PCAOB Appoints New Director of Enforcement and Investigations

Patrick Bryan has been named the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s director of the division of enforcement and investigations, and Kenneth Lench has been named the board’s general counsel.“The Board is committed to prioritizing enforcement and investigative efforts to address issues tha...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 18, 2019

IFF Wins DuPont’s Nutrition and Biosciences Unit

DuPont and flavors and fragrances maker IFF have reached a deal under which IFF will merge into DuPont’s nutrition and biosciences unit in a $26.2 billion deal to create a new company valued at more than $45 billion.Under the terms of the agreement, DuPont shareholders would own 55.4% and IFF sha...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 17, 2019

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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

The Expanding Role of the Modern CFO

Steve Jobs. Richard Branson. Jeff Bezos. We’ve witnessed decades of star chief executive officers who became much more than the sum of their parts and went on to bright spotlights. But not so much the humble chief financial officer. Traditionally conservative, risk-averse, and focused on skillful...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 17, 2019

Intel Buys Israeli Chipmaker Habana Labs for $2B

Intel has acquired Israel-based artificial-intelligence (AI) chipmaker Habana Labs for approximately $2 billion. The deal is seen as a play by Intel to strengthen its fast-growing data-center business as sales of personal computers have stagnated.Habana, founded in 2016, has offices in Tel Aviv, ...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 16, 2019

PayPal Sues CFPB Over ‘Confusing’ Prepaid Card Rules

PayPal has filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over regulations that require the company to guarantee consumer protections like those required by prepaid credit card providers.In the suit, PayPal is seeking to vacate the application of the regulation to its products, ...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 16, 2019

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending December 13

Tom Fitzgerald Tom Fitzgerald will become CFO of Planet Fitness in early January. Fitzgerald takes over the role from Dorvin Lively who has been the fitness chain’s finance chief since July 2013. Fitzgerald joins the company from Potbelly Sandwich Works, where he has served as CFO for the last ye...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 13, 2019

Bill.com IPO Pays Off With 61% Jump in Debut

Bill.com had a successful debut in the public markets on Thursday as investors warmed to the B2B payments company despite recent setbacks for other tech startup IPOs.The stock closed at $35.50, up more than 61% on the IPO price of $22 — which, in an earlier indication of investor interest, was ab...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 12, 2019

Modern Analytics Can Drive Downturn Preparedness

Will an economic downturn hit in the next year or two? No one can say for sure, but a lot of people — including more than 70% of 250 C-level executives recently surveyed by Grant Thornton — are expecting one.During times of uncertainty, those that are best informed can take advantage of the evolv...

By Jeff Silverman • Dec. 12, 2019

Nike Gets Blockchain Patent To Let Users ‘Breed’ Own Shoes

Oregon-based footwear giant Nike has been awarded a blockchain patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to create digital versions of its shoes.Blockchain ShoesIn the patent published on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website on Tuesday, Nike said that its customers would be able to r...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 11, 2019

Global Airline Group Cuts 2019 Profit Forecast

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it was cutting its full-year net profit forecast by 5.1% from last year, citing slower growth, Brexit, and social unrest that created a “tougher than anticipated” business environment. “Trade wars produce no winners,” IATA director General A...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 11, 2019

Finance Matchmakers

Tom Calamia was 47 when The Shaw Group, a Fortune 500 company where he had previously been a divisional CFO for 14 years, got acquired. He stuck around for a month to help with the transition. But after more than two decades in high-stress corporate jobs, he was ready for a change—one that offere...

