The U.S. Federal Reserve released 3 Year Economic Projections on January 25th.   The event was a break- through in transparency because the U.S. Government was willing to share the uncertainty factors in its financial models.  For the first time the Fed projected the Fed Funds and quantified the precarious zero interest rate balance between inflation and deflation: Key Indicators 2012 2013 2014 Growth 2.7% 3 % 4 % Unemployment 8.2 % 7.5 % < 7%? The Fed’s figures are not a surprise to business leaders who watch European leaders struggle to form a unified plan that links monetary...

Putting a $ figure on the Cost of Controls Failures MF Global‘s Board of Directors gave CEO Jon Corzine high risk / high reward Investment authority —- reporting directly and exclusively to the Board.  From a Risk Committee perspective, Corzine’s career experiences from the Goldman Sachs Trading Desk through the highest levels of federal and state government are unique qualifications. The current dilemma points back to the Audit Committee’s oversight of funds accounting internal controls.  The firm made a $6.3 Billion bad bet on European debt.  The shortfall in MF Global’s Segregated...

The recently issued SEC’s October 2011 Disclosure Guidance expanded the agenda of potential Material Risks that Boards must consider when filing 10 Ks and Proxy Statements.  Which Board Committees should assess potential losses: The Risk Committee?  The Audit Committee? The full Board? There are no specific recommendations in the Guidance.  Each company must plot its path.  There are enough issues to divide that require in-depth review: What’s the impact of cyber incidents on financial statements and footnotes?  Are cyber risk threats factored into M & A evaluation, particularly if...