Industrial Products publications

How your company can prepare to manage carbon as an asset
Cap-and-trade systems already impact US companies, but many financial questions remain unanswered. To take advantage of the regulatory framework to control greenhouse gasses, companies must recognize that a new discipline is required and new rules are forming. What this means for businesses is that the myriad laws and regulations to address emissions add up to the need for a coordinated, strategic response.

This paper describes what is currently setting the stage for a comprehensive system of carbon trading in the United States, how a federal greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program might work in the United States, the status from the accounting standards-setting boards on emissions trading systems, and common questions about carbon emissions trading.

What new accounting standards will mean for the aerospace and defense industry
To keep pace with them, companies need to start preparing now. Due to the specialized nature of US GAAP guidance for A&D companies, there may be complex considerations in successfully implementing converged standards and ultimately transitioning to IFRS.

Quarterly M&A reports
Each quarter we provide an analysis of global merger and acquisition activity in the chemicals, metals, transportation & logistics, and industrial manufacturing industries. Each edition includes a review of overall deal activity for the quarter and year-to-date and a summary of large deals. Also included is a spotlight on a PwC service and a case study.

Manufacturing Barometer ™
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Manufacturing Barometer is a quarterly survey of executives in large, US-based, multinational industrial manufacturing businesses. Survey findings compare the economic outlook in the US industrial manufacturing sector to that of the broader marketplace—the consensus view of all surveyed companies.

The accompanying charts and tables also provide contrasts of the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. Captured are survey participants' assessments of the direction of the economy, their company's revenue growth trend, plans for major new investments, plans to add new workers, barriers to future growth, and much more.

Driving performance effectiveness in the finance and tax functions
This PricewaterhouseCoopers paper identifies common impediments, processes, and synergies among the finance and tax functions. A focus on the critical interdependencies between key roles and processes, from a data, technology, people and workflow perspective, will allow for a more holistic view than has historically been taken. Because much of the same data is used by both functions, companies can create significant value by applying the same finance transformation approaches to challenges within the tax function.

Engineering change: Constructive thinking for the construction industry
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is likely to be adopted in the US in the near future. This is a change that will impact global and domestic companies alike and will see the elimination of US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) for public companies

This paper discusses the impact on the engineering and construction sector. Adoption may be a smooth transition for some companies, but our experience shows it's likely to be complex for most. A successful transition to IFRS extends far beyond finance and accounting functions, involving departments such as human resources, investor relations, business development, tax, treasury and information technology (IT).

Navigation: Managing commodity risk through market uncertainty,
Commodity price volatility not only threatens the survival of individual companies, but also puts entire markets and industries at risk. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of leading manufacturers, 86% of senior executives said commodity price risk is important to a company's financial performance, adding that commodity risk was not managed well during the past two years.

Unraveling new business combination standards
In late 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued two new accounting standards to make company information on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity more relevant to stakeholders.

This paper discusses how these new accounting standards affect M&A deals and financial reporting, such as resulting in lower bonding amounts, reduced lending from financial institutions, and diminished bidding capacity for construction contractors already facing a difficult credit and surety environment. Well-capitalized construction companies looking for strategic opportunities in today’s economy also need to consider changes in how M&A are reported as they negotiate deals to expand, acquire weakened competitors or enter into joint venture agreements.