From the editor.

Vats of ink are lavished annually on the subject of leadership, which is probably getting even more attention these days in the wake of ethical lapses at a rogues gallery of companies. There are eternal verities about the subject, as well as new thinking, and our cover story by Europe-based strategist and author Rowan Gibson clearly belongs to the latter school.

Gibson's well-written and unsettling piece doesn't really have one central theme but several, in addition to his four key precepts. Among those themes: linear thinking is all but meaningless in an increasingly non-linear world; great leaders are constantly tearing down the old as they build the new (so-called "creative destruction"); and a company needs something to stand for -- and stand out with -- something to differentiate itself in a cluttered competitive environment.

Douglas Carmichael, a well-known accounting professor and critic of the profession, has a powerful new platform: he is the chief auditor of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which will largely determine regulation of the corporate auditing function. Carmichael spoke with freelance writer Bruce W. Fraser about the new job and the board, and offered some of his thoughts about domestic accounting issues.

In a highly personal piece, outgoing USEC Inc. CFO Hal Shelton reflects on his decision to step down and the larger implications of such a move for stakeholders and the markets. Shelton offers sound advice about the importance of planning and orchestrating a CFO's departure to provide the least amount of turbulence and the greatest continuity to a new regime.

Integrated gross margin management is a tool to enhance profitability. As explained by consultant John Stasz, IGMM is a process that can enhance the existing value-creating activities of a core business without requiring a major transformation that could take years to implement.

Capturing value from technology investments has been a huge headache for an awful lot of companies, especially larger ones that have installed enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Chris Scherpenseel, President of FRx Software, argues that a financial analytics application can help a company use its ERP system to gain better visibility into its financials.

And, as insurance costs mount in one area after another, costs are also on the upswing in the employee practices liability area. Writer Barbara Morris finds that carriers are getting increasingly skittish in the face of rising jury awards, settlement costs and a higher number of claims.

The article on FEI and its organizational structure comes at the behest of the incoming National Chair, H. Stephen Grace Jr., who is profiled in the piece along with incoming Canadian Chair M. Stephanie Coldwell. One of FEI's longest-serving active members, Grace believes that many members don't fully understand or appreciate how FEI works or all the services that FEI and its national staff provide to them and the companies they work for.

Grace has also asked us to profile individual national staff departments to give members a better sense of who staffers are and what they do. Look for those profiles to start with the September issue and run through next June.