C-Suite

Seventy-nine percent of chief financial officers believe an employee's sense of humor is important element to fitting into acompany's corporate culture, according to a survey by Accountemps, a specialized staffing agency for accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals.

More human resources departments are focusing on new directions in 2012 because of new technology, the continued jobless recovery, and the influx millennials in the work force, according to consulting firm SIS International Researchs white paper on human resources trends in recruitment and talent management.

According to experts at M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group, small-business owners should start succession planning five to 10 years before the anticipated transition; however, many small-business owners are so focused on everyday business operations, especially given todays economic climate, that they are not investing the required time to...

While a succession plan can provide a safety net in the face of unforeseen events, no succession plan is completely foolproof, warns consulting firm Cutting Edge Information.

CEO confidence experienced the largest quarterly gain in the fourth quarter of 2011 at 98.8, up from 83.5 in the third quarter, according to the Vistage CEO Confidence Index.

While many employers are expecting declining shareholder values in 2011, most still plan to pay executive bonuses that match or go above 2010s awards and fund bonuses at or above target levels, according to a survey by Towers Watson, a global professional services company.