New legislation, expanding national competition, and an increasingly demanding consumer have all applied pressure to the mid-size retailer. Information technology can be a significant aid to smarter financial management for any retailer. Solutions that impact this issue are not just the obvious financial systems. Newer generations of software solutions have dramatically improved over what was […]

The introduction of the Sarbannes-Oxley legislation in the US has placed significant demands on Chief Financial Officers. CFO’s must now ensure that their reported financial statements are a true reflection of the state of the business. While this has always been the assumed case, and auditors might sign the accounts, declaring that they are a

Maintaining a healthy balance sheet is critical to any business. In retailing, a significant portion of the finances raised to fund the business may be secured against the assets in the company’s balance sheet. There have been well known instances of large retailers with severe inventory problems who were forced to overstate the true inventory

Depending on the real estate market for retail locations, retailers can occasionally attract reverse premiums for vacant retail stores. In other words, when a retailer is considering a move, real estate companies might pay them a sum of money to encourage the retailer to leave their current site and move into another that is listed

Store management also requires effective reporting. Stores today are confronted with shrinking budgets and demands for higher productivity. Managers have little time to spare for reviewing reports and completing paperwork. As actionable reports have been introduced to the merchants and corporate staff, store line reporting must also evolve in the same way. Each store should

As discussed above, weekly and monthly analysis is important to review actual performance vs. planned expectations. The objective being to recognize potential problems and issues before they become threats to the company. There is a variety of danger signs to watch for when reviewing performance, these include: • Unplanned and continual decreases in comp store