Nearly Two-Thirds of Technology Company CFOs Have Seen Increased Credit Costs, Have Found Credit More Difficult to Obtain
In a survey of chief financial officers and senior comptrollers in the technology industry, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents have seen credit costs increase. The same percentage has found that credit is more difficult to come by now than one year ago.
When asked about financial statements, 71 percent of technology company CFOs believe that they are too complex to be usable by the average investor. Almost two-thirds (74%) would support supplementing financial statements with nonfinancial measures that provide more relevant information about their organization.
Have you seen credit costs increase?
Yes 62% ———————————————————- No 38% ———————————————————-
Is credit more difficult to come by now than one year ago?
Yes 62% ———————————————————- No 38% ———————————————————-
Do you believe financial statements are too complex to be useable by the average investor?
Yes 71% ———————————————————- No 29% ———————————————————-
Would you support supplementing financial statements with nonfinancial measures that provide more relevant information about your organization and its value drivers?
Yes 74% ———————————————————- No 26% ———————————————————-
About which type(s) of pricing pressure are you most concerned? (Respondents could select more than one option.)
Employee benefits (e.g., health care, pensions) 75% ———————————————————- Energy 26% ———————————————————- Raw materials (e.g., food, metals) 18% ———————————————————- Other 15% ———————————————————- Insurance 11% ———————————————————- Commercial property 6% ———————————————————-
Should shareholders have greater access to the proxy in order for them to nominate directors more easily?
Yes 76% ———————————————————- No 24% ———————————————————-
Should shareholders be able to access the proxy online?
Yes 97% ———————————————————- No 3% ———————————————————-
Considering total pay and benefits package, do you feel the average CEO is:
Overpaid 65% ———————————————————- Appropriately paid 33% ———————————————————- Underpaid 2% ———————————————————-
Considering total pay and benefits package, do you feel your CEO is:
Overpaid 33% ———————————————————- Appropriately paid 56% ———————————————————- Underpaid 11% ———————————————————-
Do you believe the roles of CEO and chairman of the board should be independent of each other?
Yes 89% ———————————————————- No 11% ———————————————————-
Would you like to be CEO of a company one day?
Yes 55% ———————————————————- No 45% ———————————————————-
Do you support the recent Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposal to change accounting for contingent liabilities (FAS 5)?
Yes 61% ———————————————————- No 39% ———————————————————-
Do you agree with the FASB’s amendment of the definition of “discontinued operations” to include held-for-sale acquisition?
Yes 69% ———————————————————- No 31% ———————————————————-
Do you have experience preparing financial statements according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)?
Yes 24% ———————————————————- No 76% ———————————————————-
Should all U.S. firms be permitted to use IFRS, instead of U.S. GAAP, in financial statements filed with the SEC?
Yes 66% ———————————————————- No 34% ———————————————————-
Are you familiar with eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), referred to by the SEC as “Interactive Data”?
Yes 68% ———————————————————- No 32% ———————————————————-
Does your company currently report financial results using XBRL?
Yes 3% ———————————————————- No 97% ———————————————————-
If no, when do you plan to report using XBRL?
No plans at this time 97% ———————————————————- Before 2010 2% ———————————————————- Before 2009 2% ———————————————————-
(Note: The SEC has proposed rules and a timetable requiring public companies and mutual funds to file disclosures in XBRL. The plan will phase in companies over a period of three years, starting with the largest 500 public companies reporting their 2008 year end results in XBRL in 2009.)
Should companies issue any type of corporate responsibility or sustainability reports?
Yes 52% ———————————————————- No 48% ———————————————————-
Does your company issue any type of corporate responsibility or sustainability report?
Yes 84% ———————————————————- No 16% ———————————————————-
To receive a copy of the full technology company results, or to receive a copy of the national findings, please contact Kara McFarland at (312) 602-8469 or Kara.McFarland@gt.com.
About the Survey
Grant Thornton LLP conducted the national survey from September 8th through September 19th, 2008 with 66 chief financial officers and senior comptrollers at technology companies.
About Grant Thornton LLP
The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. Grant Thornton International Ltd and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership, as each member firm is a separate and distinct legal entity.
In the U.S., visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.