The good news is that companies these days treat cost containment as a discipline and an ongoing process rather than reactively. The not-so-good news is that they tend to focus on minor, low-yield initiatives and on squeezing expense out of their processes.

Western companies face a tsunami of change and challenges from growth-hungry contenders based in the rapidly developing economies, say three experts from The Boston Consulting Group.

The growing pressure on CFOs and CMOs to produce tangible results these days is reflected by their increasingly shorter tenures. Of course, revolving-door jobs are not all that they share in common. Accenture's Brian McCarthy and Mike Matheis explain how CFOs and CMOs are together generating business value.

As providers of finance and accounting outsourcing services extend the range of their offerings, contract negotiations are becoming more complex. Lisa Ross, CEO and founder of FAO Research, talked with Business Finance about pricing models in the increasingly competitive FAO market.

The search for growth dominates the strategic agenda at many organizations. But choosing growth for its own sake may be shortsighted and even dangerous, argue A.T. Kearney partners Mary Larson and Graeme Deans.

Having completed 400 acquisitions within the past 20 years, Aon’s new CFO, Christa Davies, says that the company’s finance organization must undergo a top-to-bottom optimization before key objectives can be met.

A new study from A.T. Kearney offers insights that might make the most gung-ho growth strategist pause, but also suggests ways that companies bent on acquisitions can increase their chances of success.