After two years of ‘battening down the hatches’, preserving cash, rebuilding balance sheets and cost containment there may be a feeling that everything that can be done has been done. But new evidence from the United States suggests that there are wide disparities between the best and worst performers in relation to cost cutting. A Deloitte survey suggests that there is everything to play for.
Of course unfettered and ill-considered cost cutting can damage a business but in this week’s article it is not headcount reductions but process improvements that are under the microscope. The scope for manoeuvre is probably more generous than people imagine. Workflow technologies, integration and newer more innovative applications in the performance management and transaction processing space provide fertile territory for change. This week’s article presents some of the opportunities and challenges.
Also this week, Lesley Meall looks at the sometimes tortuous development of XBRL and its current status around the world. With iXBRL deadline (the UK’s manifestation of the digital reporting standard) looming on the horizon the whole subject of XBRL is attracting considerable attention. As Lesley says, if you want to learn more about the possibilities, the FSN iXBRL + Financial Close Conference on 4 November could be a good place to begin.
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