Survey Finds Boards of Directors and Corporate Finance Teams Collaborate More Closely and Embrace Technology in Response to SOX
June 09 2005 - 11:53AM
PR Newswire (US)
Survey Finds Boards of Directors and Corporate Finance Teams
Collaborate More Closely and Embrace Technology in Response to SOX
CFO Research survey sponsored by Geac identifies multiple effects
of compliance mandates on Board-CFO relationship MARKHAM, ON and
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boards of
Directors that aspire to a closer relationship with the company's
finance function and to a higher level of performance are more
likely to adopt new technology to support the board, according to a
recently published CFO Research Services survey sponsored by
Geac(R) (TSX: GAC, NASDAQ: GEAC). This positive correlation between
ambitious, collaborative boards and adoption of technology was one
of several responses to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act noted in the study,
entitled "Sarbanes-Oxley and the Boardroom." The final report of
the study is available at
http://www.performance.geac.com/boardroom. Among the results, the
survey found that about two-thirds of respondents said their
companies are looking to boost the financial expertise of their
board members; approximately 80 percent said their boards expect
tighter financial controls than in years past; and more than 60
percent said their boards have higher expectations of the company's
finance function than before. The survey generated nearly 200
responses from senior finance executives at companies spanning a
broad cross-section of industry; 45% of respondents work at
companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenues. While
two-thirds of finance professionals surveyed said they think board
members are satisfied with the quality and timeliness of
information they receive, that's not deterring a significant
minority of companies from taking steps to improve those processes.
"The anticipated growth in the use of online reporting tools and
dashboards to convey key financial information from the CFO to the
Board is noteworthy," Sam Knox, director of research for CFO
Research Services, said. "While only about 10% of respondents use
such technology today, more than 40% of respondents said they plan
to offer Board- level access to these technologies within the next
two years. These findings bode well for improved communication
between management and Directors, and for better, more confident
decision-making by Boards." Technology investments anticipated by
the organizations surveyed for this study are consistent with other
published market data. For instance, a March 2005 AMR Research
Alert by Jacqueline Coolidge reported that 25% of companies are
currently evaluating new investments in scorecards and dashboards.
In a separate alert by John Hagerty, released in November 2004, AMR
Research predicts companies will spend more than $1.6 billion on
technology for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in 2005 alone. "With our
Geac Compliance Management and Geac MPC offerings, Geac is well
positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity," Tim Wright,
Geac's Chief Technology Officer, said. "But Geac delivers value to
finance organizations beyond just our software. For instance,
Geac's Business Services Group provides customers with best
practices expertise, and as a company we actively support
educational forums that help CFOs and other finance professionals
to broaden their knowledge and understanding." For example, Geac is
the platinum sponsor of CFO Enterprises' Corporate Performance
Management Conference later this month in San Francisco. About Geac
Geac (TSX: GAC, NASDAQ:GEAC) is a global enterprise software
company that addresses the needs of the Chief Financial Officer.
Geac's best-in-class technology products and services help
organizations do more with less in an increasingly competitive
environment, amidst growing regulatory pressure, and in response to
other business issues confronting the CFO. Further information is
available at http://www.geac.com/ or through e-mail at . This press
release may contain forward-looking statements of Geac's
intentions, beliefs, expectations and predictions for the future.
These forward-looking statements often include use of the future
tense with words such as "will," "may," "intends," "anticipates,"
"expects" and similar conditional or forward-looking words and
phrases. These forward-looking statements are neither promises nor
guarantees. They are only predictions that are subject to risks and
uncertainties, and they may differ materially from actual future
events or results. Geac undertakes no obligation to update or
revise the information contained herein. Important factors that
could cause a material difference between these forward-looking
statements and actual events include, among other things: our
ability to increase revenues from new license sales, cross-sell
into our existing customer base and reduce customer attrition;
whether we can identify and acquire synergistic businesses and, if
so, whether we can successfully integrate them into our existing
operations; whether we are able to deliver products and services
within required time frames and budgets to meet increasingly
competitive customer demands and performance guaranties; risks
inherent in fluctuating international currency exchange rates in
light of our global operations and the unpredictable effect of
geopolitical world and local events; whether we are successful in
our continued efforts to manage expenses effectively and maintain
profitability; our ability to achieve revenue from products and
services that are under development; the uncertain effect of the
competitive environment in which we operate and resulting pricing
pressures; and whether the anticipated effects and results of our
new product offerings and successful product implementation will be
realized. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that
relate to Geac's business and operations are summarized in more
detail from time to time in our filings with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission and with the Canadian Securities
Administrators. Please refer to Geac's most recent quarterly
reports available through the website maintained by the SEC at
http://www.sec.gov/ and through the website maintained by the
Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Depository for
Securities Limited at http://www.sedar.com/ for more information on
risk factors that could cause actual results to differ. Geac is a
registered trademark of Geac Computer Corporation Limited. All
other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. DATASOURCE:
Geac Computer Corporation Limited CONTACT: Media Contact: David
Domeshek, Geac, (508) 871-5064, ; Investor Contact: Laura
Hindermann, Geac, (508) 871-5045,
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