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| July 2004 | The
Monthly Newspaper of the NYSSCPA |
Vol.
7, No.10 |
The Art of Multitasking: CPAs in Industry Cut a Wide Swathe
By Jay Dismukes
Staff morale, bank and credit card fraud, succession planning, computer illiteracy, information technology management, stock options and rising health-care coverage are just some of the many issues on the minds of CFOs and controllers these days.
From complying with provisions in the Patriotic Act and Sarbanes-Oxley to implementing new accounting systems, CPAs in industry have a lot on their plates. So when it came time for the roundtable discussion at the June 2 Foundation for Accounting Education’s CPAs in Industry Conference in Manhattan, there was no shortage of things to talk about. While answers weren’t necessarily provided for all their concerns, the session still served as a useful sounding board.
During the roundtable, it was noted that banks don’t scrutinize company checks as closely as they used to, so participants strongly suggested that companies utilize anti-fraud services such as Positive Pay.
Other recommendations included the purchase of D&O insurance for companies’ boards of directors and officers, especially given increased compliance responsibilities. Some conference attendees said, however, that they are discovering insurance companies are becoming increasingly reluctant to pay out, fighting every claim.
“Make sure your broker is keeping up on the status of your insurance company; that they are not on the verge of going broke,” conference chair Anthony Cassella reminded the audience. “They need to be credit-worthy companies.”
As for easing workload, attendees said that hiring college accounting students to do mundane projects and simple tasks has proven to be a win/win situation for the staff and the students, who are paid a modest wage but seem to find the work interesting. And while health-care costs may be rising, attendees took an upbeat view, noting that they’ve only seen single-digit increases in the past year.
Following the roundtable, Marc Heller, of CIT Financial Services, and Neville Grusd, of Merchant Factors Corp. Group, led a session on alternative financing.
“As a CFO helping to raise finance and knowing where to go for it, you provide a great service to the company or client,” Grusd said.
As an alternative source of capital, asset-based lenders are wary of lending on inventory—they’ll want to know where it is at all times—usually preferring receivables instead, and are interested in knowing what a company’s projections are, as opposed to banks, which tend to focus more heavily on a company’s historic financials. A company’s customer diversity, collections process and related-party accounts are also very important to an asset-based lender, Grusd said.
The NYSSCPA’s Chief Financial Officers Committee, chaired by Cassella, sponsored the conference.
