The Petäjäskoski Formation, a new lithostratigraphic unit in the Paleoproterozoic Peräpohja Belt, northern Finland

This paper gives the first description of a newly-recognized, basin-wide metasedimentary unit in the Paleoproterozoic (~2.4–1.9 Ga) Peräpohja Belt, northern Finland. The unit, which is named the Petäjäskoski Formation (PFm) after the single location where the rocks are known to be exposed, is situated stratigraphically in the middle part of the Kivalo Group between the quartzites of the >2.22 Ga Palokivalo Formation and the mafic volcanic rocks of the ~2.1 Ga Jouttiaapa Formation. The bulk of the PFm comprises phlogopitic-sericitic and albitic schists with abundant hematite as a diagnostic feature. Quartzite and dolomite interbeds are common. Based on drillcore and geophysical data, the succession is several hundreds of meters thick. The unit has prograde, chiefly lower greenschist facies mineral assemblages and, though being commonly intensely deformed, shows well-preserved sedimentary structures that imply deposition in shallow-water to subaerial environments. Based on the original lithological features, the Petäjäskoski Formation can be defined as a claystone-siltstone-sandstone-dolostone association. On the geochemical and stratigraphic basis, the albite schists likely represent albitized equivalents of the micaceous claystones and siltstones. They are intercalated with stratabound collapse breccias, up to tens of meters in thickness, with clasts composed mainly of bordering albite schist. A mafic sill intruding the Petäjäskoski Formation yielded a U-Pb zircon age of 2140 ± 11 Ma. The older, c. 2220 Ma, differentiated sills are not known to reach the stratigraphic level of the Petäjäskoski Formation and hence, the depositional age of the PFm sediments can be bracketed between c. 2220 and 2140 Ma. Detrital zircon grains dated from a quartzitic sample from the PFm show an Archean (c. 2650–3470 Ma) provenance. The moderate to high MgO (~6–13 wt.%), K2O (~3–8 wt.%) and FeOtot (8–15 wt.%) contents, low CaO and Na2O contents, and abundant phlogopite and hematite make the mica schists unique among the metasedimentary rocks of the Finnish Karelian supracrustal belts. These features together with the abundance of dravititic tourmaline, the presence of pseudomorphic nodules potentially after gypsum and anhydrite, deposition under shallow-water conditions, and albitization and brecciation of the sedimentary strata suggest an evaporitic depositional environment

Is the annual budget really dead?

In recent years the traditional, annual budget has been accused of being incapable of meeting the demands of the competitive environment in the information age. Seeing that some of the most ardent critics are management consultants, with a vested interest in trying to persuade companies to change their management models, part of the criticism may perhaps be classified as hyperbole. Be this as it may, the criticism has resulted in more than just talk. Some real action can also be observed -; especially in Sweden, where several large companies have abandoned the traditional budget altogether. To date, academic researchers have shown very little interest in this phenomenon. The present study aims to investigate the validity of the criticism as perceived by chief financial officers and other high-ranking officers in large Finnish companies. The results of a postal survey indicate that relatively few companies are planning to abandon the annual budget completely. Even so, a considerable number of respondents who represent companies that intend to hold on to the annual budget indicate strong agreement with the main elements of the criticism. Comments made by several respondents also indicate that alternative, or rather, complementary, systems, such as rolling forecasts and monitoring systems similar to the Balanced Scorecard already exist, running parallel with the annual budget. Apparently, the latter still has a role to play as a means of maintaining internal effectiveness and communicating information to shareholders and other interested parties.