That's one of the main conclusions that emerges from CFO Research's recent report, "Pushing the Boundaries of Business Overseas," published in collaboration with High Street Partners, an international business software and services firm.

The report is based on an online survey of 161 finance and other senior executives at U.S. companies with annual revenues of between $50m and $1bn, all of which have either experience with or an interest in pursuing non-U.S. business. Among survey respondents, 89 percent are already conducting business outside of the United States, and the rest described themselves as "likely to do so" within the next five years.

For one CFO of a professional services firm, the best way to get started overseas is to "pick one country and get someone on the ground that you trust," as he wrote in the survey. Partners with local knowledge, echoed the controller of another professional services firm, "can help us navigate our way to success."

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Keywords: international trade, global logistics, foreign direct investment, international expansion strategy, outsourcing, supply chain management