Cartoons of the Week: February 23–March 1

CFOs are still concerned about talent, and that’s potentially good news for workers with specialised skills.

Nearly 60% of US CFOs consider it a challenge to find skilled financial professionals, according to a Robert Half International survey. Fifty-four per cent said it was “somewhat challenging” to find skilled workers in finance, and 5% said it was “very challenging.” That’s up slightly from September 2012, when 58% of CFOs said it was challenging to find skilled financial professionals.

“It’s a tale of two job markets,” said Paul McDonald, Robert Half senior executive director. “The broad-based media would lead you to believe that, with [US] unemployment above 7%, there’s a plethora of people to pick from. But when you dig in, there’s a war for talent in the finance arena.”

Workers with specific expertise remain in demand, and because there are fewer of them, they often command higher starting salaries. For instance, Robert Half says that demand remains strong for the internal audit role. Last month, data from the Institute of Internal Auditors showed that internal auditors’ salaries are on the rise.

College graduates with a finance or IT background can expect to find jobs quickly and those with even limited experience are able to command higher salaries, McDonald said. Companies are responding with more perks, such as flexible work arrangements or tuition reimbursement for continuing education.

“They’re getting on the bandwagon to pay more competitively, and they’re offering enhanced packages outside of compensation,” he said.

Finance departments are focusing on efficiency as they search for talent. “CFOs are looking to improve the time it takes to close the books,” McDonald said. “Everyone’s seeking productivity gains, and they need the skilled individuals to help them with that.”

Companies are looking in particular for analysts who are CPAs and can turn financial data into business recommendations.

Businesses also are seeking finance pros with technical expertise as well as communication and problem-solving skills.

The Robert Half survey used the responses of more than 1,400 CFOs in November 2012. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

A shortage of technical skills, such as computer expertise, is fuelling a talent shortage that threatens to dampen growth prospects in mature and emerging markets.

New research from Grant Thornton International shows that 39% of businesses are struggling to recruit the right people. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents globally say technical skills are the main obstacle, with 61% of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) respondents and 65% from the G7 in agreement.

The research also shows that 28% of businesses expect their 2013 expansion plans to suffer because of skills shortages. Thirty-six per cent of respondents from BRIC nations expect a skills-related slowdown, according to Grant Thornton.

“A great team with an average plan will be far more successful than an average team with a great plan,” Paul Raleigh, Grant Thornton’s global leader of growth, said in a news release. “The best people increase productivity, save an organisation time and money and ultimately grow the business. So in the long term, business leaders need to be confident that their own training programmes will be able to deliver talent sustainably.”

The Grant Thornton research used the opinions of 6,400 senior executives between August and December 2012.

The results of the Grant Thornton research mirror those of a recent Robert Half survey showing that 59% of US CFOs consider it a challenge to find skilled financial professionals.

A CGMA survey last summer also pointed to talent management as a critical obstacle. That report showed that 43% of chief executives, CFOs and human resources directors thought that poor talent management had kept their company from reaching key financial targets in the previous 18 months, and 40% said it hindered their ability to innovate. I thank you FirozaliA.Mulla DBA

AS PER USA On Friday, $85 billion in spending cuts intended to be so painful and stupid that they would never come into effect started to come into effect.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but the so-called sequestration looks set to only add to the unpopularity of what has become one of America’s most-loathed political institutions: Congress.

In a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans gave the House and Senate just a 12 percent approval rating, up barely a smidgen from its all-time low. Dozens of other polls conducted in the past year or two have shown Congress to be deeply despised. But even Congress has its supporters, and not just paid staff members or blood relatives, as Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, likes to joke. After all, one in eight Americans still gives the institution a thumbs-up.

In follow-up interviews, those respondents to the Times poll gave a complicated and contradictory set of reasons for looking at Congress through rose-colored glasses. Several backtracked or qualified their support when asked to describe what they found so appealing about the institution. The words “idiots” and “ninnies” came up. One respondent described his positive response as accidental. Another mentioned she had been recovering from a recent surgery.

But the small group of people who really did approve of Congress generally seemed to fall into two broad camps, which might be termed the “natural optimists” and the “Obama haters.”

