Financial
A listing of the most recently indexed works about Financial in the field of technical communication.

• Paid Versus Free Content Is Back in The Headlines
  Earlier this year Chris Anderson, who is best known for his book The Long Tail, wrote an article in Wired Magazine called ‘Free’. As the title suggests it is about the “inevitable move towards a price point of zero for content and services on the web.”
• Targeted Operational Areas: Financial and Status Reports
  The focus of the Society office over the last two months has been working with chapter and SIG leaders on their financial reports for the 2008 Fiscal Year (July 2007-June 2008) and their Community Status Reports (CSRs) for the May-August 2008 period. For the chapters, this also includes submission of the appropriate tax forms.
• Ten Ways to Save Money When Publishing a Manual
  Several hints on how to produce professional documentation less expensively.
• The Current Economy: What’s a Technical Communicator to Do?
  There is a lot of uncertainty swirling around these days about the economy. That’s why we are being bombarded with the 'sky is falling' message wherever we turn. But how much of this is reality and how much is hype?
• Information Management Challenges for the Professional Accountant in Business
  Information professionals have fundamental skills that -- if harnessed optimally -- have the potential to be of significant value to professional accountants working in business. The accounting profession is grappling with issues emerging from a changing external environment. The roles, responsibilities and priorities of those with a finance function -- especially those in business -- are evolving, bringing about shifts in information needs. The opportunity for information professionals is to assert and demonstrate the relevance and value of their skill set to the emerging, more strategic finance function. This article provides an overview of the developments impacting accountants in business to highlight potential opportunities for information professionals.
• How To Justify Conference Attendance
  Conference expenses are affected by a number of factors. Before you can even begin to justify conference expenses, you need to calculate what those expenses are. To do so, use the following Expenses Worksheet to develop a cost estimate for attending your selected conference.
• Tax Tips for Tech Comm Contractors
  For those of you who have decided to venture out on your own: congratulations. Now that the celebrations are over, it’s back to reality. Although you have crawled out from under the thumb of a boss, you’ve also given up that comfortable bi-weekly paycheck to become an independent contractor. Having taken this big step a few years ago, I offer a few words of advice on how to keep the clutches of the tax man from grabbing too much of your earnings. I’ll give it to you straight: no weasel words here.
• Deduct Your STC Dues
  Since you pay taxes in the United States, keep in mind that STC dues are tax deductible. Please note, however, that dues must be deducted from the tax return filed for the year in which they were paid. In other words, dues paid in 2005 may be deducted only from 2005 tax returns. Therefore, if you paid your 2006 dues on or before December 31, 2005, these dues can be deducted only from your 2005 return.
• Five Things to Do While Offline
  You still (should) have all your receipts, invoices, and other financial documentation at hand. Why not go through everything, to see if you have to make changes to your budget or financial setup?
• Messy Problems and Lay Audiences: Teaching Critical Thinking Within the Finance Curriculum
  This article investigates the critical thinking difficulties of finance majors when asked to address ill-structured finance problems. The authors build on previous research in which they asked students to analyze an ill-structured investment problem and recommend a course of action. The results revealed numerous critical thinking weaknesses, including a failure to address the client's problem, use analytical tools systematically, construct rhetorically useful graphics,or translate finance concepts and methodologies into lay language. The presentresearch aims to understand more deeply why students struggle with ill-structuredproblems. Using think-aloud protocols, audiotaped interviews, and other strategies,the authors explore causes of finance students' difficulties and suggest strategiesfor addressing them. The results suggest that the homework tasks typicallygiven them, such as quantitative problem sets using algorithmic procedures,do not prepare them to confront ill-structured problems requiring disciplinaryarguments aimed at specified audiences. Research further suggests that teachingaudience adaptation--especially for nonexpert audiences--is helpfulin promoting critical thinking.
• After Sarbanes-Oxley, XBRL?
  Financial execs may not appreciate it yet, but this new data-tagging system should speed the flow of info and create new ways to analyze it.
• Improving Financial Analysis and Reporting Using XBRL and the Microsoft Office System
  The process of financial reporting and analysis can represent a huge cost for many companies. For example, the preparation of quarterly statements for publicly traded companies consumes the majority of a finance department’s resources during the reporting period. Likewise, it is not uncommon for equity analysts to spend up to one-third of their time entering data into spreadsheet models and verifying that data for accuracy.
• Six Steps to XBRL
  XBRL is reinventing how we transmit and use data in business. XBRL is not just for SEC companies: Small businesses and practitioners alike could soon be using XBRL to submit information to bankers, the IRS, and other agencies. XBRL will become a part of every CPA’s practice.
• XBRL Tagging Tutorial
  This slide show demonstrates the steps to tag a simple income statement using Rivet’s Dragon Tag software.
• XBRL: The Language of Finance and Accounting
  The eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a language for capturing financial information throughout a business' information processes that will eventually be reported to shareholders, banks, regulators, and other parties. The goal of XBRL is to make the analysis and exchange of corporate information more reliable and easier to facilitate.
• Budgeting for Communication Research
  To determine what amount to budget, discuss with an outside consultant the ballpark ranges for the types of research you want to conduct. Use the high-end numbers, plus estimated expenses, as your first budget recommendation. After the budget is approved, ask the consultant for a written, detailed proposal that will match the final amount that was allocated.
• Practical Tips for Merger Communication
  When two companies merge, the complexities, emotions and often sweeping changes behind the deal can hinder effective communication to key stakeholders. Yet a well planned and implemented communication strategy contributes to the very success of the merger itself. How can you overcome the obstacles to developing and delivering on a merger communication strategy?
• Are You Spending the "Right" Amount?
  To back up a request for more budgetor defend the existing one, you need to know exactly what you’re spending--and what you’re getting in return. But how can you tell if you’re spending too much on communication? This article suggests five approaches to weighing up the cost versus value of your communication activities.
• A Look at the Next Generation of Measurement
  In boom times, companies can be pressured into spending lavishly to please their employees, providing a variety of perks in the belief that happy employees are productive employees. While this may be true, when leaner times come and businesses struggle to grow, the goal of employee satisfaction is put under greater scrutiny. Today, investments in employee-related plans and programmes must do more than satisfy employees. They must be able to provide a measurable return on investment.
• New Disclosure Regulations May Spur Better Communication With Employees
  Within the past five years, two significant pieces of legislation have created new challenges for communicators: Regulation Fair Disclosure and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While these laws were enacted only in the U.S., their implications for communicato