The New Cfo Financial Leadership Manual

THE NEW CFO FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP MANUAL STEVEN M. BRAGG John Wiley & Sons, Inc. THE NEW CFO FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP MANUAL THE NEW CFO FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP MANUAL STEVEN M. BRAGG John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, e-mail: [email protected] Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services, or technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at 800-762-2974, outside the United States at 317-572-3993 or fax 317-572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com . Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Bragg, Steven M. The new CFO financial leadership manual / Steven M. Bragg. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-471-21076-5 (Cloth) 1. Chief financial officers—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Corporations—Finance— Management—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. HG4027.35.B73 2003 658.15—dc21 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2003002431 Electrician, locksmith, and woodworker, the first in the family to finish college, an indisputable genius, and our provider— I would not be where I am without you, Dad. But couldn’t you let me win at Scrabble just once? PREFACE This book is designed to give the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) a complete overview of his or her place in the corporation and how to handle strategy decisions related to a variety of financial, tax, and information technology issues. Here are some of the questions that Chapters 1 through 4 allow one to answer related to these issues: • • • • • • • • • What should I do during my first days on the job? What are my specific responsibilities? How do I reduce my foreign currency exposure? How do I increase the company’s return on assets? When should I issue convertible securities? What factors should I consider in regard to a step costing decision? When can I use net operating loss tax