U.S. Household Debt Reaches New Heights

If consumers are holding record amounts of debt, is that good or bad for the U.S. economy? Surely, intelligent economists could occupy both sides of the debate.Regardless, U.S. household debt continues to climb, reaching a new post-financial-crisis high last quarter. The granting of credit is cer...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 14, 2018

Netflix CFO David Wells to Depart

The chief financial officer of Netflix, David Wells, is stepping down from his role at the company, Netflix said in a statement. He will remain with the company until a successor is found.“David has been a valuable partner to Netflix and to me,” Reed Hastings, chief executive officer at Netflix, ...

By William Sprouse • Aug. 13, 2018

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

By CFO.com staff

Low Probability of Recession in the Next 12 Months: S&P

Although the U.S. economic expansion is in its late stages, Standard & Poor’s global economics unit pegs the chances of recession at only 10% to 15% over the next 12 months. It is also taking a sanguine view of the risks to U.S. growth in that period, like trade protectionism, which it says n...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 13, 2018

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Aug. 10

The Travelers Cos. said that finance chief Jay Benet will leave his post on Sept. 1, but will remain with the firm as vice chairman. He will be replaced by Daniel Frey, who currently heads finance for the company’s personal insurance division.Iain Mackay will join GlaxoSmithKline as CFO-designate...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 10, 2018

What Gig Economy Jobs Are Really Like

Experts often claim that the “gig economy” — a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs — can be a positive for companies and for workers. It is often described as an evolved state of working in which a work-from-home empl...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 9, 2018

Shifting Landscapes in the World of Recurring Revenue

It doesn’t require much examination to reach the conclusion that we’ve entered a golden age of recurring revenue.Subscription king Netflix has been trading at record highs. Recent IPOs from Spotify and Dropbox underscore the value investors place in subscription-based business models. And the gro...

By Brendan O'Brien • Aug. 7, 2018

Wells Fargo Says Calculation Error Led to Foreclosures

Troubled banking giant Wells Fargo said on Friday that a calculation error in its mortgage loan modification underwriting tool caused about 625 customers to be denied, or not offered, loan modifications they would have otherwise qualified for. About 400 of those borrowers eventually had their hom...

By William Sprouse • Aug. 6, 2018

Five Ways Blockchain Will Juice Supplier Management

There was a time when we used old-school ledgers to track our business relationships, and they were written with absolute clarity to deliver absolute trust.Parties entered into an agreement with an understanding that the detailed transaction records of a ledger were unaltered and binding. But sti...

By Brian Alster • Aug. 3, 2018

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Aug. 3

Bathroom-remodeling firm Re-Bath has named Derek Fuller to head finance. He most recently led the finance function at franchise education system Primrose Schools.Tom Paulson Tom Paulson plans to retire as finance chief at Tennant, expected in the first quarter of next year. The cleaning solutions...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 3, 2018

How Will Tariff-Driven Price Hikes Affect Sales?

Leaders of organizations such as Sam Adams and Coca-Cola will be closely scrutinizing sales figures for the rest of the summer barbecue season, looking for signs of the impact of recent price increases.Citing higher costs from steel, aluminum, and other tariffs, automotive, beverage, and other ma...

By Craig Rowley • Aug. 2, 2018

Moody’s Names MassMutual’s Kaye as CFO

Moody’s Corp. has named Mark Kaye, a MassMutual executive and financial services veteran, as its new chief financial officer.Kaye has more than 15 years of experience in business finance, financial planning and analysis, strategy, and large-scale project management. He will join Moody’s on Aug. 2...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 2, 2018

U.S. Companies Add 219,000 Jobs in July: ADP

Human resources technology firm Automatic Data Processing said U.S. private-sector companies added 219,000 new employees to their payrolls in July, topping analyst estimates.ADP said small businesses created 52,000 jobs, medium businesses added 119,000, and large businesses created 48,000 jobs.Me...

