An uproar in China over the safety of chicken sold at KFC "has been longer lasting and more impactful than we ever imagined," according to the chief executive of parent company Yum Brands.

A few years ago, DHL Express was in a downward spiral of data quality. The company had used a Microsoft costing tool deployed locally in the 200 countries in it operates. Graeme Aitkin, vice president of business controlling, said the tool used employee interviews to localize cost allocations, asking couriers how they spent their time every day. In the old days, he said, when the data wasn't available, it wasn't possible for a company to have a unified costing and pricing system across a global company.

The National Retail Federation released its 2013 economic forecast, projecting retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 3.4 percent*, slightly less than the preliminary 4.2 percent growth seen in 2012. The subdued forecast comes on the heels of a holiday season that went head-to-head with Washington's political wrangling over fiscal concerns, shifting consumers' spending plans downward. In the end, holiday sales in 2012 grew 3.0 percent.

When economic hard times hit in 2007-2008, CFOs and finance departments felt pressure to improve their organizations' working capital positions. The longer companies could hold on to cash, the more liquid they were, and the safer they felt. Paying bills quickly meant dipping into cash reserves, possibly taking away money from new-product development, mergers and acquisitions, marketing, or anything else that might drive top-line revenue. It was either that or be forced to rely for growth on expensive external financing. Everyone knew that when it came to days payable outstanding, longer was better.

For 2013, the new "borderless" business environment will present the greatest opportunities to companies in IT, finance, HR and other business services areas, as companies strive to reduce costs and meet aggressive revenue projections, according to a new Enterprise Key Issues Study from The Hackett Group Inc.