Finance executives are still focusing on cutting costs and managing cash flow, despite the danger that the recession could wreak havoc on their companies' supply chains, according to a recent survey from procurement software vendor Basware. Almost 65% of the 550 North American and European CFOs and finance directors polled say cutting direct costs is their top priority, while 60% cite reducing indirect costs and 55% say cash flow.

"Obviously the global economy right now is very much in survival mode," says Mark Frohlich, associate professor of operations management at the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis, who consulted on the survey.

Finance executives put even less emphasis on other areas, he notes. Just 39% say risk analysis is a top priority, and the same portion cite improving margins. The environmental practices category garners 24% of the respondents, while investor relations draws 15%. These two areas would have topped the list had the survey been done two years ago, Frohlich says.