Companies Aren’t Waiting for Congress to Act on Climate Change

The first far-reaching climate-change bill is headed for the Senate floor after Labor Day, heating up the debate in Congress and in corporate boardrooms about the costs and benefits of stricter environmental regulations. The Climate Security Act, spearheaded by Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R.-Va.), would reduce greenhouse emissions 65% by 2050. The Chamber of Commerce is campaigning against the bill and mandated standards, while other corporate leaders favor increased regulation because, they say, it’s good for the environment and it’s good for the bottom line.

It’s too early to determine the outcome, but even opponents recognize the issue won’t go away any time soon. The word “sustainability,” code for the ability to tackle environmental, social and economic concerns and risks through automation, has become part of the corporate governance vernacular. Up to now, though, the technology hasn’t been available to address these issues in a systematic way. “While most executives agree that a green strategy is a good idea, few know how to value or prioritize their initiatives,” says Kimberly Knickle, practice director of IDC Manufacturing Insights. “They struggle with the business case, waiting to implement strategies until outcomes can be predicted more reliably.”

In recent weeks, however, the drive to introduce tools to measure and manage the environmental impact of corporate decisions has accelerated. SAS Institute Inc., a maker of business intelligence software, recently launched widescale distribution of a decision-support software platform for proactively identifying strategies across an enterprise that measure sustainability activities, report ongoing performance, suggest ways to improve performance and manage and forecast the resources needed to achieve the desired goals.

Cisco Systems Inc., an early adopter of the SAS for Sustainable Management software (known as SAM, for short), endorses the technology. “By partnering with SAS and using SAM, Cisco can better prioritize projects and resources that create a positive return for the environment,” said Laura Ipsen, co-chair of Cisco’s EcoBoard and senior vice president of Cisco global policy and government affairs, in a recent release. “The SAS solution will enable us to simulate the impact on carbon footprint and waste reduction targets, greenhouse gas emissions and other goals so we can more effectively predict and manage the impact of our operations on the environment.”

Even buy-out firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.—not known for its commitment to green causes—is getting into the act of measuring and monitoring environmental impact. In announcing a partnership with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund earlier this month to measure sustainability at its U.S. investments, KKR said it would work with EDF to develop analytical tools by which companies can assess and track improvements on a series of environmental metrics. The tools will enable managers to cost-effectively improve efficiency, reduce waste and address environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, the use of toxic substances, waste generation and water consumption.

The jury is still out on how KKR’s commitment to the “green” movement will play out and how soon, or whether, Congress itself will restrict greenhouse emissions. But the actions taken now will likely define the global warming debate for sometime to come. Meanwhile, all three presidential candidates have said they would press for global warming legislation if elected.

Article found in Corporate Governance, Risk Management, Compliance, Tools

Accounting Execs Question the Value of Fair Value Rules

Most accountants in senior executive positions don’t blame the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new fair value rules for worsening the subprime crisis, but neither do they think the regulations do much good when it comes to educating investors about risky lending practices either, according the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Only 17% of the 1,400 corporate accounting executives responding to the poll said FASB’s mark-to-market regulations contributed to the credit crisis; 83% said they did not have an impact. Moreover, 65% said the rules failed to achieve FASB’s goal of educating investors about aggressive lending, with only 35% suggesting they helped investors understand the risks beneath the numbers.

“It appears that the jury is still out on fair value accounting, at least among corporate executives with accounting backgrounds,” says Mark Lang, the Thomas W. Hudson Jr./Deloitte and Touche LLP distinguished professor of accounting at the UNC Kenan-Flagler business school. Respondents included CPAs who hold positions as CFOs, Controllers, CEOs or COOs.

Article found in Compliance, Accounting/Financial Reporting

Careers

Curtiss-Wright Corp., the $1.6 billion manufacturer of motion control and flow control devices with headquarters in Roseland, N.J., hired Glenn Coleman as vice president and controller. Coleman, 40, replaced Kevin McClurg, 44, who was named vice president of finance of the company’s flow control unit. Coleman joined Curtiss-Wright after 10 years with Alcatel Lucent, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility, including, most recently, vice president of finance of the wireless business group.

Cadence Design Systems Inc., the $1.6 billion developer of electronic design automation software based in San Jose, Calif., promoted Kevin S. Palatnik from senior vice president and controller to senior vice president and CFO. Palatnik succeeded William Porter, 52, who was named to the new position of chief administration officer. A 12-year veteran of Cadence, Palatnik became the company's controller in March 2006 and was promoted to senior vice president and controller in April 2007.

Domino’s Pizza Inc., the $1.5 billion pizza delivery company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., named Wendy A. Beck executive vice president and CFO. Beck, 43, succeeded L. David Mounts, 44, who became executive vice president of supply chain services in October 2007. Beck joined Domino’s after eight years at Whataburger Restaurants LP, where most recently she was senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Before that, she was vice president of finance, CFO and treasurer of Checker’s Drive-In Restaurants Inc.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., the $1.5 billion movie and television production studio in Los Angeles, named Bedi A. Singh CFO. Singh, 48, replaced Steve Hendry, who remains with the company. Singh joined MGM from Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., where he was executive vice president and CFO from April 2006 until earlier this month, when Macrovision Solutions Corp. acquired the company. Singh also will serve in the newly created position of president of finance and administration at MGM.

