mooresville, N.C., said sales in stores open at least a year fell 1.6 percent. The measure is considered a key gauge of a retailer's financial health because it measures sales at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
Sponsor- Cambridge Consulting Group has helped numerous Fortune 500 Companies reduce their costs by creatively looking at commercial real estate leases.They have saved Ford Motor Credit, KeyBank, AOl and other companies millions of dollars by restructuring or removing commercial real estate obligations. For more information please visit their website-www.commercialleaseterminations.com
Lowes said it expects sales to rise this year as the housing market and broader economy recover. Forecasted earnings for the spring quarter were below analyst expectations which led to lower share prices in early trading activity.
Home improvement retailers have seen their business decrease dramatically as the housing downturn continues and homeowners are still concerned about the economy. This may change according to Lowe's CEO Robert A Niblock,'' the worst of the economic cycle is likely behind us,'' CEO Robert A. Niblock said.
He said the ''psychological impact'' of falling home prices and job worries continue to weigh on consumers, but improving sales trends, including more purchases of higher-ticket items, are an ''encouraging sign'' consumers will begin to take on larger home-improvement projects.
Quarterly profit rose 27 percent to $205 million, or 14 cents per share, from $162 million, or 11 cents per share last year.Revenue edged up nearly 2 percent to $10.17 million, from $9.98 billion last year.
The company, based in Mooresville, N.C., said sales in stores open at least a year fell 1.6 percent. The measure is considered a key gauge of a retailer's financial health because it measures sales at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
Sponsor- Cambridge Consulting Group has helped numerous Fortune 500 Companies reduce their costs by creatively looking at commercial real estate leases.They have saved Ford Motor Credit, KeyBank, AOl and other companies millions of dollars by restructuring or removing commercial real estate obligations. For more information please visit their website-www.commercialleaseterminations.com
CFO.Com Reports Increase In Tech Deals
Deal activity in the technology sector surged in the closing weeks of 2009, reversing two years of deepening drought. The flurry followed a long period during which share prices collapsed and the next quarter's revenues were often hard to forecast.
For the full year, the number of deals fell to 107 from 195 in 2008, while closed-deal values dropped 53% to about $36 billion, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. However, almost half of that dollar value was attributable to transactions that closed in the year's final two months.
The momentum is continuing into 2010, says Todson Page, a partner in PwC's technology transaction services practice. Given the stock markets' recovery and the increased demand some technology vendors are seeing, the pace is expected to accelerate. Still, activity may be restrained by a continuing gap between companies' true underlying value and what potential buyers are willing to pay for them, says Page.
Driving the miniboom will be the return of middle-market deals, which PwC defines as between $50 million and $500 million. As in other industries, many midsize firms stayed on the sidelines in 2009, looking for credit and waiting for the economy to stabilize. But PwC forecasts that this year the middle market will regain its historical level of accounting for 90% of technology deals. "We're expecting not only that midmarket companies will be targets of larger companies but also that they will be buying each other as they try to position themselves for some type of 'new normal' in the technology industry," says Page.
For rest of article
http://cfo.com/article.cfm/14476591/c_14477444
For the full year, the number of deals fell to 107 from 195 in 2008, while closed-deal values dropped 53% to about $36 billion, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. However, almost half of that dollar value was attributable to transactions that closed in the year's final two months.
The momentum is continuing into 2010, says Todson Page, a partner in PwC's technology transaction services practice. Given the stock markets' recovery and the increased demand some technology vendors are seeing, the pace is expected to accelerate. Still, activity may be restrained by a continuing gap between companies' true underlying value and what potential buyers are willing to pay for them, says Page.
Driving the miniboom will be the return of middle-market deals, which PwC defines as between $50 million and $500 million. As in other industries, many midsize firms stayed on the sidelines in 2009, looking for credit and waiting for the economy to stabilize. But PwC forecasts that this year the middle market will regain its historical level of accounting for 90% of technology deals. "We're expecting not only that midmarket companies will be targets of larger companies but also that they will be buying each other as they try to position themselves for some type of 'new normal' in the technology industry," says Page.
For rest of article
http://cfo.com/article.cfm/14476591/c_14477444
Thursday, February 18, 2010
HBR- What To Do When You Think Strategy is Wrong
By Amy Gallo
Harvard Business Review
Chances are that at some point in your career you've been asked to implement a strategy that was developed by someone other than yourself. A manager's job is to implement that strategy, and to be sure that her team, unit, or department executes well. But what if you believe the strategy you've been asked to implement is flawed? Perhaps you think the strategy won't achieve the intended result, or worse, that it will put the company at risk. Regardless of the severity of your concern, you have an obligation to speak up. However, immediately pulling the strategy fire alarm isn't always useful, and may brand you as an alarmist. It's important to find ways to express your concerns productively. By acting cautiously and thoughtfully, you can make your concerns heard while perhaps saving your team — or the company — time, energy, and money.
What the Experts Say
Strategy development is a difficult, time-intensive, and often messy process. The end result is never perfect. However, as a good citizen in any organization, you have an obligation to act if you see something wrong with your organization's strategy. Linda Hill, the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and author of Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership, says, "Anyone with a deep commitment to the organization owes it to that organization to ask questions and clear up confusions." However, you need to proceed cautiously. Don Sull, Professor of Management Practice in Strategic and International Management, the Faculty Director of Executive Education at the London Business School, and author of The Upside of Turbulence, cautions, "Saying 'this is stupid and wrong' isn't helpful." Before you cry "wrong strategy," follow these three steps to understand what is truly at stake and explore your motivations.
For rest of article please click here.
Sponsor- Cambridge Consulting Group provides CFO with independent and creative Financial, tax and real estate advice designed to help large corporations conserve cash. For more information please visit their website-www.commercialleaseterminations.com
Harvard Business Review
Chances are that at some point in your career you've been asked to implement a strategy that was developed by someone other than yourself. A manager's job is to implement that strategy, and to be sure that her team, unit, or department executes well. But what if you believe the strategy you've been asked to implement is flawed? Perhaps you think the strategy won't achieve the intended result, or worse, that it will put the company at risk. Regardless of the severity of your concern, you have an obligation to speak up. However, immediately pulling the strategy fire alarm isn't always useful, and may brand you as an alarmist. It's important to find ways to express your concerns productively. By acting cautiously and thoughtfully, you can make your concerns heard while perhaps saving your team — or the company — time, energy, and money.
What the Experts Say
Strategy development is a difficult, time-intensive, and often messy process. The end result is never perfect. However, as a good citizen in any organization, you have an obligation to act if you see something wrong with your organization's strategy. Linda Hill, the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and author of Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership, says, "Anyone with a deep commitment to the organization owes it to that organization to ask questions and clear up confusions." However, you need to proceed cautiously. Don Sull, Professor of Management Practice in Strategic and International Management, the Faculty Director of Executive Education at the London Business School, and author of The Upside of Turbulence, cautions, "Saying 'this is stupid and wrong' isn't helpful." Before you cry "wrong strategy," follow these three steps to understand what is truly at stake and explore your motivations.
For rest of article please click here.
Sponsor- Cambridge Consulting Group provides CFO with independent and creative Financial, tax and real estate advice designed to help large corporations conserve cash. For more information please visit their website-www.commercialleaseterminations.com
Monday, February 8, 2010
New CFO Career Moves
Jeffrey Harris was promoted from vice president of finance to CFO at children's clothing retailer The Gymboree Corp., replacing current CFO and COO Blair Lambert in the top finance role. Lambert will remain as COO through the third quarter of this year.
Scott Maw has been named to lead the finance function at SeaBright Insurance Holdings Inc. He is a former CFO of retail/consumer bank operations at JP Morgan Chase.
Eye-care products and services provider VSP Global has appointed Donald Ball Jr. to the top finance spot. He succeeds Patricia Cochran, who has retired from the company. Ball comes to VSP Global from grocery-store chain Raley's, where he was CFO; he also served as CFO of IKEA North America Services.
Frank Dellaquila has been promoted to finance chief at Emerson Electric Co. He takes over from vice chairman and CFO Walter Galvin, who will continue on in the vice chairman role. Dellaquila joined the company in 1991 and has been controller and senior vice president of finance since last year.
Scott Maw has been named to lead the finance function at SeaBright Insurance Holdings Inc. He is a former CFO of retail/consumer bank operations at JP Morgan Chase.
Eye-care products and services provider VSP Global has appointed Donald Ball Jr. to the top finance spot. He succeeds Patricia Cochran, who has retired from the company. Ball comes to VSP Global from grocery-store chain Raley's, where he was CFO; he also served as CFO of IKEA North America Services.
Frank Dellaquila has been promoted to finance chief at Emerson Electric Co. He takes over from vice chairman and CFO Walter Galvin, who will continue on in the vice chairman role. Dellaquila joined the company in 1991 and has been controller and senior vice president of finance since last year.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Area Development Survey Show CEO Focus On Cost Containment
Area Development Magazine released the results of its Annual Corporate Survey. The majority of the respondents were decision-makers with Manufacturing companies. These executives do not see the economy improving until late 2010 or 2011. Many companies reviewed their operations and real estate to look for cost saving potential. Twenty One percent responded that they reduced the number of facilities. This was an increase over last years results when only 12% reduced the number of facilities they had. The reasons for reducing their facilities:
70% Consolidating Operations
76% Decrease In Product Sales
76% Need to Lower Operating and/or Labor Costs
The respondents also said they were putting some new facility plans on hold( 25%) and or deferring hiring plans. 30 % percent said they needed to defer capital spending.
The survey has a wealth of information about corporation plans to expand and manage their facilities. The survey is included in the January/February Issue of Area Development. For more information please visit their website www.areadevelopment.com
Sponsor- Fortune 500 companies have turned to Cambridge Consulting Group to help reduce real estate expenses and free up capital. For the past 20 years , Cambridge Consulting Group has successfully saved corporations millions of dollars through commercial real estate lease terminations and negotiated buyout strategies. For more information please visit their website www.commercialleaseterminations.com
70% Consolidating Operations
76% Decrease In Product Sales
76% Need to Lower Operating and/or Labor Costs
The respondents also said they were putting some new facility plans on hold( 25%) and or deferring hiring plans. 30 % percent said they needed to defer capital spending.
The survey has a wealth of information about corporation plans to expand and manage their facilities. The survey is included in the January/February Issue of Area Development. For more information please visit their website www.areadevelopment.com
Sponsor- Fortune 500 companies have turned to Cambridge Consulting Group to help reduce real estate expenses and free up capital. For the past 20 years , Cambridge Consulting Group has successfully saved corporations millions of dollars through commercial real estate lease terminations and negotiated buyout strategies. For more information please visit their website www.commercialleaseterminations.com
CFO Magazine- Tech CFO Optimistic About Financial Results
By David McCann
Technology-company CFOs have turned decidedly optimistic about near-term financial results. Among 100 of them polled in January by BDO Seidman, 69% said they anticipate higher sales revenue in 2010. When a similar survey was done a year ago, only 30% of finance chiefs said the same for 2009.
Indeed, a rejuvenation appears to be already under way. On Wednesday, the same day the survey results were released, Cisco Systems announced an 8% gain in fourth-quarter revenue and a 23% profit spike. Cisco CEO John Chambers told The Wall Street Journal that it is "one of the most robust positive turnarounds I've seen in my career." Other tech companies recently reporting impressive financial results include Intel Corp. and Sybase Corp.
Judging by the BDO research, technology CFOs expect the party to continue. In fact, the 69% who forecast sales growth nearly matched the 73% who had that outlook in BDO's 2008 survey, conducted months before the recession began in earnest. In this year's poll, the overall anticipated sales increase for 2010 was 8.7%.
But Douglas Sirotta, a partner in BDO's technology practice, suggests renewed corporate spending on technology might not flower fully if unemployment stays high. A significant portion of the higher profits that are driving investment are attributable to head-count cuts, but going forward, incremental growth will likely track with renewed hiring. "There sure is a lot of optimism among technology CFOs, who seem confident that they're past the hurdle," says Sirotta. "But I think the true test will be whether there is some jobs growth."
Technology-company CFOs have turned decidedly optimistic about near-term financial results. Among 100 of them polled in January by BDO Seidman, 69% said they anticipate higher sales revenue in 2010. When a similar survey was done a year ago, only 30% of finance chiefs said the same for 2009.
Indeed, a rejuvenation appears to be already under way. On Wednesday, the same day the survey results were released, Cisco Systems announced an 8% gain in fourth-quarter revenue and a 23% profit spike. Cisco CEO John Chambers told The Wall Street Journal that it is "one of the most robust positive turnarounds I've seen in my career." Other tech companies recently reporting impressive financial results include Intel Corp. and Sybase Corp.
Judging by the BDO research, technology CFOs expect the party to continue. In fact, the 69% who forecast sales growth nearly matched the 73% who had that outlook in BDO's 2008 survey, conducted months before the recession began in earnest. In this year's poll, the overall anticipated sales increase for 2010 was 8.7%.
But Douglas Sirotta, a partner in BDO's technology practice, suggests renewed corporate spending on technology might not flower fully if unemployment stays high. A significant portion of the higher profits that are driving investment are attributable to head-count cuts, but going forward, incremental growth will likely track with renewed hiring. "There sure is a lot of optimism among technology CFOs, who seem confident that they're past the hurdle," says Sirotta. "But I think the true test will be whether there is some jobs growth."
Please read the rest of the article at cfo.com http://cfo.com/article.cfm/14474098
Technology-company CFOs have turned decidedly optimistic about near-term financial results. Among 100 of them polled in January by BDO Seidman, 69% said they anticipate higher sales revenue in 2010. When a similar survey was done a year ago, only 30% of finance chiefs said the same for 2009.
Indeed, a rejuvenation appears to be already under way. On Wednesday, the same day the survey results were released, Cisco Systems announced an 8% gain in fourth-quarter revenue and a 23% profit spike. Cisco CEO John Chambers told The Wall Street Journal that it is "one of the most robust positive turnarounds I've seen in my career." Other tech companies recently reporting impressive financial results include Intel Corp. and Sybase Corp.
Judging by the BDO research, technology CFOs expect the party to continue. In fact, the 69% who forecast sales growth nearly matched the 73% who had that outlook in BDO's 2008 survey, conducted months before the recession began in earnest. In this year's poll, the overall anticipated sales increase for 2010 was 8.7%.
But Douglas Sirotta, a partner in BDO's technology practice, suggests renewed corporate spending on technology might not flower fully if unemployment stays high. A significant portion of the higher profits that are driving investment are attributable to head-count cuts, but going forward, incremental growth will likely track with renewed hiring. "There sure is a lot of optimism among technology CFOs, who seem confident that they're past the hurdle," says Sirotta. "But I think the true test will be whether there is some jobs growth."
Technology-company CFOs have turned decidedly optimistic about near-term financial results. Among 100 of them polled in January by BDO Seidman, 69% said they anticipate higher sales revenue in 2010. When a similar survey was done a year ago, only 30% of finance chiefs said the same for 2009.
Indeed, a rejuvenation appears to be already under way. On Wednesday, the same day the survey results were released, Cisco Systems announced an 8% gain in fourth-quarter revenue and a 23% profit spike. Cisco CEO John Chambers told The Wall Street Journal that it is "one of the most robust positive turnarounds I've seen in my career." Other tech companies recently reporting impressive financial results include Intel Corp. and Sybase Corp.
Judging by the BDO research, technology CFOs expect the party to continue. In fact, the 69% who forecast sales growth nearly matched the 73% who had that outlook in BDO's 2008 survey, conducted months before the recession began in earnest. In this year's poll, the overall anticipated sales increase for 2010 was 8.7%.
But Douglas Sirotta, a partner in BDO's technology practice, suggests renewed corporate spending on technology might not flower fully if unemployment stays high. A significant portion of the higher profits that are driving investment are attributable to head-count cuts, but going forward, incremental growth will likely track with renewed hiring. "There sure is a lot of optimism among technology CFOs, who seem confident that they're past the hurdle," says Sirotta. "But I think the true test will be whether there is some jobs growth."
Please read the rest of the article at cfo.com http://cfo.com/article.cfm/14474098
Monday, February 1, 2010
Strong Track REcord for CFOs Promoted to CEO
While boards of directors tend to seek sitting chief executives to fill CEO vacancies, new research from Rice University suggests that promoting CEOs from within may be more effective — which could be good news for CFOs who want the top spot.
In a study of 193 chief executives in the industrial sector, Rice associate professor of management Anthea Zhang and Nandini Rajagopalan, professor of management at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, found that internally promoted CEOs significantly outperformed externally hired CEOs over time.
Both insider CEOs and outsider CEOs made changes upon taking the reins, says Zhang. "A new CEO wants to — indeed has to — make some change, just to signal that his or her era is different from the time of the predecessor CEO," she says. "Especially when an outside CEO is brought in, it's the expectation that he will initiate some change."
But while both types of CEOs institute changes, "CEOs from outside the firm are likely to initiate bigger changes," says Zhang. "We wanted to know whether bigger change meant better change." As it turned out, it doesn't. "If a change is too big, it can take the firm away from its identity and core competencies," she says.
Read rest of Article at CFO Magazine- www.cfo.com
In a study of 193 chief executives in the industrial sector, Rice associate professor of management Anthea Zhang and Nandini Rajagopalan, professor of management at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, found that internally promoted CEOs significantly outperformed externally hired CEOs over time.
Both insider CEOs and outsider CEOs made changes upon taking the reins, says Zhang. "A new CEO wants to — indeed has to — make some change, just to signal that his or her era is different from the time of the predecessor CEO," she says. "Especially when an outside CEO is brought in, it's the expectation that he will initiate some change."
But while both types of CEOs institute changes, "CEOs from outside the firm are likely to initiate bigger changes," says Zhang. "We wanted to know whether bigger change meant better change." As it turned out, it doesn't. "If a change is too big, it can take the firm away from its identity and core competencies," she says.
Read rest of Article at CFO Magazine- www.cfo.com
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