Articles and Media
CIO.com
Mind Matters: a New Approach to the IT/Finance Split
"Ask Chris Spivey and Keith Karnes if there's a problem with communication between finance and IT teams and you get a resounding "yes!.""
CIO.com
Why Project Management Certifications Matter (quoted)
"When a project manager has a PMP certification, he says, it creates an expectation among employers that a PMP will complete a project smoothly. What's missing from that assumption, Spivey adds, are the leadership and governance components of projects that are so critical to their success, but that certification exams don't, in his opinion, adequately measure. These include: how decisions get made, how project managers motivate and inspire people working on the project, and how they influence buy-in."
Link: http://www.cio.com/article/519213/Why_Project_Management_Certifications_Matter
The Leading Edge - Lane Gorman Trubitt, LLP
Of Ostriches and Audits - Page 11 (co-authored)
"When it came to matters of risk management and internal control, business leaders used to act a bit like ostriches—they often stuck their heads in the sand—content to leave compliance issues in the hands of those littleseen men and women who sat in some back office, doing mysterious tasks nobody else really understood. Plausible deniability was an effective strategy."
Link: http://www.lgt-cpa.com/resources/newsletters/LEA/LEA_spring_08.pdf
CFO.com
Top 10 Ways to Cut Your Audit Bill - Alix Stuart (quoted)
"...CFOs and controllers will likely have to show their auditors documentation that nothing has changed and remind them that "you don’t have to put hours against it again this year..."
Link: http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10590321/c_10591082
Automation World
Window on Process Improvement (quoted)
"The return on workflow mapping investment is a function of the map’s validity,”
says Chris Spivey, president of Spivey & Co. LLC (www.spiveynco.com), a Dallas-based consulting firm.
“The biggest threat to validity is lack of collaboration. Each staffing role taking part in a workflow will see it from a different perspective. Each perspective will be partially valid. You need an honest picture from all the perspectives to get a solid map."
April 2010 (p.10).
Written by Marty Weil
AICPA Technology Newsletter
Business Process: Art, Science or Shoddy Mistake? (authored)
"...since process is often misunderstood, yet critically important, CPAs and finance professionals will want to understand the foundational context for understanding process, while learning the considerations for successful process design, implementation and improvement – especially where initiatives often fall short or fail outright."
Link: http://infotech.aicpa.org/Community/The+Art+of+BP.htm
Dallas Business Journal
Accounting profession — get ready for more regs - Even companies that are private could face increased regulation during the audit process (authored)
"At the end of September, I participated in the Forum on Auditing in the Small Business Environment, a joint program hosted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ethics Resource Center. The forum opened my eyes to the issues facing the accounting profession, but also shined a bright light on the environment and a perspective necessary for anyone in today’s business marketplace."
Link: http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/11/03/editorial2.html
CIO.com
IT Project Management:
10 Less-Considered Keys to Success
(quoted)
Having a change control process sets everyone's expectations that requests for new features or functions need to be formally requested and will go through a formal vetting process to determine how much work they will require and how they'll affect the project's cost and timeline. With a formal change control process, a project manager can more definitively say whether or not a particular change truly is minor, says Spivey. Moreover, the project sponsor can make a more informed decision about the additional features and functions that are truly worth extending the cost and schedule of the project.
Link: http://www.cio.com/article/597712/IT_Project_Management_10_Less_Considered_
Keys_to_Success
Best Business Models - Real life business models to help grow your business
Strategy and Process Alignment (video)
Link: http://www.bestbusinessmodels.com/business-process/align-strategy-process