Take the second group first. Several respondents said they believed that Congress — which is divided between a Republican-controlled House and a Senate where Democrats are in the majority but generally unable to pass legislation because they lack 60 votes to overcome an almost automatic filibuster by the minority party — was trying its hardest in difficult circumstances, but was repeatedly frustrated by a hubristic White House with a my-way-or-the-highway attitude.

That was the opinion of Bruce Hamer, a self-described Reagan Republican and Southern California engineer. He applauded Congress for coming together to work on immigration and at least trying to tackle the country’s finances. He mostly blamed President Obama for undermining the institution.

“As dysfunctional as it might seem, I see Congress as trying to grapple with the diversity of this country, and a president who’s trying to demonize people,” Mr. Hamer said. “There’s tremendous polarization, and I don’t understand where the spirit of conceding and cooperating is. A leader that’s negative is not going to be successful in a government that’s got to win consensus.”  I thank you FirozaliA.Mulla DBA 

Brandeis researchers looked at the same set of 1,700 families over the 25-year period to
see how their actual work and school experiences affected their wealth
accumulation. What they found is that home ownership is driving the growing
gap. Price appreciation is more limited in non-white neighbourhoods, making it
harder for blacks to build equity. Also, because whites are more likely to have
family financial assistance for down payments, they are able to buy homes an
average of eight years earlier than black families and to put down larger
upfront payments that lower interest rates and mortgage costs. The home
ownership rate for whites is 28% higher than that of blacks. "How housing
wealth is created in different communities is clearly what's driving this," Shapiro said. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

In USA ARE THE BLACKS AND THAT WHITES DIVIDED OVER THE WEALTH? Yes as per the recent report in CNN The difference in wealth between typical households in each racial group ballooned to $236,500 in 2009, up from $85,000 in 1984, according to the study, released Wednesday. By 2009, the median net worth of white families was $265,000, while blacks had only $28,500.

Brandeis researchers looked at the same set of 1,700 families over the 25-year period to see how their actual work and school experiences affected their wealth accumulation. What they found is that home ownership is driving the growing gap. Price appreciation is more limited in non-white neighbourhoods, making it harder for blacks to build equity. Also, because whites are more likely to have family financial assistance for down payments, they are able to buy homes an average of eight years earlier than black families and to put down larger upfront payments that lower interest rates and mortgage costs. The home ownership rate for whites is 28% higher than that of blacks. "How housing wealth is created in different communities is clearly what's driving this," Shapiro said. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

President Obama and Congressional leaders emerged from a White House meeting on Friday without resolution to the budget impasse, meaning that the across-the-board spending cuts that take effect Friday could remain in place for weeks if not months. Speaking to reporters after the hour-long meeting, Mr Obama called the cuts “just dumb,” and criticized Republicans for their refusal to negotiate a package that includes some new revenue to balance those cuts. “The only thing we’ve seen from Republicans so far in terms of proposals is to replace this set of arbitrary cuts with even worse arbitrary cuts,” said Mr Obama. The president also signalled that he wants to avoid a clash with Congress that could shut down the government at the end of March even if it means allowing across-the-board cuts to remain in place for months, saying that the cuts will not amount to an “apocalypse.” “The pain, though, will be real,” he said. Mr Obama’s comments came as Republican leaders made clear they had no intention of budging on the president’s demands that the across-the-board cuts be replaced with what he calls a “balanced” package of spending cuts and tax increases. Speaker John A. Boehner emerged from the meeting after about an hour to indicate that little progress had been made toward bridging the differences between Republicans and the president. “Let’s make it clear, the president got his tax hike on January 1st,” Mr. Boehner told reporters after the meeting ended. “The discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It’s about taking on the spending problem here in Washington.” Sounding relaxed as he took questions from reporters, the president said he disagreed with that position and hoped that Republicans in Congress “come to their senses” in the weeks or even months ahead. But he seemed resigned that the deep cuts would remain in effect. He said he hoped Republicans would change their minds “after some reflection,” but he admitted: “It may take a couple of weeks. It may take a couple of months.” I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA