Change Management

Carly Fiorina on Leading Change

I recently attended a lecture by Carly Fiorina (in the magnificent Paramount Theater) on the topic of change. She made one point that I thought was particularly noteworthy (paraphrased): By the time you've got consensus that change is necessary it's too late – you've lost your opportunity to competitors. The biggest challenge in leading change […]

Research Round Up Women Professionals Workplace Flexibility

Fortune 500 Companies with 3+ Women Board Members Outperform Peers

Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women board directors attained significantly higher financial performance, on average, than those with the lowest representation of women board directors, according to non-profit Catalyst’s most recent report, The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards. In addition, the report points out, on average, notably stronger-than-average […]

Banking

25 Most Powerful Women in Banking

U.S. Banker released its fifth annual “The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking” ranking, which honors the banking industry’s most influential executives based on their financial performance, professional achievements, and use of influence within their organizations and across the industry. “This year’s 25 MPWIB honorees represent a remarkable group of leaders—each distinct in her progressive […]

B2B Payables

JPMorgan + Xign = APTrac (reducing B2B check payments)

Yesterday JPMorgan announced the launch of AP Trac, the first new service based on its purchase of Xign back in May. APTrac is intended to replace paper checks, settles transactions via the purchase card network, delivers remittance data, and allows both buyers and sellers to track payments online. APTrac should be attractive to corporate AP […]

Scott Loftesness Writings

Glenbrook's Thumbnail Mobile Banking Strategy

by Scott Loftesness We get asked a lot about our views about mobile banking and payments. Mobile payment is a whole separate kettle of fish – and not something I’ll address here. But mobile banking is here and now as most major banks are making their decisions about how to offer mobile banking this year.

Conferences & Meetings

Payments Show & Tell: Finovate 2007

Jim Bruene and Online Financial Innovations (authors of the Online Banking Report, the NetBanker blog, among other titles) are hosting Finovate2007 "the first conference to demo the future of finance" in NYC on October 2nd. FINOVATE 2007 will provide each company with a mere 7 minutes to “wow!” an audience of 200 leading executives, investors, […]

Banking Project Management Remote Deposit Capture Research Round Up

7 Habits of Effective Remote Deposit Deployments

Celent's latest remote capture deposit report highlights the gulf between the very few financial institutions that have successfully deployed RDC solutions and the remaining 3000+ whose results are lackluster (see chart below, courtesy of Celent). 7 Habits for Successful RDC Deployment 1. A robust vision for the RDC opportunity2. Senior management sponsorship and visibility3. A […]

Change Management

What penguins can teach you about Change Management

Today's New York Times features an article about the book Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter with Holger Rathgeber. It's an illustrated tale that demonstrates Kotter's philosophy of change management. I prefer the more extensive discussion in his best selling work Leading Change (1996) but this is accessible and a quick read for non-specialists. […]

Project Management

Make YOUR Next Project Successful

This is the last in our series on Project Management for Finance professionals. In conclusion, the remedies for the Top 10 Project Management Challenges can be summarized as follows: Quick List of Forte Financial Project Management Tips Make sure objectives are clearly defined Involve end users – early and often Collaborative requirement definition Plan, plan, […]

Project Management

Project Management Challenge #4: Failure to Plan

Failure to Plan CAUSES Many project teams are so eager to get on with the “real work” that they short change the planning phase. Managers that lack experience leading process improvement projects often underestimate the planning effort. Many leaders fear that a realistic plan won’t fulfill a mandated deadline or expected budget so they simply […]

Change Management Strategy Treasury & Cash Management

A Call to Action

Promoting Process Improvement Company-wide Increasing responsibility for operations efficiency and performance management requires a more proactive approach than finance has traditionally held. Financial professionals have a uniquely analytical skill set and holistic perspective to share with colleagues. The following strategies are useful when promoting process improvement company-wide: SHARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENTAs a result of Sarbanes-Oxley […]

Banking

BofA + Barclay's?

    Today the NYTime's Dealbook blog reports that BofA is likely to bid for Barclay's in order to further its international expansion strategy. The source is a Merrill Lynch analyst report released today, excerpted as follows: Barclays would give BAC the following: 1) a large international presence in fixed-income-oriented inv. banking including corporate and […]

Caught My Eye

In Memorium: Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman, the Nobel prize winning economist, died today. Statement from the Milton & Rose D Friedman foundation here.   Excerpted from the The New York Times:     Rarely, his colleagues said, did anyone have such impact on both his own profession and on government. Though he never served officially in the halls of power, […]

Women Professionals Workplace Flexibility

What [Finance] Women Want

The cover story of this month's CFO magazine is What Women Want, and exploration of life-work balance, opportunities, and flexibility. The article balances quotes from leading women in finance with data from a survey of 363 finance professionals (men and women). Fewer than 10 percent of CFOs in either the Fortune 500 or the Fortune […]

Banking ECommerce Payments News Research Round Up

Online Bill Payment Catching Up with Checks

A recent poll by the research firm Harris Interactive  indicates that the number of bills paid online is rapidly approaching the number paid by check: Other = cash, debit cards, or other payment methods.Source: Harris Interactive data (quoted in The New York Times) Keep in mind that CheckFree (a leading providor of online bill presentment […]