Beyond SOX?The simple answer is no, there's no going beyond the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, since the landmark business reform act of 2002 is pervasive and more or less permanent.
What you can do is go Beyond Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance, using the regulatory mandates of the act to drive greater performance, revitalize your business practice and transform your finance organization. Consultant Anne Marchetti shows readers how to comply with SOX, then how to handle the ongoing maintenance and monitoring it requires, and then how to transcend it.
Price: $49.95.
John Wiley & Sons
www.wiley.com
(800) 225-5945
The next generation
If you could see the future, you'd skip this item. Since you can't, you might want to check out Next Generation Accountant: A New Outlook on a Timeless Profession, a research report on the future of the profession by the accounting and finance staffing experts at Robert Half International. Based on analysis and surveys of accountants both in public practice and in industry, the report discusses the exploding importance of compliance work, the new role of consultants, the skills you'll need to prosper, and the value of certifications. You can't see the future, but you can read about it here.
Price: Free.
Robert Half International
www.nextgenaccountant.com
(866) 328-0577
Going commando
First things first: Secrets of Special Ops Leadership will not tell you how to destroy your business competitors with a lethal combination of commando teams, air strikes and help from the Northern Alliance. What it will do, though, is explain the principles that allow the highly trained, dedicated warriors of the special operations world to achieve the impossible against enormous odds.
The six principles outlined by former Air Force commando Maj. Gen. William Cohen - purpose, repetition, speed, surprise, security and simplicity - are as important in business as they are on the battlefield. They also serve as the basis of a number of valuable practices, from being willing to throw the rule book away and dare the impossible to leading from the front and never giving up, that have won battles around the world for centuries.
Price: $24.
Amacom Books
www.amacombooks.org
(800) 714-6395
ROI on IT
Everyone says information technology is great, but does anyone have numbers on it? Until we see some, we're going to be skeptical, and so, apparently, are many others, if the growing trend of IT portfolio management is any indication. As IT Portfolio Management Step-By-Step explains, more and more companies are using this approach to evaluate, rationalize and get the most value out of their IT investments.
Price: $49.95.
John Wiley & Sons
www.wiley.com
(800) 225-5945
'Stooples'
There are books that are funny, and there are books that are about business. As far as we know, Stooples: Office Tools for Hopeless Fools is the only one that's both. A parody of an office supply catalog, it shrewdly skewers office culture, and should crack up all but the most humorless. Our favorites: the Staple Repair Kit (a tiny hammer and anvil), the Coal-Powered Computer, the E-Z Crank Rumor Mill and the Pocket Shredder. It's a bit like New Products, only they made it all up, whereas we only make up half.
Price: $12.95.
St. Martin's Griffin
www.stooples.com
