DHS Announces Changes To H-1B System

The Department of Homeland Security is making changes to the H-1B visa program to increase the number of foreign nationals with advanced degrees admitted into the United States every year. The change is expected to give big tech companies an advantage in hiring in the United States, versus outsou...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 31, 2019

Lockheed Sells Pension Risk

Lockheed Martin announced it offloaded $2.6 billion in pension obligations to insurance companies in December. The defense contractor said it transferred $1.8 billion of defined-benefit pension obligations to Prudential Insurance Company of America. It also reached an $800 million pension risk-tr...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 30, 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

SAP Announces Restructuring Charge

German software maker SAP announced it would take a $1 billion restructuring charge as it reassigned some employees and offered early retirement to others amid slowing growth. The company said most of the costs would come in the first quarter.“The earlier you do it in the year the more benefit yo...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 29, 2019

Can a Strategic CFO Be an Effective CEO? Yes!

Choosing a new CEO is rarely an easy or straightforward task. During periods of change, board members tend to reach for certainties. They want to know that the candidate they choose has the experience and charisma needed to chart a profitable course for the business, create an effective company s...

By Jonathan Foster • Jan. 28, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Jan. 25

AmeriGas Propane named Ann Kelly CFO and vice president, finance, effective Feb. 11. She takes over from Ted Jastrzebski, who was serving as interim principal financial officer since last September. Kelly previously was chief accounting officer and corporate controller of parent company UGI.Equip...

By Joan Urdang • Jan. 25, 2019

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Fires Interim CFO for ‘Personal Behavior’

Ian Smith, the interim chief financial officer of Boston-based biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, has been fired for unspecified violations of the company’s code of conduct.“Mr. Smith’s termination is the result of personal behavior that violated Vertex’s code of conduct and values and...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 24, 2019

ASC 606: Trips, Traps, and Troubleshooting

If you’re a private equity-backed CFO, you don’t need us to tell you how challenging and precarious a position that can be. You know the stats — or you’re at least familiar with the anecdotes that color them: post-deal, private equity (PE) investors retain the existing CFO only 25% of the time.As...

By Alex Bogopolsky • Jan. 24, 2019

Google Fined $57 Million Under New EU Data Privacy Rules

The French National Data Protection Commission, France’s privacy watchdog, fined Google $57 million for “lack of transparency, inadequate information, and lack of valid consent” regarding ad personalization for users. It is the first such fine for a big U.S. tech company under the European Union’...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 22, 2019

The Most Pressing Business Risk This Year

What business risk do executives and insurance industry experts worldwide fear most? For the seventh year in a row, it’s business interruption (BI), according to the 2019 Allianz Risk Barometer for 2019.Thirty-seven percent of respondents to a survey of 2,415 experts from 86 countries, including ...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 22, 2019

SBA Programs Hurt by Shutdown

The partial shutdown of the federal government, now in its 28th day, is putting small businesses in limbo as they wait for the Small Business Administration to approve routine loans it supports. As of Tuesday, a backlog of loans affected more than 200 businesses nationally, an SBA spokesperson sa...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 21, 2019

Don’t Base Exec Bonuses on Subjective Criteria

Should bonuses paid to CEOs and CFOs be linked to qualitative performance criteria such as displaying strong leadership, mentoring other executives, and having a strategic vision?The answer is no, according to a recent study I conducted with my colleague Nancy Feng at Suffolk University. Our anal...

By Ahmet Kurt • Jan. 18, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Jan. 18

Commercial real estate services and investment company CBRE Group said Jim Groch, who is both CFO and chief investment officer, will become global group president and CIO. The company has begun a search for a new finance chief, and Groch will remain in that position until his successor takes over...

