Operational Efficiency: CFOs Face a Dilemma and an Opportunity

Cost reductions shouldn’t be made defensively but as an offensive play to reimagine an organization.

By Gideon Walter and Mai-Britt Poulsen • July 25, 2023

CFO Peer Audit: What is Your Biggest Q3 Challenge?

“Inflation is trickling through the economy, impacting businesses' labor and input costs. However, many services businesses have not been able to raise their prices,” Jay Jung, CFO of Embarc, said.

By Adam Zaki • July 21, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

77% of Accounts Receivable Teams Are Not Up to Date

With the third quarter in full swing, many finance teams may still be playing catchup.

By Adam Zaki • July 18, 2023

5 Leadership Tips to Maintain Culture Amid Growth

As CFOs set growth goals, commitment to organizational culture shouldn’t be left by the wayside. 

By Adam Zaki • July 14, 2023

Welcome to the New CFO.com Experience

We evolve because you evolve.

By Andy Burt • July 13, 2023

Global M&A Deal Value Down 15% in First Half

And global M&A deal volumes fell 8% from the second half of 2022 but 14% year over year, according to PwC.

By Vincent Ryan • July 5, 2023

17 Growth Levers CFOs Can Use Now

A CFO's guide to prep your business for economic recovery.

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 30, 2023

CFOs Challenged to Meet Sponsors’ Investment Goals

But private equity fund managers plan to engage more with portfolio companies and provide equity relief.

By Vincent Ryan • June 29, 2023

CFO working capital series

This annual editorial series is a must-read, an exclusive deep dive that reports on the Hackett Group's annual working capital findings.

By CFO Editorial Staff • Updated July 31, 2025

CFOs’ Confidence in Economy, Company Prospects Flat: Duke CFO Survey

CFOs gained confidence in the U.S. economy following the resolution of the debt ceiling battle in Congress. Still, overall in the second quarter, positive sentiment was about the same as in the first quarter. The CFO survey by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlan...

By Adam Zaki • June 28, 2023

IPOs Expected to Exceed $7B in June as Volatility Index Falls

The stock market shows early signs of a more welcoming climate for initial public offerings. The CBOE Volatility Index has been below 20 for most of April, May, and June, closing at a low of 12.91 on June 22. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is up 14% in the last six months.With three days left in the...

By Vincent Ryan • June 28, 2023

5 Steps to Navigating a Sale-Leaseback Transaction

As a CFO, you may consider a sale-leaseback to manage your company’s real estate and support its growth goals. While the process of a sale-leaseback can be complex, with the right advisors and a detailed planning process, it can provide many benefits to your company.  Camille Renshaw You’re not...

By Camille Renshaw • June 20, 2023

Inventory Adjustment Required: Working Capital Scorecard 2023

In many industries, 2022 was a period of inventory adjustment.Days inventory outstanding (DIO) for the 1,000 largest non-financial companies in the U.S. fell 1.5 days, or 3%, to 54.9 last year, according to the CFO/The Hackett Group Working Capital Scorecard released last Wednesday.After two year...

By Vincent Ryan • June 20, 2023

4 Tips for Pitching Investors in Today’s Economy

Any company that intends to grow past a certain point eventually reaches the familiar milestone of pitching to private capital sources in hopes of securing additional funding. Those businesses that tend to be most successful are the ones that are best at considering the point of view of investors...

By Frank Williamson • June 13, 2023

48% of CFOs at SMBs Are Facing Unprecedented Difficulties: Weekly Stat

CFOs, regardless of company size, feel pressure from all sides. From labor issues, ESG pressures, goals to optimize costs, and gauging the value of new technologies, the responsibilities that have fallen into the finance chief’s job description have become some of the most challenging in th...

By Adam Zaki • June 7, 2023

94% of CFOs, Executives Feel Pressure to Prioritize ESG

As CFOs and their executive teams look to hit Q2 goals, while looking ahead to Q3 challenges, pressures in the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) space may be drawing productivity away from their organizations' limited resources.The corporate equality index (CEI), a rating syst...

By Adam Zaki • May 31, 2023

Private Market Valuations Rose 1.5% in Q1

Despite higher interest rates and subdued private equity deal activity, the enterprise values of private-equity-owned companies increased in the first quarter of 2023, according to global investment bank Lincoln International. Lincoln’s tracking of quarterly changes in the enterprise values of 82...

By Vincent Ryan • May 31, 2023

How to Win Favorable Deal Terms in a Company Sale

As prepared as a business owner may be for negotiating an M&A or other exit transaction, Murphy’s Law promises that things will go wrong when they can. Therefore, sellers must understand and adopt relevant, appropriate negotiation strategies to achieve a favorable result and mitigate unexpect...

By David Siegel • May 30, 2023

Office Loan Losses Could Reach 8%

How empty are offices in major cities? Not everyone agrees on the exact numbers, but vacancy rates fall between 15% and 19% nationally. Numbers from JLL Research pegged the national office vacancy rate for metro cities at 18.7% at the end of 2022. San Francisco’s was the highest at 26.4%. (See ch...

By Vincent Ryan • May 24, 2023

Unicorns Take the Opportunity to Raise Capital

To whoever has, more will be given.The slowdown in venture capital investment has not prevented some unicorn companies from raising new money. And even new unicorns — privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more — are being minted.Two existing unicorns announced capital injections last we...

By Vincent Ryan • May 23, 2023

3 Ways to Mitigate Corporate Cash Liquidity Risk

CFOs learned an important lesson after this year’s banking woes sent Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic reeling. Leaders must know where their company’s cash is being held and how it is being managed. Although this may sound simple many companies have overlooked this. Now, as we still grapple...

By Jeffrey Klein • May 22, 2023

Two-Thirds of Executives Don’t Expect 2023 Recession: Weekly Stat

While leadership confidence has rarely dwindled throughout the multiple warning signs of a recession, good CFOs continue to be proactive and diligent in their goals. In a "control what you can control" mindset, leaders have continued to focus internally, rolling with the punches and doing their b...

By Adam Zaki • May 17, 2023

U.S. Bank Deposits Down $1T Since April 2022

Over the last few years, CFOs and treasurers had parked most of their excess cash in U.S. banks, seeking maximum safety and liquidity. Now, despite the claims of banking regulators, a bank’s balance sheet doesn’t seem that safe. Or, given the risk, worth the return.The historic, swift deposit run...

By Vincent Ryan • May 17, 2023

M&A Success: How Midsize Sellers Cash Out

Often, parties interested in making a purchase are serial buyers, hence their advantage. But for midsize sellers, this will probably be the one and only time they sell. Sellers spend the better part of their lives building a company so they can now cash out and ride into the sunset. Unfortunately...

By Allan Tepper • May 16, 2023

Unicorns Squeezed Between Capital Crunch and Blocked Exits

U.S.-based "unicorns" — privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more — could face a tough 2023 as venture investment falls and the options to give investors a liquidity event shrink. Record amounts of money in the venture ecosystem from 2013 to 2023 drove the aggr...

By Vincent Ryan • May 15, 2023