For all the talk of recession, CFOs are one group not worried. CFO optimism on the U.S. economy dropped only slightly, to 67.6 from 68.6 recorded in the second quarter, in the most recent "CFO Outlook Survey," a quarterly survey conducted by Financial Executives International and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. CFOs were even more optimistic about their company's prospects: optimism dipped imperceptibly to 75.5 from 76.3 last quarter. "CEOs are less gloomy than the media suggest," said Zicklin School of Business' Dean John Elliott, adding that CFOs foresee double-digit profit growth on average. The executives' biggest worry? Twenty-nine percent cited competition as one of their top concerns. Of those surveyed, 35.5% expect to spend more on product investment, and over half said they are looking for talent to add to the finance department. The survey of 171 corporate CFOs was conducted on Sept. 18.

SIX DEGRESS OF SOX

In doing away with the practice of interlocking boards and cutting back on directors who held multiple directorships, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was supposed to put an end to the "old boy" network that had made abuses possible. But a study by Jackie Cook for The Corporate Library, titled "Survey of U.S. Corporate Board Structure and Board Network: 2002-2005," finds that while the worst abuses have diminished, the network is far from dead.