McAfee Inc., the $1.3 billion technology security company based in Santa Clara, Calif., named Albert A. Pimental COO and CFO. Pimental, 52, replaced Eric Brown, 42, who in April rejoined Electronic Arts Inc. as executive vice president and CFO. Pimental joined McAfee from Glu Mobile Inc., which he started as executive vice president and CFO in October 2004. As CFO of Zone Labs Inc., he oversaw that company’s April 2004 merger with Checkpoint Software Inc.

Autodesk Inc., the $1.2 billion provider of computer-aided design software based in San Rafael, Calif., announced that Alfred J. Castino will retire as senior vice president and CFO to spend more time with his family. Castino, 55, will stay with the company until a successor is chosen. Castino joined Autodesk in August 2002 from Virage Inc., where he was CFO of the video and media communication software company from January 2000 to July 2002.

Tropicana Entertainment LLC, the Crestview Falls, Ky.-based gaming resort company that reported $1.2 billion in revenue in 2007 and filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, appointed Robert Kocienski senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Kocienski replaced Theodore R. Mitchel, who will now focus on his role as CFO of Tropicana's parent company, Columbia Sussex Corp. Kocienski joined Tropical after nearly two years as CFO of the Cosmopolitan Report & Casinog in Las Vegas.

Zebra Technologies Corp., the $868.3 million maker of bar code and plastic card printers and printing materials with headquarters in Vernon Hills, Ill., appointed Michael C. Smiley CFO. Smiley, 48, will replace Charles R. Whitchurch, 61, who will retire on June 30 after 17 years with Zebra as CFO and treasurer. Smiley joined Zebra from Tellabs Inc., where he held various financial and operations executive positions including interim CFO, vice president of international finance and treasurer.

Kemet Corp., the $658.7 million electronic components manufacturer based in Simpsonville, S.C., announced that executive vice president and CFO David E. Gable resigned to pursue other interests. Gable, 47, joined the company as controller in 1998 and was promoted to vice president and CFO in September 2003. Prior to joining Kemet, Gable held numerous financial positions with Michelin North America. Gable will stay with the company until a successor is found.

RailAmerica Inc., the $423.7 million short line and regional rail service operator based in Boca Raton, Fla., named B. Clyde Preslar, 54, CFO. Preslar succeeded Michael J. Howe, who stepped down as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer after Fortress Investments LLC. acquired the company in February 2007. Preslar previously was executive vice president and CFO of Cott Corp., a carbonated beverage supplier, in Tampa, Fla., from August 2005 to December 2006.

Blue Nile Inc., the $319.3 million online jewelry retailer based in Seattle, appointed Marc D. Stolzman CFO effective June 9. Stolzman, 41, will take over from Terri K. Maupin, 46, who in addition to being vice president and controller has been acting CFO since Robin Easton resigned on March 31 after less than a year in that positions. Stolzman joins Blue Nile from Imperium Renewables, a maker of biodiesel refining and manufacturing technology, where he has been CFO since March 2007.

Article found in Careers

Mega Expands in GRC Space With New Automated Suite

MEGA International launched its GRC Suite Version 3, automating corporate audit, control and risk initiatives into a single, searchable enterprise system. The update allows individuals in departments, divisions and other units to access companywide data in seconds, according to Daniel Hebda, Mega’s vice president of technology, North America. Upgrades include user-friendly interfaces that break down silos to connect employees across the enterprise, making it easier to avoid duplication of efforts, eliminate inconsistent or outdated versions of data and streamline overview reporting for senior management. “Users can easily choose to pull information from anywhere or anyone in the organization,” Hebda says.

Version 3 also has enhancements to compliance and controls applications, gained through Mega’s acquisition of Control Metrics last year. Hebda says Mega intends to continue to expand its GRC offerings. “We have an aggressive program to add more products,” he says.

Article found in Risk Management, Tools, Compliance

Approva Rolls out New Risk Oversight Options

Approva Corp. launched Version 4.1 of its BizRights Platform and Controls Intelligence Suite, its fastest and most scalable predictive control engine to date. The platform allows a user to continuously monitor, test and analyze a risk control for any business process, “providing a plug-and-play feature for controls testing,” explains Steve Elliot, Approva’s CTO and senior vice president of products. BizRights works by tracking segregation of duties (SoD) conflicts, which arise when unauthorized individuals access an off-limits part of an ERP system. “Some SoD requirements are related to fraud [and] some are to make sure that the system is clean, that someone can’t go in and do something that ruins data,” says Elliot.

BizRights 4.1 was developed with Oracle E-Business Suite and PeopleSoft Enterprise users in mind, observes Elliot, “although it can be used by any ERP system that tests financial data.” For example, BizRights users can now perform their analysis while accounting for additional security options provided in Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12. Users of PeopleSoft Enterprise Release 9.0 also gain extended support from BizRights 4.1.

Article found in Tools & Technology, Governance & Accounting, Risk Management