Audiovox 2000 Annual Report Download - page 12

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C. Michael Stoehr
Senior Vice President &
Chief Financial Officer
REPORT OF THE CFO
Information Technology—During fiscal 2000, we launched several Information Technology (IT) applications to support
the Company’s growth and new markets. These applications focused on warranty and repair, product purchases, financial
reporting and budgeting. There were also further enhancements to the operating systems and Internet capabilities including
the launch of a new web site with extensive product information and customer support. Phase Two of that launch was
started in 2000 and will be complete in the next few months. This second phase includes a new user-friendly Frequently
Asked Questions section in customer service and an improved company store.
Streamlining operations to increase productivity has been a major IT initiative and during the year we also began to
implement inventory bar coding programs designed to speed the shipping and return/repair process. In fiscal 2001, we will
continue to invest in our IT systems to enhance our productivity and support our company’s growth.
Liquidity—Fiscal 2000 saw further improvements to the Company’s balance sheet. We successfully completed a follow-
on-offering and retired a foreign currency loan. Our balance sheet is strong and we believe that the financial facilities we
now have in place position us well for the year 2001.
Equity Investments—From time to time, the Company makes equity investments that we believe enhance our
performance or contribute to our profitability. Each year we review those investments to make certain that our objectives
are still being met. During 2000, we terminated two such investments, Talk Corporation and Quintex Wireless, LLC.
In fiscal 2001, we plan to focus our attention on Audiovox Specialized Applications, LLC (ASA) and Bliss-tel and we will
review other opportunistic investments as they arise.