Regardless of whether you reside near the top of the financial career ladder or near the bottom, you'll need additional leadership skills before reaching the next rung. Jeff Thomson, president and CEO of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), speaks to Business Finance editor in chief Jack Sweeney about how finance executives can develop and acquire leadership skills.

Few careers track the rise of Lean techniques and strategies as closely as that of Mark DeLuzio, who nearly 20 years ago implemented one of the first Lean accounting processes in the United States. A vice president and corporate officer of Danaher Corporation, DeLuzio led the corporate-wide implementation of Lean and designed what is known today as the Danaher Business System (DBS). Our interviewer, Steve Player, recently caught up with the Lean pioneer and asked him to retrace the milestones of his career along Lean's trajectory.

Business Finance interviewer Steve Player speaks with Joe Householder, SVP, controller, and chief accounting officer of Sempra Energy about his finance career and how the energy company develops its talent.

The excise tax on high-premium health insurance policies that's such a controversial part of the Senate health care bill is a step toward holding down costs by discouraging "overly generous" coverage say supporters of the proposal. The majority of so-called "Cadillac" health plans would indeed become noticeably less luxurious if the proposal makes it into law, according to research published last Thursday by Mercer.

CFOs are not quite ready to join the "green shoots" chorus, according to new research. When participants in a Towers Perrin's study were asked to identify issues for which their level of concern has risen since the height of the financial crisis, pension plan volatility was the most frequently cited issue (54 percent). While many stocks have seen steady gains since March of this year, corporate bond yields (which figure into pension liability calculations) have declined, and many companies are facing the need to make large contributions.

Companies can save time, increase visibility of cash flow, and control spending by automating purchase management. To learn more, read Ventana Research's "Spending Wisely" in the BPM Resource Center.

As indirect costs rise and economic pressures increase, the need for profitability and cost management (PCM) also grows. Read this Thought Leadership white paper to find out more about how PCM drives business performance by finding drivers of cost and profitability, empowering users with visibility and flexibility, and improving resource alignment.

Tax audits are increasing in pace, scope, and severity as a result of the economic conditions. Read this paper from Sabrix to learn how today's elevated audit risk is impacting your cash flow, and what you can do about it.

When it comes to tracking the success of your company's business performance applications, what you don't see can hurt you. In this on-demand webcast, you'll hear how performance management technology is capable of eliminating costly BPM blind spots. We'll reveal the findings of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting that examined the potential return on investment that enterprises may realize by deploying Tagetik 3.0 performance management software.