Financial Management Network

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT NETWORK SUMMARY PAGE MARCH 2005

Segment One: After the Tsunami: Outlook for Global Trade Subject Area: Management Field of Study: Management Segment Overview: On the day after Christmas, an earthquake -- measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale -- occurred off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake, and resulting tsunami, was described by the United Nations as an unprecedented global catastrophe. In our opening segment, Dr. Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist at Global Insight, examines the outlook for global trade and political risk in the aftermath of this devastation.

Segment Two: Corporate Self-Investigation: Avoiding the Pitfalls Subject Area: Financial Reporting Field of Study: Accounting & Auditing Segment Overview: Companies had to restate their financial reports in record numbers last year. Not surprisingly, this upsurge in reported restatements has corresponded with an increase in the number of investigations into potential accounting issues involving irregularities or deliberate misconduct. Michael Young, Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, updates us on how an internal investigation can help a company put its financial reporting problems behind it -- not make those problems worse. Segment Three: RFID: What You Need To Know Subject Area: Management Field of Study: Management Segment Overview: It has been thirty years since the Universal Product Code, or UPC, revolutionized the control of inventory. And 2005 is shaping up to be the year in which Radio Frequency Identification Technology (or RFID) gets the supply chain ready for its next revolution. Jack Grasso, Senior Director of the Uniform Code Council, explains how RFID -- along with Electronic Product Codes -- is helping businesses deliver the right product to the right place at the right time for the right price.

Segment Four: States Declare War on Out-of-State Businesses Subject Area: Tax Field of Study: Taxation Segment Overview: Despite a national economic recovery, state governments report being especially hard-hit by the decline in tax revenues. In an effort to reduce their budget shortfalls, many states are cracking down on popular business practices designed to minimize state tax liability. According to Arthur Rosen, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery and a former AT&T tax official, every business must be prepared for these new state tax enforcement initiatives.

COMING UP IN APRIL -- "Computer Fraud: Are You Still a Target?"