By Michelle V. Rafter • Dec. 11, 2019

The Heat Is On: The Quiz

Think climate change is an esoteric topic that most CFOs need not ponder often? Think again. This fall, Clorox tied the compensation of its CEO, CFO, and other executives to meeting environmental, social, and governance goals. At the same time, nearly half of companies are falling short of sustai...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Dec. 11, 2019

CFOs: Braced for a Recession, But Hopeful

Fifty-six percent of U.S. companies are taking steps to prepare for a recession and they expect that recession to coincide with the 2020 presidential election. But they are also more positive about the U.S. economy than they were in the third quarter.Those were among the findings of the fourth-qu...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 11, 2019

Boeing Whistleblower Warned of Issues Before Crash

Former Boeing manager Ed Pierson said he warned the company about problems at its main factory in Renton, Washington, ahead of crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people.In an interview with NBC News, Pierson said he was concerned exhausted workers were being pushed to produce more,...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 10, 2019

Canopy Growth Appoints Constellation Brands CFO as New CEO

Canopy Growth announced Monday that David Klein has been hired as the company’s new CEO, effective Jan. 14, 2020.As previously announced, interim CEO Mark Zekulin will resign from the position and also from his seat on the company’s board of directors, effective Dec. 20.“It has truly been an hono...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 10, 2019

What I Wish I’d Known About Health Care as a CFO

Health care represents one of a business’s largest, most unpredictable, and growing expenses. Employers’ benefits costs rose a staggering 24% between 2001 and 2017, and the cost of employee health benefits is projected to rise 5% in 2020, topping $15,000 per employee.With proper knowledge, smart ...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 9, 2019

Merck, Sanofi in Deals for Cancer Drug Firms

Pharmaceutical giants Merck and Sanofi have each announced agreements to buy a smaller cancer drug developer as part of their efforts to expand cancer-treatment franchises.Merck reached an all-cash deal to buy ArQule for $20 per share, or $2.7 billion, while French pharma giant Sanofi said it has...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 9, 2019

Avoiding the ‘Robocalypse’

Will robots eventually take over the economy by performing most jobs? The opening-day keynote speaker, economist and futurist Jason Schenker, presented a pair of contradictory visions at CFO Live, a recent conference hosted by CFO.“People are very focused on what I call the ‘robocalypse,’ but the...

By David McCann • Dec. 9, 2019

Saudi Aramco Plans $25.6B Share Sale in Record-Breaking IPO

Saudi state-owned oil monopoly Saudi Aramco set prices for its initial public offering, which is set to be the largest in history.Aramco said it would sell three billion shares at $8.53 per share to raise $25.6 billion in its much-anticipated IPO. The IPO values Aramco at about $1.7 trillion, mak...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 6, 2019

5 Priorities for Moving Ahead with AI in 2020

Corporate executives seem to be experiencing an acute reality check heading into 2020 when it comes to plans for implementing artificial intelligence solutions, judging by one study.Only 4% of 1,062 respondents to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey said their companies plan to deploy AI “enterprise-...

By David McCann • Dec. 6, 2019

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending December 6

Greg Wookey Salon booking platform Boulevard appointed Greg Wookey as the company’s first chief financial officer. Prior to joining Boulevard, Wookey served as the CFO for AI company Inbenta. He previously spent nearly seven years at business management software company MINDBODY where he served a...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 6, 2019

Ex-Celadon Execs Accused of Accounting Fraud

The former chief operating officer and former CFO of Celadon have been charged with orchestrating an accounting fraud that enabled the trucking company to hide tens of millions of dollars in losses.The charges against former COO William Meek, 39, and CFO Bobby Peavler, 40, came eight months after...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 6, 2019

Japan’s Cabinet Approves $122B Stimulus Package

Japan’s cabinet has approved a $122 billion fiscal stimulus package, its first since 2016 and one of the largest in the world, as the country seeks to revive GDP growth after its economy stalled throughout the summer and fall.Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “For the first economic stimulus of t...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 5, 2019

Chasing the C-Suite

Amy Shelly, CFO of The Options Clearing Corp. As women begin to crack open the glass ceiling, the phenomenon of the so-called glass cliff is emerging. The glass cliff is the notion that women in leadership roles often get top jobs when things are dangerously bad and the probability for failure is...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 5, 2019

Expedia CEO, CFO Resign After Disagreement with Board

Expedia’s chief executive officer Mark Okerstrom and chief financial officer Alan Pickerill resigned from the company, effective immediately.“Ultimately, senior management and the board disagreed on strategy,” chairman Barry Diller said in a statement.Diller and vice chairman Peter Kern will over...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 4, 2019