By Joan Urdang • Jan. 18, 2019

MoviePass Parent Company Files to Spinoff the Struggling Service

Helios and Matheson Analytics announced it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to spinoff cinema discount-ticketing service MoviePass. The news follows the October announcement that the Helios and Matheson board approved a plan to create a subsidiary called MoviePass Entertainment H...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 17, 2019

US Producer Prices Dipped More Than Expected in December

The producer price index fell 0.2% in December after rising 0.1% in November, according to a report from the Labor Department. It was the first decline in U.S. producer prices in more than two years and the largest decrease since August 2016.The decline was partly due to a sharp drop in energy pr...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 15, 2019

The Business Plan Is Complete, But Has It Been Socialized?

By the time the holidays roll around, most CFOs have completed their plans for the coming year. At least three months in the making, the plan represents the high-level goals and milestones the company has set.The CFO has no doubt spent months working with key stakeholders to ensure each departmen...

By Chris Howard • Jan. 15, 2019

CFO Stone Leaving Snap After Only 8 Months

Longtime Amazon executive Tim Stone is leaving social media company Snap, the developer of Snapchat, after only eight months on the job.In a regulatory filing on Tuesday afternoon, Snap said Stone resigned to pursue other opportunities and his exit was not related to any disagreement over the com...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 15, 2019

2019: The End of the Beginning for Blockchain?

Last year was a painful one for cryptocurrencies and blockchain. After crypto prices hit all time highs a year ago, the market cap for all cryptocurrencies dropped more than $500 billion by the end of 2018, with many altcoins suffering as bad or worse as bitcoin.There’s no shortage of claims that...

By Ed Sappin • Jan. 14, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Jan. 11

Douglas Bingham has been promoted to CFO and treasurer at Armstrong Flooring, succeeding Ronald Ford, who resigned. Bingham was vice president, treasury, and investor relations.Cummins said finance chief Pat Ward will retire on March 31 after more than 30 years at the company. Mark Smith, current...

By Joan Urdang • Jan. 11, 2019

Cathy Smith to Step Down as Target CFO

Cathy Smith is retiring as CFO of Target after playing an integral role in the retailer’s turnaround strategy during her three-year tenure.Target said Thursday that Smith will stay on the job until her successor is named and them move to an advisory role until May 2020 to ensure a smooth transiti...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 11, 2019

Don’t Worry About Absenteeism: Leadership Expert

Forget sick days: Research shows “presenteeism” — showing up for work but not performing at full capacity due to sickness, lack of engagement, or distractions — costs business 10 times more than absenteeism.While workers say they take an average of only four sick days a year, they also confess to...

By David McCann • Jan. 10, 2019

Ford Europe to Cut Thousands of Jobs in Turnaround Drive

Ford Motor Co. announced plans to cut thousands of jobs, discontinue unprofitable vehicle lines, and exit markets as part of a major effort to restructure its operations in Europe.“We are taking decisive action to transform the Ford business in Europe,” Steven Armstrong, group vice president, Eur...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 10, 2019

Retailers’ Financial Cycle Times: The Hare Beats the Tortoise

In today’s connected world, where every company has access to similar information and resources, agility becomes a key source of competitive advantage. Acting faster and working smarter have replaced, at least in part, unique products and services, particularly in retail.My colleagues and I have ...

By Joe Perfetti • Jan. 10, 2019

World Bank: ‘The Ride Could Get Bumpier’

While the World Bank thinks the chances of a recession this year in the United States are still small, the title of its January Global Economic Prospects Report, “Darkening Skies,” made plain its belief about where the global and U.S. economies are headed.In the best-case scenario, that direction...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 9, 2019

Hertz to Pay $16M to Settle With SEC Over Accounting Problems

Hertz Global Holdings agreed to pay a fine of $16 million to settle civil charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission over financial misstatements, including $235 million in reported income that didn’t comply with generally accepted accounting principals.“From at least February 2012 throu...

By William Sprouse • Jan. 9, 2019

Metric of the Month: Finance FTEs Per $1B in Revenue

The number of people it takes to keep the finance wheel in continuous motion can vary widely from organization to organization. But when you calculate the ratio of finance team members per $1 billion in revenue, then compare that figure across multiple organizations in multiple industries, the re...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Jan. 8, 2019