Finance leaders report demands on the 'finance function' are increasing further.
Finance Leaders are bucking the current trend for negativity on the economic outlook with over 60% of attendees at PwC's Finance Leaders' Summit expecting positive growth in their industry over the next 12-18 months.
The summit, which was held in London by PwC for CFOs and finance leaders from 98 multi-national companies, also touched on how the emerging markets continue to be important for growth.
Top locations were identified as China followed by Brazil, India, the US and Russia.
As the push for growth in new markets continues, an increasing importance is placed on understanding local requirements and demand with 90% of attendees saying they were increasingly moving away from simply exporting products towards developing products and services that are modified to meet local market needs.
Nick Atkin, partner in PwC Consulting's Finance Effectiveness practice said:
"In today's competitive economic landscape and global marketplace, it is no longer enough to export your home-grown products and services. Understanding the opportunities and risks in the local target market and innovating to develop tailor-made products and services is pivotal to success in the emerging markets."
When looking at business in the emerging markets, 60% of finance leaders cite finding and retaining the right talent as the key consideration for their function, followed by compliance and regulatory control risk.
Talent issues remain a concern for finance functions also when doing business in their own countries. Whilst 89% of finance leaders said that the demands on the finance function have increased over the past year, an overwhelming 92% of attendees reported gaps within their existing finance talent base to be able to effectively deliver against the business strategy - with more than a quarter saying those gaps are significant.
Nick Atkin, PwC partner, continues:
“Finance leaders are increasingly focusing on talent management, on attracting and retaining the right talent and on developing the skills of their teams. As organisations grow and expand internationally this is a top priority for business leaders today."
The drive for finance to become a partner of the business and driver of strategy as opposed to a department of report churners seems to continue unabated. Over half of the finance leaders believe that finance should have the responsibility for driving the right data, information and analytics across the business.
Yet a quarter of the respondents stated that the management information produced by finance failed to meet the needs of the business, with a further 37% only neutral about its impact.
Nick Groves, PwC partner and global leader of the enterprise performance management team said:
"Far too much time is still spent on manipulating data rather than on analysing information to deliver insightful solutions. Whilst finance leaders clearly recognise the importance of their role in driving the right data, significant opportunity remains in aligning management information to the needs of the business."
Whilst adding insight and maintaining control are clearly high on Finance Leaders' agendas, continuing to strive for an efficient organisation is still an important balancing act. 70% of Finance Leaders' said that they are now considering a move towards multi-functional shared services, with Finance, IT, HR and Procurement functions being the top candidates. This generates significant benefits to organisations yet also creates certain complexity
Nick Atkin, PwC partner, concluded:
"Organisations continue to look to drive efficiency across the support functions and deliver high quality services to internal customers freeing up time for finance leaders to support more effective decision making. With more free time, finance can focus on putting information at the heart of the organisation to drive better outcomes, growth and prosperity for the business, its employees and shareholders."
Finance Minister downplays lower deficit - radionz
Finance Minister downplays lower deficit
Updated at 9:35 pm on 6 June 2012
Finance Minister Bill English downplayed a $1.4 billion improvement in the Government's latest monthly accounts, saying it does not lessen the Government's need to keep control of its spending.
The deficit before gains and losses on the Government's investments was $5.9 billion to the end of April, $1.4 billion dollars less than forecast in the Budget in May.
The deficit was smaller due to a higher than expected tax take and lower than expected spending.
The tax take was $770 million more than forecast. But Mr English says tax is still nearly $1 billion down on the Treasury's pre-election forecasts in October last year.
Mr English says a tight rein on spending is still needed to hit the Government's target of a surplus by 2014-15.
The minister says the Government knows where the money is going, but the revenue is uncertain and this month it has been higher than expected. The big task is to do everything possible to lift economic growth.
Returns from State Owned Enterprises and Crown Entities were $300 million more than forecast, while spending was $320 lower than predicted.
The Green Party says the new figures showing stronger-than-expected returns from SOEs is further proof the Government should retain them in full ownership.
The Treasury says company tax was $450 million more than it forecast in the Budget. Crown expenses were 0.6% lower than expected. The debt balance is slightly better than forecast at 25.9% of gross domestic product.
Infometrics economist Benje Patterson says the better-than-forecast deficit does not signal a dramatic turnaround in the Government's books and more spending cuts will be needed to hit the surplus target.
Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
Forex: EUR/USD below 1.2500, Germany data - FXStreet.com
Forex: AUD/USD pushes above 0.9900 - FXStreet.com
Forex: EUR/USD falls below 1.2500 on Draghi's comments - NASDAQ
FXstreet.com (San Francisco) - The Euro has reacted down to the lack of information given by ECB's president Mario Draghi about the next movements in central banks policies across the Eurozone. After managing all the day to maintain the 1.2500 level, finally the EUR/USD has declined to 1.2450 in the last few minutes.
The EUR/USD is extending, thus, its decline from intra-day high at 1.2525 reached in the European session to break 1.2470/80 support and reach levels below the 1.2450 frontier. Currently the pair is pricing at 1.2445, turning in the negative field in the day.
Pair looks "Slightly Bearish" and "Overbought" according to FXstreet.com technical studies. "Technically, the pair is bullish in the 4 hours chart as indicators head higher while price stands above 20 SMA. A break above weekly high set at 1.2545, should favor a continuation rally towards the 1.2600/20 area for the upcoming sessions", says Valeria Bednarik, analyst at FXstreet.com.
"On contrary, I see primary support in the 1.2440/50 region. If the news disappoints, and the pair falls below that level, we may see a bearish continuation towards the 1.2380 price zone," Bednarik concludes.
Finance directors’ income at average of £1m - WalesOnline
Forex Pattern Trade to Take Every Time - Moneyshow.com
Huzefa Hamid, a contributor to DailyForex.com and co-founder of The Forex Room, reviews a recent forex trade inspired by a triangle chart pattern and some reliable Fibonacci price levels.
In my last article on MoneyShow.com, I wrote about the importance of a largely overlooked chart pattern, the triangle, and how it can produce accurate trades with excellent risk/reward ratios.
Here, we’re going to look at this concept tied in with a Fibonacci retracement level that I love: the 88.6 Fib percentage. To recap, the Fibonacci “golden ratio” is 61.8%. If you square root that percentage, and then square root it again, you get 0.886, or 88.6%. I often use a bounce off the 88.6% Fib level as a trade entry.
See also: Fibonacci Analysis: Master the Basics
Let’s dive right in and look at an example. This is a live trade that I took on the GBP/USD on a 15-minute chart.
The following chart is the point at which I saw the trade developing:
Click to Enlarge
My logic was this: The price moved from a high to a low (marked by the 100% and 0% lines) and then moved back up to the 88.6% level (highlighted by the small blue line). The price bounced off that level to the exact pip. I felt the price would continue moving down and extend the previous down move past the 0% level.
I could have entered a short position immediately, but the nearest place for a stop was around 45 pips away (above the previous high). While the profit target was over 80 pips, which gave a decent risk/reward, I felt I could get a tighter stop loss on a consolidation.
As a result, I waited for a pullback or consolidation (such as a triangle) from which to plan the trade. The risk with waiting is missing the trade entirely, as price could just rocket down and not consolidate at all.
Getting into the Trade
When I checked the chart again, I noticed a triangle consolidation where price had just broken out and decided this made a good entry point. I used a 25-pip stop, which was just above the triangle.
In the following chart, I’ve marked just the initial high as Point X, the low as Point 1, and the 88.6% level as Point 2 (and removed the other Fib levels for clarity). The triangle pattern is marked with the red lines.
Click to Enlarge
Getting Out of the Trade
My target was a 100% extension of Wave 1. This means you take the size of Wave 1, i.e. from Point X to Point 1, and measure 100% of that size from Point 2. That gave me a target of about 80 pips away from my entry. This was a risk/reward ratio of over 1:3, which I think is very acceptable.
Click to Enlarge
When it hit the target, it broke it by one or two pips before rebounding and going through it firmly. See the following chart:
Click to Enlarge
Trading Conclusions
- A Fib level can often produce a good set-up, but if you don’t see it quick enough, you may miss the trade or have to accept a wide stop
- The triangle pattern can give you a tighter entry, and therefore, a better risk/reward ratio
- In forex, the pips made only make sense when you compare to the pips risked
By Huzefa Hamid, contributor, DailyForex.com, co-founder, The Forex Room
What is the minimum risk/reward ratio you look for on your trades? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
FOREX-Euro gains in aftermath of ECB rate decision and Draghi - Reuters UK
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