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Checking Accounts

attempt to secure multiple suppliers, although this option Hoffman, K. Douglass (2006). Marketing principles and best
is not always available. practices (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
Uncertainty within marketing channels can often be Kotler, Philip, and Armstrong, Gary (2006). Principles of market-
ing (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice
minimized only through careful actions taken over a pro-
Hall.
longed period of exchange. The frequency, timing, and
quantities of deliveries typify the processes involved in Pelton, Lou E., Strutton, David, and Lumpkin, James R. (2002).
matching channel functions to the need for efficient Marketing channels: A relationship management approach (2nd
ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
resource management within marketing channels. Chan-
Rosenbloom, Bert (2004). Marketing channels: A management
nel members are often unaware of their precise delivery
view (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
and handling requirement needs. By minimizing transac-
tion uncertainty, channel intermediaries help clarify these
processes. Naturally, as exchange processes become stan- Allen D. Truell
dardized, need, market, and transaction uncertainty is Lou E. Pelton
lessened. As exchange relationships develop, uncertainty David Strutton
decreases because exchange partners know one another
better.

CHECKING ACCOUNTS
WHERE MISSIONS MEET THE
MARKET SEE Financial Institutions
The functions performed by marketing intermediaries
concurrently satisfy the needs of all channel members in
several ways. The most basic way that market needs can be
assessed and then satisfied centers on the role channel CHIEF FINANCIAL
intermediaries can perform in helping channel members OFFICERS ACT OF 1990
reach the goals mapped out in their strategic plans. AND FEDERAL
Because they link manufacturers to their final customers,
channel intermediaries are instrumental in aligning all FINANCIAL
organizations’ missions with the market(s) they serve. MANAGEMENT ACT OF
Channel intermediaries foster relationship-building activ- 1994
ities and are indispensable proponents of the relationship
The Chief Financial Officer Act of 1990 (CFO Act) pro-
marketing concept in the marketing channel.
vided tight financial control over agency operations and
Channels of distribution are not all there is to mar-
the central coordination of financial management func-
keting, but without them all the behaviors and activities
tions to support an efficient administration of the execu-
known as marketing become impossible. Channels of dis-
tive branch. It centralized organization of federal financial
tribution represent the final frontier within which most
sustainable strategic marketing advantages can be management, required long-term strategic planning to
achieved. Channels of distribution are the instruments sustain modernization, and began the development of
projects to produce audited financial statements for the
through which organizational missions meet—come face
to face with—the marketplace. Strategic success or failure federal government. As Title IV of the Government Man-
will take place there. agement Reform Act of 1994, the Federal Financial Man-
agement Act of 1994 extended the scope of the CFO Act
SEE ALSO Marketing; Retailers; Wholesalers by requiring agency-wide financial statements and a con-
solidated government-wide financial statement.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boone, Louis E., and Kurtz, David L. (2006). Contemporary RATIONALE FOR CFO ACT
business. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western.
By the late 1980s, it was apparent that the financial sys-
Boone, Louis E., and Kurtz, David L. (2006). Contemporary
marketing (12th ed.). Eagan, MN: Thomson South-Western. tems of the federal government were in a deplorable state.
The savings and loan crisis had developed undetected,
Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr., and Peter, J. Paul (1998). Marketing:
Creating value for customers (2nd ed.). New York: Irwin financial scandals had occurred in the Department of
McGraw-Hill. Housing and Urban Development, numerous high-risk
Dickson, Peter R. (1997). Marketing management (2nd ed.). Fort programs had been identified, and seriously deficient sys-
Worth, TX: Dryden. tems of internal control were common.

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