Software Even A Cfo Could Love

The computer, that brilliant fool of modern times, is gaining a measure of street savvy--and that's sparking fresh interest among high-level corporate finance types. Chief financial officers long relegated the computer to the back office, where it mindlessly crunched numbers for routine matters such as customer billing. But now it can function as a strategic planning tool and all-round financial adviser, making it suddenly welcome in the corporate suite. There is new software available that permits the computer to mimic human reasoning--and in a user-friendly fashion acceptable to even the most hardened Luddite in the front office.

CFOs are increasingly benefiting from the computer's ability to offer predictions, spot trends and trouble spots, and present options. Want to know the cheapest way to ship goods--this week and next June? Or where the waste is that keeps cash flow subpar? Or what capital spending makes sense strategically? Or what's the best employee stock-ownership plan?