Continuous Evolution
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
January 16, 2026
As geopolitical pressures mount, data sources multiply, and market risks fluctuate, change is the only constant we can count on. A life in corporate finance is a life of constant change.
The enlightened leader meets such change as routine. They don’t wait for action to be needed, thereafter initiating a targeted change management project, but instead build transformative cultures. Using a foundation of sound corporate strategy and governance intent on collaboration, their organizations meet challenges and grasp opportunities as they surface. They address evolving strategy with seamless execution, preemptively identifying risk and opportunity while executing adaptive solutions as part of daily operations.
These leaders are focused on continuous evolution.
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Actual Cash Flow: the system in brief
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
first published in 2010 © Blackworth Publishing LLC
In today’s chaotic economy, efficient cash flow analysis is fundamental to managing a firm’s liquidity and protecting its opportunity for growth. The advanced finance team dynamically forecasts cash every day, positioning cash balances before breakfast and seamlessly mobilizing money before lunch. It is through such efficient processes that firms maximize the money multiplier and support an enhanced valuation.
Sure, that sounds fantastic. But these financial processes rarely exist in real life. Company-wide access to anything more than basic cash flow analytics is rare in the modern firm. Why?
My first book, Actual Cash Flow, endeavored to synthesize the mechanics of cash positions and cash flows to provide a tool for management reporting called the Actual Cash Flow™ system.
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Foreign Exchange Risk Training
Introductory training about foreign exchange rates, exposure, and related risk analysis for the Corporate Finance professional: this training covers the basics of understanding foreign exchange rate volatility, the financial risk this volatility causes for a corporation, and standard approaches to quantify and analyze the risk. The course also covers Embedded Derivatives. (Training asset as of: July 2024)
Go to Full Course Description
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A Job in Corporate Finance
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
September 12, 2019
I’ve recently talked to various Wall Street professionals that are considering a career move into corporate finance. These capital markets savvy people asked for input. How should they approach their search? What jobs should they target? Where would they fit best?
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Business Intelligence and Financial Data Strategy
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
August 6, 2019
Advancements in business intelligence (“BI”) bring new quantities and dimensions of data to Corporate Finance. The combination of faster networks, cheaper data storage, and BI platforms such as Tableau and Microsoft Power BI offer break-through opportunities for financial presentation.
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Financial Analysis and Remembering the Audience
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
May 13, 2019
The art of presentation is a key attribute in quality financial analysis. Even short, summary tables can be indecipherable without directions. And yet many financial analysts neglect this reality. This blog post covers some basic rules to enhance every analyst's analytical output.
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Reviewing and Approving Spend: A Corporate Finance Guide
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
March 26, 2019
Financial review and approval is a key component of a company’s internal control processes. Such controls typically include segregation of duties and also supervise accuracy, communication, reliability, and compliance around the spend request. Since specific requests are often cross-functional and/or international, that supervision can be complicated.
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Corporate Finance and the Art of Explanation
by: Ann Marie Svoboda
February 25, 2019
If you work in corporate finance, you know it’s easy to get lost in a sea of numbers. But is that sea of numbers explaining anything? Does the analysis simply point to a variance, or does it get to The Point? Does it, more importantly, divulge the What Else?
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