By William Sprouse • Aug. 1, 2018

Five Steps for Pass-Through Firms amid Tax Reform

Several months into the 2018 tax year, many business owners remain unclear about exactly how recent tax reform legislation will impact their bottom line. That’s especially true for pass-through firms that are unsure if they qualify for a significant deduction the law provides.The new deduction wa...

By Kurt Piwko • July 31, 2018

Quarterly GDP Growth Increases to 4.1%

Real U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.1% for the second quarter on a surge in consumer spending and business investment, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Tariffs and tax cuts also affected the numbers.“We’re on track to hit the highest annual growth rate i...

By William Sprouse • July 27, 2018

What’s It Like to Be a Public Utility CFO?

The job of CFO at a public utility might appear on the surface to be rather bland, compared with finance chief roles in many other industries.After all, strict regulations dictate many of utilities’ actions. Utilities don’t set their own prices for their services. They are much better able to for...

By David McCann • July 27, 2018

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending July 27

Celeste Brown has been promoted to finance chief at Fannie Mae, effective Aug. 6. She will take over for David Benson, who has been promoted to president of the organization. Brown joined Fannie Mae a year ago as deputy CFO.Godiva Chocolatier announced that Virginie Costa will take over the finan...

By Joan Urdang • July 27, 2018

NetSuite Outage Idles Finance Departments

Can your finance team do without its accounting or ERP system for up to seven hours? That’s what many Oracle NetSuite customers in the United States (and possibly internationally) experienced on Tuesday.The NetSuite platform was down for almost a full working day, with customers unable to access ...

By Vincent Ryan • July 24, 2018

Existing Home Sales Fall

Sales of existing homes fell 0.6% in the United States in June, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors. Existing sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million units for the month, the NAR said. In addition, the May sales pace was revised to 5.41 mi...

By William Sprouse • July 23, 2018

Five Actions to Improve Sales Force Effectiveness

Sales people that act like owners simultaneously strive to achieve short-term sales goals while investing in the future by establishing fruitful long-term relationships and working to ensure ongoing customer loyalty.However, too often sales incentive plans are ill-conceived and constructed piecem...

By Marwaan Karame • July 23, 2018

Scholastic Beats Earnings Estimates

Publisher Scholastic reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter of $50.8 million, or $1.43 a share, up 29% year-over-year, but its revenue fell 0.7% to $496.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.37 per share.“Strong fourth quarter results helped us reach t...

By William Sprouse • July 19, 2018

JOBS Act 3.0: Would It Help Early-Stage Businesses?

The U.S. Congress has been discussing changes to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 for at least a couple of years. On Tuesday, it finally made some substantive progress.The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan package of legislation, the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2...

By Vincent Ryan • July 19, 2018

Intuit Is Selling Its Largest Data Center

Quickbooks maker Intuit is selling its largest data center, the company said, as it advances its strategy of migrating services to the public cloud and moving away from owning hosting platforms.The 240,000 square-foot, tier III data center in Quincy, Washington, is being bought by H5 Data Centers...

By William Sprouse • July 18, 2018

Industrial Production Ticks Up In June

Industrial production rose 0.6% last month, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest figures, exactly meeting analysts’ estimates, and has increased 3.8% over the past year.The measure includes output at factories, mines, and utilities.Manufacturing activity has gained some momentum since the be...

By William Sprouse • July 17, 2018

Social Good and Business: The Winning Formula

What if I was to tell you that you can strengthen your company from the inside, by helping on the outside? That you can grow your company by giving to others? Or that you can enhance your brand image by utilizing your employees as ambassadors?Do I have your attention? Read on and I’ll explain how...

By Alessandra Cavalluzzi • July 17, 2018

Nonprofit Jobs: Less Stress, Just as Much Work

When speaking with CFOs who are approaching the midpoint or latter stages of their careers, I often hear the desire to find more meaning in their work beyond what they’re getting in their current roles.John Touey John ToueyThis sometimes leads to a discussion about the possibility of joining a no...

By John Touey • July 13, 2018