Study says rethink finance models

Company chief financial officers (CFOs) need to rethink their corporate finance models to meet the challenges posed by e-commerce, according to a new study released by Andersen Consulting in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The report, E-Commerce and the CFO: a framework for finance in the new economy, concludes new methods are needed to assess capital investments and account for new revenue or cost streams. Increasingly CFOs are finding their companies lack the necessary structure and culture to properly account for rapidly changing e-business conditions.

"Many CFOs are concluding that old economy accounting models are not adequate to measure the impact of e-commerce on corporate finance. Broadly speaking, that creates doubt about the ability of traditional metrics to evaluate key elements of operating in the new economy," says Ms Marian Corcoran, associate partner in Andersen Consulting's finance and performance management group.

The global survey is based on personal interviews conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit with the CFOs and other senior executives at 35 companies in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.