DOJ, FTC Detail Tougher Stance on Anticompetitive Mergers

The agencies released a draft of new merger review guidelines designed to “protect competition” in the modern economy.

By Vincent Ryan • July 20, 2023

Sustainability Still Extrinsic to Many Companies’ Cultures

Only 13% of companies surveyed by The Conference Board have deeply embedded sustainability into their cultures.

By Vincent Ryan • July 13, 2023

Only 25% of CFOs Are Prepping for AI Management and Ethics Regulations: Weekly Stat

The lack of interest in AI regulation preparation is because CFOs believe there are more pressing issues regarding future regulations, data showed.

By Adam Zaki • June 21, 2023

89% of Executives Want Change On Their Board: Weekly Stat

As the history of business has shown, the relationship between a company's executives and board members can be crucial, especially in instances of poor company performance or when questions of the legality or morality of company decisions come under scrutiny. Executives, especially CFOs, can have...

By Adam Zaki • June 14, 2023

6 Steps for CFOs to Minimize Organizational Risk

In the past year alone, the world of business has been impacted by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruption, inflation, changing fiscal policies and regulations, and intensifying natural disasters. A lingering pandemic has also stress-tested the risk management processes of global organizat...

By Ashok (Ash) Noah • April 18, 2023

62% of Finance Leaders Say Tax and Compliance Is an Increasing Priority: Weekly Stat

CFOs are continuing to address company technology needs, while balancing those needs against tightening budgets, talent issues, and the financial systems that have been impacted by recent events.In payments service provider Stripe’s 2023 Insight Report, 62% of surveyed finance leaders said tax an...

By Adam Zaki • March 29, 2023

28% of CFOs Plan to Diversify Deposits Across Banks

After recent bank failures, many financial leaders started to reassess the institutions they choose to source funding and provide financial services. Although some financial leaders call recent bank collapses "just a blip," the benefits of operating across various financial institutions are now i...

By Adam Zaki • March 22, 2023

Backdoors Used in 21% of Cyberattacks

Does your IT team still think the main objective of cyber criminals is to steal the personally identifiable information or credit card data of customers and sell it online? You may need to update your organization's view of cyber threats. According to the 2023 IBM X-Force Threat Intelligen...

By Vincent Ryan • March 8, 2023

41% of Mid-Market CFOs Will Pursue an ESG Strategy in 2023

Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) regulations have increased, not only as a topic of conversation, but as a legitimate corporate strategy point for a significant number of organizations. And CFOs have begun to view ESG regulations as inevitable. While nearly all tax leaders ha...

By Adam Zaki • Feb. 1, 2023

4 Regulatory Developments to Follow in 2023

High levels of scrutiny and aggressive enforcement are what lawyers, executives, and regulators themselves expect CFOs will be up against in 2023. From the Public Company Accounting Standards Board to the Federal Trade Commission to the Securities and Exchange Commission, federal agencies want...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 31, 2023

How CFOs Can Make Crypto Less Cryptic

The recent bankruptcy of FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, underscores the need for companies in the fintech/crypto industry to develop and install robust internal controls and finance processes. FTX, led by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried who has since resigned and been arr...

By Eric Segal • Jan. 26, 2023

2023 Outlook: 5 Finance Risks to Monitor This Year

The worst risks — the ones that cause the most harm or loss — often catch us unprepared. Some are unanticipated because they’re unknown, and others are apparent but ignored.  For 2023, there are almost too many risks of both kinds. Below we address five significant risks...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 23, 2023

How CFOs Can Better Integrate Supply Chain Operations

Every chief financial officer worth their salt should be taking charge of supply chain integration as a core responsibility. Pushing change from the top helps break down silos to ensure supply chain resilience becomes part of a company’s DNA. Falling Short on Supply Chain SecurityCompanies need s...

By Arindam Mukherjee • Jan. 17, 2023

32% of Companies Don’t Consider Climate Change in Risk Analysis

As incoming environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations continue to be a preparation point for proactive executives, not all components are being treated equally. Recent findings by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) indicate that the "environmental" component of ESG is inc...

