Three top finance executives share sage career advice with Business Finance editor in chief Jack Sweeney.

Finance departments have been shredded along with everyone else in the past couple of years, and the F&A talent market has been frozen solid. But now, finally, the first tentative hints of a thaw are starting to emerge.

The ink is barely dry on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and already companies are marking down earnings for the first quarter and complaining that a tax provision in the law will force them to cut back on retiree benefits.

One of the great business ironies this recession is that the very talent CFOs have sorely depended on to bring costs down -- and in effect save their companies -- is now at risk.

Do enterprise cost reduction efforts cause ethical misconduct among employees? This question poses a potentially troubling connection ... and a new survey report provides a dispiriting answer: quite possibly.

Are your business analysts frustrated with unreliable data and unsuitable technology systems? Do your company's executives struggle with decision-making, budget commitments, and organizational performance? Read Ventana Research's "Decision-Making and Performance: Improving Essential Business Analytics and Technologies" in the BPM Resource Center to learn ways to align strategy and performance.