Corporate scandals and the subsequent focus on corporate governance, risk management, and market regulation have created a new business environment. The finance function has shifted from numbers--crunching to one involved in strategy setting, execution, and monitoring.

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: Enterprise Governance. PART I: Performance. 2. Developing Strategy. 3. Transactional Excellence. 4. Corporate Performance Management. 5. Driving Performance Through Better Cost Management. 6. Forecasting, Planning and Budgeting. PART II: Conformance. 7. Better Enterprise Governance Through Better Reporting. 8. Corporate Governance. 9. Supporting Enterprise Governance: the Emerging Finance Architecture. PART III: Corporate Responsibility. 10. Corporate Responsibility. 11. Risk Management. 12. Conclusion: A Strategy for Finance Professionals. Index.

Following a series of corporate scandals, legislators have company executives in their sights and are arming themselves with ever-greater regulatory firepower. All agree that good governance is essential but must not be allowed to stifle business performance. Beyond Governancedevelops the concept of Enterprise Governance, an emerging framework which unites performance, conformance and corporate responsibility and shows how addressing all of these areas in a concerted, coordinated fashion will deliver value to the organisation and its stakeholders. In particular, it focuses on the skills, processes and systems that are required to deliver excellence in each of these areas, giving readers a practical insight into the issues and an understanding of best practice in each area. Many firms are rethinking their finance activities in the light of e-commerce, shared service centres, business intelligence technology and cost pressures. Beyond Governance explores the challenge of building a modern, flexible finance function, describing the emerging role of the new CFO and how finance professionals should respond to this new business environment. "In the days of corporate scandals and shrinking investor confidence this is a timely book. By exploring the connections between shareholder value, corporate governance and corporate responsibility, it recognises the crucial role that skills, systems and people play in delivering Enterprise Governance for the 21st Century." —Professor Andy Neely, Chairman of the Centre for Business Performance, Cranfield School of Management, and author of The Performance Prism

"…an independent and valuable appraisal of the techniques necessary to deal with an extra dimension of modern business." (Information Age, 1st April 2005) “…packed with case studies of real companies…so the reader can appreciate how different company leaders are tackling these challenges” Accounting Technician, June 2005

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: Enterprise Governance. PART I: Performance. 2. Developing Strategy. 3. Transactional Excellence. 4. Corporate Performance Management. 5. Driving Performance Through Better Cost Management. 6. Forecasting, Planning and Budgeting. PART II: Conformance. 7. Better Enterprise Governance Through Better Reporting. 8. Corporate Governance. 9. Supporting Enterprise Governance: the Emerging Finance Architecture. PART III: Corporate Responsibility. 10. Corporate Responsibility. 11. Risk Management. 12. Conclusion: A Strategy for Finance Professionals. Index.