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Feature
What are Corporate Treasurers'
Technology Requirements Today?
Today's typical corporate treasury management system selection projects are searches for solutions that generally address integrated treasury operations and management reporting requirements…Perhaps the key word here is “integrated,” meaning that corporate treasurers now expect their technology solutions to integrate seamlessly, both externally and internally.

Internal integration involves one functionally complete system based on a single database. The value of this technical architecture to the treasurer is that its robustness leads directly to superior ease of use and ease of reporting.

Business Planning & Strategies
The Price Is Right, but Maybe It's Not, and How Do You Know?
When Apple dropped the price of its iPhone by a third after only two months on the market, even its most loyal buyers complained bitterly, forcing chief executive Steve Jobs to apologize and offer a partial rebate.

According to Wharton faculty and analysts, the iPhone episode reveals the perils of pricing in a marketplace where constant innovation, fierce competition and globalization are changing the rules of the game. "The product lifecycle is short and the market is moving quickly," says Wharton marketing professor John Zhang. "You don't have a lot of time to learn from your mistakes. You have to price the product right the first time."

Finance & Treasury
FIN 48: I Can Get It for You Retail
Complying with new rules always costs companies time and money. The latest one bugging the brains of finance executives is FIN 48, which dictates how firms must account for uncertain tax positions.

A new report by accounting firm BDO Seidman finds that complying with FIN 48 has been a "headache" and that big retailers have been feeling the worst of it. "It's just like when 404 came out," says Catherine Fox-Simpson, a partner at the firm, referring to the most controversial section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. "CFOs are very concerned about FIN 48. Sitting down and making an inventory of your tax positions has been a process for many companies."

International & Trade
Securing India’s Place in the Global Economy
India is moving quickly to capture its place on the world stage. Just 16 years after embarking on the path of economic reform, the country has freed itself from the slow growth that plagued it during the decades after independence; in the past fiscal year GDP growth reached a robust 9.4 percent. India’s best companies are targeting global markets, as Tata Steel’s $11 billion takeover of its Anglo-Dutch rival Corus shows, and the Indian consumer is attracting worldwide attention. But to sustain these advances, the country cannot rest. Its leaders must focus on building infrastructure and developing a thriving labor market.

Sales & Marketing
Partners at the Point of Sale
Nearly every aspect of retailing, from distribution to promotion, has changed dramatically during the last 20 years. And yet the focal point of consumer purchases is still the same: the “moment of truth” when a consumer chooses a product. The point of sale (POS), whether physical (such as a retail store shelf) or electronic (such as a Web site), represents the true center of the manufacturing–retailing universe. It is time for manufacturers and retailers to recognize the full power of the shelf: the potential that they can realize only together.

Trends & Technology
Learning From Failure

In recognition of the wise premise that people learn more from failure than from success, several business works have achieved must-read status by telling stories of epic failure: When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein and Rogue Trader by Nick Leeson, for example.  Less well known—but no less strongly embraced by those who read it—is Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure by Jerry Kaplan. Long after the book's appearance in 1996, it continues to win readers who make comments like "the most intense book I've ever read." Startup has stood the test of time by revealing how much there truly is to learn from failure.

Private Client Group
The A.R.T. of Investing
See how the A.R.T. of Investing (After-tax returns, Risk control and Time horizons) fits into your personal investment strategy. Our CIO and Equity Research team provide timely market commentary, financial articles and more.