COMMUNITY UPDATE

Criticaleye's Community Updates are read each week by Members, registered users, and subscribers globally. Click on any of the topics below to see the corresponding newsletter. If you would like to comment further on any of these topics, write to us via info@criticaleye.com.




The People Side of Global M&A

Integrating a newly acquired business is difficult at the best of times but fusing a foreign entity adds cultural complexity which needs to be addressed. People are the most important part of any M&A transaction and, in order to retain acquired talent after the ink on the deal has gone dry, it’s vital that senior managers move quickly to make them feel an essential part of the ongoing strategy. (read more)

Boards and the Pension Crisis

As investments and strategic deals get blocked because of pension deficits, directors, trustee boards and regulators need to work together to find ways to see through some of the madness created by actuarial assumptions. With an ageing population, volatile equity markets, low gilt yields and eye-watering levels of debt, compromises do have to be made in order to arrive at real-world solutions. (read more)

The Curious Double-Act of CEO-CFO

It doesn’t matter if the CEO and CFO/FD are a dynamic duo or something of an odd couple, what’s important is that they both understand the parameters of what is possible for a business. When the chemistry is right, the CFO will stand up to a CEO’s wilder flights of commercial fancy, while also having the ability to think like a leader who appreciates the need to take risks. (read more)

Beating Short-Termism in the Boardroom

In the sporting world, plenty of fresh-faced coaches end up fired after the failure to get results renders their long-term plans irrelevant. For businesses, the pressures may be different but there is an increasing sense that boards are too focused on the short term as opposed to having the strength of character to make decisions and investments for the future. (read more)