Ex-Fox Pundit Settles Stock Fraud Case for $258K

Former Fox News pundit Tobin Smith has agreed to pay nearly $258,000 to settle charges he made false statements in promotional materials for a penny stock company that he hyped as “the perfect tech stock.”According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Smith and his investment research ...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 2016

Five Thoughts for Job-Changing CFOs

Whether because of a change in control, greener pastures beckoning, or just a desire to do something different, job change may become imminent for a CFO. What are some of the key considerations around making a decision?Christine Osvald-Mruz While compensation normally is the first focus in consid...

By Christine Osvald-Mruz and Christopher Loeber • March 30, 2016

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Top 5 stories from CFO.com

From CPA licensure changes to undergoing a digital transformation, these are the most popular stories CFOs are reading. 

By CFO.com staff

Paychex Meets Estimates With Profit Growth

Paychex’s third-quarter profit rose on continued growth in both its payroll processing and human resource services businesses.The Rochester, N.Y. company said Wednesday that net income for the period that ended Feb. 29 rose 7% to $180.4 million, and diluted earnings per share rose 9% to 50 cents....

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 30, 2016

Warren Buffett Invites Fed Scrutiny with Wells Fargo Investment

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, after disclosing he had raised his stake in the Wells Fargo, said he has no intention of changing the way the banking company is run. Nonetheless, the Federal Reserve may now increase its scrutiny of Buffett’s dealings with it.“The central bank reviews each do...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 29, 2016

How to Reduce International Joint Venture Risk

International joint ventures remain one of the principal means for multinational companies to enter a foreign market. According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 1,409 global CEOs in 83 countries, 49% plan to enter into a new joint venture or strategic alliance in 2016.Valérie Demont S...

By Valrie Demont and Soumya Sharma • March 28, 2016

Presidential Election Weighing on Executives

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. business executives say the outcome of the 2016 presidential election is a consideration in their company’s business planning, budgeting or forecasting for the next fiscal year, according to the American Institute of CPAs.The election is having less of an impact on staff...

By Matthew Heller • March 25, 2016

Islamic State Finance Chief Killed in U.S. Attack

U.S. coalition forces have killed Islamic State’s finance chief, who was regarded by some analysts as the likely successor to the terrorist group’s head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Pentagon said Friday.Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Imam, was slain earlier this week. NBC News r...

By Matthew Heller • March 25, 2016

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending March 25

Energy firm EQT Corp. has named Robert McNally to the top finance spot, and he will hold the same post at EQT GP Holdings and EQT Midstream Partners. McNally replaces Phillip Conti, who will serve as principal financial officer through the company’s filing of its first-quarter 2016 results, and t...

By Joan Urdang • March 25, 2016

How a President Trump Might Treat Wall Street and the SEC

Predicting what financial sector policies a future President Donald Trump might pursue regarding stocks, bonds, corporate governance, and other matters before federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission is fraught with uncertainty. It’s as uncertain as whether there will even be ...

By Howard E. Berkenblit • March 24, 2016

Hot Topic: Climate Change and Insurance

(Listen to an interview with the author about climate change and insurance.)If you’re a doubter on climate change, take notice.The 2016 edition of the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report lists “failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation” as the greatest risk facing the worl...

By David McCann • March 23, 2016

DraftKings and FanDuel to Stop Paid Contests in N.Y.

Fantasy football operators DraftKings and FanDuel will stop paid contests in the state of New York and will delay until September their appeal of the state attorney general’s order to shut down the companies’ operations.The announcement of the agreement was made by New York Attorney General Eric ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 22, 2016

Credit Suisse Fined $665K Over Futures Trading

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday charged Credit Suisse International (CSI) with violating rules that limit speculation on agricultural futures contracts.According to the CFTC, the bank exceeded the speculative position limit for Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures contrac...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2016

High Court Upholds ‘Trial by Formula’ Evidence

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said statistical evidence can be used to establish liability in class-action suits against businesses, upholding a concept that has been criticized as “trial by formula.”Tyson Foods challenged the concept after a jury awarded $2.9 million to workers at an Iowa po...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2016

Crime Watch

Every two years, Big Four accounting firm PwC conducts a global survey of economic crime. For the 2016 edition, PwC surveyed 6,337 participants in 115 countries. The good news is that, for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008–09, the incidence of economic crime has decreased, ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 22, 2016

Ex-Valeant CFO Denies ‘Improper Conduct’

Former Valeant Pharmaceuticals CFO Howard Schiller on Monday struck back at the troubled drugmaker after it said his “improper conduct” had contributed to the misstatement of financial results.Valeant has said it will restate its results for 2014 and 2015 after determining that about $58 million ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 21, 2016

Restarting the IPO Market

The last time initial public offerings were as unwelcome as they have been the last three months was the first quarter of 2009, when the Treasury Department was spending billions to stabilize banks and only one U.S. IPO priced. The quarter before that, the fourth quarter of 2008, was the same sto...

By Vincent Ryan • March 21, 2016

Tiffany Beats Q4 Estimates But Strong Dollar Bites

Tiffany & Co. reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Friday but warned profits would fall in the first half of 2016 due, in part, to a further strengthening of the dollar.The luxury goods company reported adjusted diluted earnings of $1.46 per share on revenues of $1.2 billi...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 18, 2016

Pension Agency Assumes Benefits for A&P Workers

The U.S. government’s pension watchdog said Thursday it will take over three pension plans of bankrupt A&P because the buyers of most of the supermarket chain’s stores have declined to pay benefits.The three A&P plans cover the retirement benefits for more than 21,000 people and are under...

By Matthew Heller • March 17, 2016

Wearable Shipments Worldwide to Top 200 Million: IDC

As more vendors get into the wearable device market and as consumer demand rises, shipments should top 200 million by 2019, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker released Thursday.For 2016, worldwide shipments are expected to increase 38.2% from the prior year, to 110 mil...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 17, 2016

Lands’ End Posts Fiscal Q4 Loss

Lands’ End posted a loss for both its fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2015, describing it as a “transition” year after spinning off from Sears in 2014.For its fiscal fourth quarter that ended Jan. 29, the Dodgeville, Wis.-based clothing retailer posted a loss of $39.5 million, or $1.23 a shar...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 17, 2016

The Digital CFO

Special Section: Enterprise ITThe evolution of information technology has shaped the working lives of senior financial executives, changing what it means to be a CFO. When it is managed well, technology connects finance with every function and informs every strategic decision — the nervous system...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 17, 2016

Oracle Beats Q3 Estimates, Shows Cloud Growth

Oracle delivered third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ projections and showed solid growth in its cloud computing business as it shifts from selling conventional software licenses.The company on Thursday reported total revenue of $9 billion and earnings per share on an adjusted basis of 64 c...

By Matthew Heller • March 16, 2016

Microcap CEO Accused of Touting Bogus Deals

The CEO of RVPlus has been charged with making “wholly fictitious” claims that the maker of products for recreational vehicles had a lucrative relationship with the United Nations and $2.8 billion in contracts with foreign governments.According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cary...

By Matthew Heller • March 15, 2016

U.S. Retail Sales Fall in February

Consumers seem to be pocketing their savings from lower gas prices, as U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in February, to a seasonally adjusted $447.31 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday. Moreover, January month-to-month figures were downwardly revised to a 0.4% drop in sales, versus the initi...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 15, 2016

Health Care: Things are Looking App

Savile in London is best known for producing some of the world’s finest bespoke suits. But tucked away in a quiet corner of the same street is a firm that gives tailored health advice through a smartphone app. Your.MD uses artificial intelligence to understand natural-language statements such as ...

By Economist Staff • March 14, 2016