From the editor.

It can be extremely important in formulating good risk management to settle a chicken vs. egg question: which comes first, managing risk or setting strategy? Two consultants at Protiviti Inc., Everett Gibbs and James DeLoach, argue in our cover story that both really need to be considered, and integrated--that effective risk management can guide good strategic decisions, and vice versa.

Last spring, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked companies to take part in a voluntary program to test filing financial reports in XBRL, the emerging technology that vastly simplifies the sharing of data among preparers and users. There wasn't exactly a stampede to enlist, but nine companies had signed on by December. Financial Executives Research Foundation Director of Research William Sinnett spoke with executives from three of the companies about their experiences, and heard from SEC Chairman Christopher Cox about why he is making XBRL a top priority.

In most organizations, internal audit (IA) groups are focused tightly on their role as an independent reviewer and critical appraiser of internal controls and the company's overall financial health. A group of consultants argues that while IA still owns this responsibility, it has new opportunities under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to provide much greater value to the organization.

Noted self-help promulgator and author Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been a perennial best-seller since it came out in 1989. In an interview with Executive Editor Ellen M. Heffes, Covey talks about his original seven habits--and the newest eighth habit--and how these apply to the senior finance executive and his/her team today.

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A devastating fire at Knowlton Specialty Papers a few years ago almost put the company under--and quickly sent management into a fire-drill mode. After rebuilding the plant, however, unforeseen issues almost killed Knowlton again. A pair of restructuring specialists review what Knowlton faced and what it did, and offer key lessons for companies facing the need for a turnaround.

In what is becoming an annual installment, FEI President and CEO Colleen Cunningham predicts what she thinks will be the 10 biggest issues in financial reporting this year. Some, like pension accounting and stock options, have been in the headlines a lot recently; others, while important, are more esoteric, like the Conceptual Framework.

In 2006, FEI is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the magazine will be looking back over the years and running articles on what we've deemed (with the help of former and current volunteer leaders and others) to be the foremost "shapers" of today's corporate finance profession. There's probably no universal consensus on those, but high on the list are things like the growth of regulation and accounting standards, technology, globalization, more sophisticated financial reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley ... you get the idea.

The series begins with a very nicely written look at the 1930s, when FEI came into being as The Controllers Institute of America. The article, by writer Glenn Cheney, begins on page 18. In the coming months, we expect to have some well-known figures from the regulatory and accounting worlds contributing as well. These anniversary articles augur an exciting year for Financial Executive, and we hope you enjoy reading about these seminal events and issues and the part that FEI has played in reacting to or even molding them.