By Adam Zaki • Jan. 4, 2023

December’s 46.2 Manufacturing PMI Shows Industry Contracted

Since April 2022, S&P Global's PMI — or purchasing managers index — has been on a slide. That means tougher operating conditions for U.S. manufacturers. December's index reading was 46.2 (seasonally adjusted), down from 47.4 in November when it dropped below the all-important level of 50 for ...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 4, 2023

SEC OKs Changes to Insider Securities Trading Rules

Just one year after the amendments to Rule 10b5-1 executive trading plans were proposed, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Dec.14 to adopt the rule changes.The changes are designed to eliminate any potential loopholes in the stock trading plans that could allow corporate insiders to...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 19, 2022

Scenario Planning: A Roadmap Through Recession and Inflation

For the first time in well over a decade, American businesses are looking a possible — perhaps probable — economic recession in the eye. With many companies just now recovering from the pandemic, everything from cash flow and capital investments to debt covenants and labor are once again clouded ...

By Stacy Galligan • Dec. 5, 2022

SEC Awarded $229M to 103 Whistleblowers in 2022

The Securities and Exchange Commission received 12,322 whistleblower tips in fiscal year 2022 — the most ever and a slight increase from 2021, according to its annual report to Congress.The rise in inbound tips, especially in the last two years, shows that the program’s enhanced confidentiality p...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 30, 2022

What CFOs Need to Know About the IRS Employee Retention Credit Crackdowns

The CARES Act of March 2020, Relief Act of 2021, and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided trillions of dollars in government-backed financial incentives to U.S. companies to help them weather the COVID-19 pandemic. These financial incentives proved extremely valuable at a time when uncertain...

By Gary Wallace • Oct. 25, 2022

8 Tips for CFOs to Create Ethical Guardrails

The ninth annual Global Ethics Day is celebrated today, October 19, with the theme “Ethics Empowered.” After 20+ years at a Fortune 500 consumer goods company, I’m now CFO for a smaller, private company. In the spirit of Global Ethics Day, I’m going to explore how ethical decision-making plays ou...

By Steve McNally • Oct. 19, 2022

DOJ Encouraging Self-Disclosure as Guilty Pleas in Corporate Crimes Down 70%

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking steps against corporate crimes, as a recent report from the sentencing commission shows a sharp decrease in guilty pleas by corporations. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and company have announced on multiple fronts that these numbers aren’t bein...

By Adam Zaki • Oct. 12, 2022

The Strong Dollar is a Problem for Companies Doing Business Abroad

The soaring U.S. dollar, up at more than a two-decade high against the Euro so far this year, is leading to dislocations in America’s international trade profile as the muscular greenback makes imports cheaper for American consumers but makes exports of American goods a lot less competitive and m...

By Ted Jackson • Oct. 10, 2022

Why Does the U.S. Dollar Continue to Surge?

In mid-July, going relatively unnoticed, a historic event occurred in the foreign exchange market: the soaring U.S. dollar traded at parity with the Euro. A level that has only been hit once before, and that was over 20 years ago. This year in particular has been a historic one for the U.S. dolla...

By Ted Jackson • Oct. 4, 2022

Taiwan Tensions: Reassessing the Risks of Operating in China

Companies with Chinese ties are facing the biggest escalation of risks in decades, as the race for clean energy combines with rising geopolitical tensions to undermine already fragile trade relations with Washington. This is not just a squall that CEOs can hope to ride out while relations return ...

By Lou Longo • Sept. 27, 2022

Half of CFOs Rethinking Efficient Supply Chains

In a new Protiviti survey released Sept. 20, nearly three-quarters of global finance executives (72%) said their organization "experienced disruptions or delays because of supply chain challenges, pandemic-related impacts, or the effects of inflation" in the past year.Indeed, supply chain disrupt...

By Vincent Ryan • Sept. 21, 2022