The CFO Change Agent
Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” If there’s a better description of working in the world of finance and accounting, I’ve yet to find it.
For those of you that have attended an industry event or picked up a trade journal recently, you’ve undoubtedly heard discussion of the CFO ‘Change Agent’ and the shifting mindset of finance leaders from narrowly scoped fiduciary oversight to a broader role encompassing business transformation. There are…
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“Step Away From The Spreadsheet, Keep Your Hands Where I can See Them”
‘Poor’ J.P. Morgan was hit by a $920 million fine last week related to last year’s partially Excel-generated ‘London Whale’ trading debacle.
That’s on top of the estimated [cue Dr. Evil voice] SIX BILLION dollars they lost before the giant bets were curtailed. The positively heroic, nay, epic loss was caused by betting on something called a “synthetic credit portfolio.” Even for these guys that is a decent chunk of change, not necessarily readily available down the back of the sofa.
Now, I’m no…
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The New Normal: CFOs as Tech Buyers
I recently came across a great Proformative article that highlights a trend we’ve experienced over the past 18 months at Transverse. The article touches on an all-too-familiar theme: the expanding role of the CFO. Specifically, it discusses the impact of CFOs being tasked with more direct oversight and accountability for tech purchases, including cloud computing initiatives. Regardless of who you ask, there’s no indication this trend is going to slow in the foreseeable future. In fact, it’s lik…
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How to Bill for Complex M2M Business Models Efficiently
M2M (machine to machine) communications infers that things — especially everyday objects — are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable wirelessly through the Internet (aka: The Internet of Things). The steady rise in M2M solutions coming to market is being driven by projections that we are on the cusp of a massive explosion in the number of internet-connected devices. For example, IMS research claims that there will be more than 326 million cellular M2M connections globa…
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CFOs Challenged by Growth-Risk Balance
Risk is a powerful, complicated four-letter word. No doubt, it’s the topic of much debate in the C-suite and board room.
“The biggest business challenge of the 21st century is how to exploit opportunity while managing downside risk. It’s easily said, but very difficult to do,” says Sridhar Ramamoorti, chair of Financial Executives International’s (FEI) Committee on Governance, Risk, and Compliance. In the middle of this task are CFOs, who, depending on the extent of their role at their organiza…
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Demandware Chooses TRACT to Scale Its Business without Straining the Back Office
We’re excited to welcome Demandware, the industry-leading provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, to our TRACT Billing customer roster today. Demandware manages the online presence for some of the world’s largest retailers including Barney’s New York, Brooks Brothers, Crocs, Godiva, Kate Spade and Tory Burch, among others.
Given the company’s growth and expanding international operations, Demandware saw the need to replace their existing billing system with an automated process that wo…
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The Dangers of Excel: Don't Hold Your Breath
Esther’s Follies is a musical-comedy revue bar, very much an Austin institution and a must-visit for out-of-towners. It is typically Austin - quirky, witty, and slightly saucy.
The venue and show are named for Esther Williams, star of, among other fine movies, 1945’s Ziegfeld Follies, and one of the earliest pioneers of what we now call Synchronized Swimming. An Olympic sport where holding your breath is a core competency.
And an Olympic sport that unwittingly provided one of the biggest negati…
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Step Away From The Spreadsheet, Keep Your Hands Where I Can See Them
It is still creeping upwards, but for now let’s pin it at an estimated [cue Dr. Evil voice] 9 billion dollars. What is it? It’s the positively heroic, nay epic, loss JPMorgan ran up in 2012 betting on something called a synthetic credit portfolio. Even for these guys that is a decent chunk of change, not necessarily readily available down the back of the sofa.
Now I’m not here to drum up support for our esteemed Captains of Industry, the elite that run the Powerhouse of the Global Economy, nor …
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Avanquest VCOM Manages Software Licenses with TRACT Billing
In January, we announced that VCOM, the SaaS division of Avanquest Software, is using the TRACT Billing platform to automate subscription billing processes and manage software licenses. Of course it’s cool that VCOM is using TRACT, but what gets me excited is how they’re using it to authenticate and track software licenses.
VCOM’s approach to the application of TRACT is innovative. First, whether the customer bought Avanquest software online or in a physical store like Walmart or BestBuy, the i…
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Cloud Billing Solution for Recurring Billing
According to technology pundits, 2013 is poised to see a strong uptake in cloud services. For cloud providers to take advantage of this boon, they’ll need to implement a pricing model that shows value to their customers while allowing the provider to be profitable.
Pricing is often a key differentiator for otherwise comparable offers. Lower prices may seem good in the short term for customers, in the long term it is often a negative as it leads to poor customer service and supplier instability.…
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