Standout Stories
The innovation of payment… Today’s generation of fintech companies has come a long way since the 1990s when startups focused on selling technology to the financial services industry. Now, in the flash of a mobile app, many are taking their products directly to consumers.
In 1998, PayPal spawned the online payments revolution to serve peer-to-peer commerce. In the era of mobile commerce, many companies have jumped in, ranging from Amazon to Apple and Stripe to Square. Read article.
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Continuous Accounting… A March 2 column on continuous accounting, “Stopping the Madcap Sprint to Close the Books,” apparently struck a chord, encouraging many readers to write thoughtful responses. Most wanted to know how continuous accounting “actually works.” This piece is my reply to these inquiries.
First a quick recap of my earlier column: Continuous accounting is a measured and balanced alternative to compressing a month’s (or more) worth of accounting tasks to close the books into a few days at the end of the month, quarter, or year. Rather, the work to perform such closing tasks is conducted incrementally by accountants during the month, quarter, and year. Read article.
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Sports Intelligence… Does your company have, or might it consider, any kind of sponsorship or other financial involvement with a major league sports team or athletes? If so, you likely want to investigate ways to protect that investment.
One option is provided through a specialized service of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The professional services firm’s sports intelligence group is an offshoot of its global intelligence group, which consists of 400 people around the world — mostly former government intelligence officers or law enforcement professionals — that provide intelligence services to private-sector organizations. Read article.
Headlines
Which Payment Strategies Will Succeed?
Transparency, simplicity, and the customer experience are fueling payments innovation.
Activision Blizzard Posts Record Revenue
Acquisition King Digital contributed 23% of first-quarter revenue, while Call of Duty: Black Ops III set a record for monthly active users.
CFOs on the Move: Week Ending May 6
Anthem, Groupon, Kellogg, Sunoco, MSCI, Arrow Electronics, Vantiv, Stratus Technologies, DDR, AMAG Pharmaceuticals
Putting Continuous Accounting to Work
Readers asked, ‘How does continuous accounting actually work?’ The CEO of BlackLine provides some answers.
On the Front Lines of Sports Intelligence
Three-year-old PwC unit assesses and helps mitigate all manner of risks for professional sports teams.
Revlon Swings to Profit on ‘Solid Start’ to 2016
Topline net sales increased by 3.6% in the first quarter, with growth in the international consumer and U.S. professional segments especially strong.
Evonik to Buy air Products Unit for $3.8B
The German company’s largest-ever deal gives it access to high-margin chemicals used in sun lotion and paint.
Facebook Can’t Dodge Suit Over Photo Tagging
A judge rules Illinois’ biometric privacy law may apply to Facebook’s use of facial recognition software to tag photos.
Financial Adviser Accused of Stealing $2.3M
The SEC says Louis Martin Blazer took money from the account of a pro athlete to invest in “Mafia the Movie” and another film.
Berkshire Hathaway Misses Profit Estimates
The conglomerate’s first-quarter results reflect a 25% drop in profit at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, its largest unit.
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