Companies and Employment: Who’s the Boss?

Company A hires company B to hire employees for a project. These employees work for company B, but do they also work for company A? If they are upset with the terms of their employment can they go after company A with pickets, boycotts, and protests? Does A have any direct obligations to these em...

By Economist Staff • Aug. 25, 2015

Inflation In First Half of 2015 Lower Than Reported

Reported inflation was probably overstated so far this year, but “residual seasonality” likely won’t cause the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates prematurely, so say researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.Because of residual seasonality — insufficient adjustment of ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 24, 2015

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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

Being ‘Intensely’ Data Driven Is Not for Everyone

Let me start with a confession. I am and always have been a workaholic. I was even profiled once on a TV program about workaholics. I spent sixteen years at one of the (now four, then eight) big professional services firms — one of 2,000 partners among 100,000 employees — where everyone was very ...

By John Parkinson • Aug. 24, 2015

FTC Can Sue Wyndham For Cyber Breach: Court

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts on Monday lost its bid to stop the Federal Trade Commission from suing the hotelier for allegedly failing to secure its computers from Russian hackers, according to Bloomberg.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia denied Wyndham’s motion to dism...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 24, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending August 24

Bryan Charap Move, a subsidiary of News Corp. that provides online real-estate services, has promoted Bryan Charap to the top finance spot. He has been at the firm for 14 years, and had been senior vice president of finance.SeaWorld Entertainment has chosen Peter Crage to lead the finance functio...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 21, 2015

Gap Profit Falls Amid Revamp of Flagship Brand

As it continues to revamp its flagship brand, Gap has taken a 30% tumble in second-quarter earnings, with same-store sales dropping 2%.The San Francisco retailer said net income fell to $219 million, or 52 cents per share, in the second quarter ended Aug. 1, from $332 million, or 75 cents per sha...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 21, 2015

HP Earnings Signal Challenges Ahead of Breakup

In its last financial report before it splits itself into two, Hewlett-Packard said revenue fell 8% in the third quarter as the PC and printer businesses that will form one of the new companies continued to struggle.The split is expected to take place Nov. 1, when HP will transform into Hewlett P...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 21, 2015

Smithfield Foods Promotes CFO to COO Spot

In continuing with its reorganization, Smithfield Foods on Thursday announced two changes within its C-suite.Kenneth M. Sullivan, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of the country’s largest hog producer and pork processor, was named president and chief operating office...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 20, 2015

BNY Mellon, U.S. Bank Hit With Suits Over RMBS Losses

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued Bank of New York Mellon and U.S. Bancorp over their roles as trustees for nearly $2.2 billion worth of residential mortgage-backed securities that were purchased by a failed Texas bank.After Guaranty Bank closed in August 2009, the FDIC, acting as...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 20, 2015

Most U.S. Firms Can’t Find Source of ‘Conflict Minerals’

Two-thirds of public companies that are subject to the U.S. government’s “conflict minerals” disclosure rule were unable to determine where their conflict minerals came from, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.The rule was mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial refo...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 20, 2015

Home Sales Continue to Rise; Prices Dip Slightly

Existing-home sales rose for the third straight month in July, while “stubbornly low” inventory levels and rising prices are likely to blame for sales to first-time buyers falling to their lowest share since January, according to the National Association of Realtors.Total existing-home sales rose...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 20, 2015

U.S. to Delay Domain Names Handover for a Year

The U.S. Commerce Department has extended its oversight of the organization that administers the Internet’s domain-name system for a year to give international stakeholders more time to formulate a governance proposal.Commerce’s contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 19, 2015

What Will the CFO Role Look Like in 2020?

As business becomes more global, regulated, competitive, and digital, CFOs can expect their role to continue to evolve. Many of them — particularly those outside high-tech industries — are still struggling to understand how to harness digital technologies to run their organizations more effective...

By Frank Friedman • Aug. 19, 2015

BNY Mellon Interns Hired as Favors, SEC Says

BNY Mellon used “valuable” student internships as a bribery tool, providing them to relatives of officials of a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to win or retain business, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Tuesday.The case is the first to be brought against a bank for violat...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 18, 2015

Target Promotes Mulligan; Smith Returns to Fill CFO Spot

Target CFO John Mulligan will step into a newly created chief operating officer position in September to help reinvigorate the company amid sluggish sales.Cathy R. Smith, formerly the finance chief of Express Scripts, will succeed Mulligan as CFO of Target.“Bringing together key operations functi...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 17, 2015

Ex-SAP Exec Accused of Panama Bribery

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a former executive of software vendor SAP SE with orchestrating a scheme to bribe Panamanian government officials to obtain about $3.7 million worth of software sales.Vicente E. Garcia, a Miami resident and SAP’s former vice president of glo...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 14, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending August 13

Consumer-products firm Church & Dwight has promoted Richard Dierker to CFO and executive vice president of finance, effective Jan. 1. As CFO he will replace Matthew Farrell, who will become CEO. Dierker has been at the company since 2009 and is now vice president of corporate finance.Shutters...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 14, 2015

The Hotel Industry: Life Is Suite

The 41-story clock tower at Five Madison Avenue was once the domain of insurance clerks working for Metropolitan Life. Now, the building in New York is a swanky hotel, called the Edition, where beautiful people air-kiss in the lobby. The hotel sector has undergone a similar switch from toil to gl...

By Economist Staff • Aug. 13, 2015

Hackers Target Finance Department of Networking Firm

Ubiquiti, a maker of networking technology for service providers and enterprises, has been the victim of “CEO fraud” that enabled hackers to steal $46.7 million from the company’s accounts.The San Jose company last week disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the incident, d...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 11, 2015

CFO Compensation Rises 6.7% At Large Firms

Cash compensation for CFOs at large companies increased a median 6.7% in 2014, reflecting strong corporate results that boosted performance-driven bonus payouts, according to a Mercer survey released Monday.Mercer’s latest analysis of compensation for CFOs at 159 companies in the S&P 500 show...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 11, 2015

U.S. Army Fuels July Surge in Job Cuts

Job cuts announced by U.S. employers reached their highest level in four years in July, in large part because of massive workforce reductions by the U.S. Army, according to a new report.The global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas said employers announced plans to shed 105...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 7, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending August 7

Gerald Laderman United Airlines has appointed Gerald Laderman acting CFO. He takes over for John Rainey, who resigned to become finance chief at PayPal Holdings. A 27-year veteran of the airline, Laderman had been senior vice president of finance, procurement, and treasurer.Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ha...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 7, 2015

Alternative Compensation Surges to the Forefront

While wage growth remains at a historically low level, companies are getting comfortable with alternative forms of compensation, like quarterly or monthly bonuses tied to individual, department, or company performance metrics.In a recent survey of 114 corporate executives by search firm Korn Ferr...

By David McCann • Aug. 7, 2015

Business and Law: Taking the Gangster Rap

Earlier this year the founder of Medical Marijuana of the Rockies, Jerry Olson, was selling his firm’s dope for $120 an ounce, half the average retail price for good gear. He had fallen victim to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and had to liquidate his inventory. The...

By Economist Staff • Aug. 7, 2015

ADP Launches Private Exchange

ADP has joined the growing number of companies offering private benefits exchanges to give employees wider choices for health care coverage and other benefits.The Roseland, N.J., company on Thursday announced the launch of the ADP Private Exchange, a benefits administration technology platform.“T...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Aug. 6, 2015