Small Business Optimism Slips 2 Points

While the NFIB monthly small business owner survey is not a market mover, it’s a solid indicator of the SMB owner's viewpoint of macroeconomic conditions as well as the actions SMBs take in response to them.The sentiments of small business owners, after an uptick in November 2022, dipped again in...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 11, 2023

2023 Outlook: 4 Charts to Watch

CFOs are number-centric, data-driven thinkers. Through our Wednesday newsletters, we have brought you extensive content surrounding data, statistics, and the corresponding trends emerging from that data. Below are four charts that provide outlook data we at CFO believe financial leaders should be...

By Adam Zaki • Jan. 11, 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

A CFO Action Plan for 2023

Many small- and medium-sized companies are still navigating through incredibly turbulent waters. We entered 2022 after enduring over 18 months of COVID-19 spikes. Throughout the year, we faced inflation, market uncertainty, the war in Ukraine, and other disruptions in addition to the lingering im...

By Steve McNally • Jan. 9, 2023

IPO Readiness: A 5-Step Public Preparedness Checklist

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” The adage has been credited to Benjamin Franklin, and while it’s unlikely he was talking about IPO readiness, the quote is nevertheless extremely appropriate to that process — especially given the current market context.  Patrick HanratyAnd that...

By Patrick Hanraty and Shauna Watson • Jan. 5, 2023

ESG in 2023: 3 Ways to Prepare for New Regulations

As investment in sustainable asset funds continues to rise, organizations face an array of new regulations in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The new regulations will ensure the companies comprising these funds meet true environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG...

By Adam Moloney • Jan. 3, 2023

The 10 Most-Read CFO Stories of 2022

Below, you’ll find a list of the 10 most-read articles we published this year. Dealing with everything from spreadsheets and cybersecurity to core CFO skills and workplace monitoring, these are the most popular stories of the past 12 months.  To keep up all year long, be sure to sub...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 28, 2022

Inflation: Higher Costs Hit Hard in 2022

By the beginning of 2022, the consumer price index was already at 7.5% after 10 straight months of readings above 2%. Yet the U.S. was also only a handful of months past the Fed’s initial blasé reactions to historic price increases. The effective federal funds rate stood at only 0.08% on New Year...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 27, 2022

50% of CFOs Increased Net Spending in Q4 Despite Economic Concerns

As outlooks on 2023's economy continue to be mostly pessimistic among executives, major concerns surrounding the economy have resulted in CFOs finding ways to lower spending wherever possible. Things like inflation, labor quality, monetary policy, and sales revenue are concerns that resulted in C...

By Adam Zaki • Dec. 21, 2022

DocGo Aims to Deliver Cost-Efficient Medical Care

As of October of this year, the number of homeless New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters was 35% higher than 10 years ago. For mobile health care provider DocGo, COVID-19 was a chance to do some good for those people (while building a revenue stream).Through a program with NYC Hea...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 21, 2022

Private Equity Exits Down 57% in 2022

For private equity firms, 2022 has been a rough year. Take-private purchases of public companies have come to a virtual halt, as large transactions struggle to find debt financing. Funds are having to take markdowns on their investments. And sponsors are stuck holding companies that they would ha...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 21, 2022

CPI Inflation Falls to 7.1% YoY In November: Weekly Stat

Tuesday’s November inflation readings were a welcome pre-holiday gift. But hold off on excessive celebrations. The headline consumer price index rose 0.1%, down from 0.4% in October. Twelve-month CPI fell to 7.1%, the smallest increase since December 2021, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics ...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 14, 2022

Borrowers Face Tighter, Costlier Loan Terms

Billionaire Sam Zell probably doesn’t have trouble getting a bank loan. But one of the portfolio companies of his firm Equity Residential — a company he described as very well capitalized and an “A-” credit — recently “had the hardest revolver extension” that Zell’s firm has ever been involved in...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 23, 2022

U.S. Venture Capital Raised Falls 30% in Q3

A third-quarter downturn in venture capital (VC) dollars raised in the United States, particularly in later-stage deals and from nontraditional investors like asset managers, is the first evidence of distress in the VC ecosystem. The value of VC deals for the first three quarters of 2022 was stil...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 16, 2022

Leading Change Isn’t Only a Crisis Event

Change isn’t a new phenomenon. Executives recognize that every three-to-five years their industry will experience a shock requiring them to rally their strategy teams and design a new path forward. Once the executive team agrees on the new plan, tasks can be disseminated down the organization, an...

By Frank Hopson and Izabela Rak • Nov. 14, 2022

4 Powerful Communication Strategies for Your Next Board Meeting

This whitepaper outlines four powerful strategies to amplify board meeting conversations during a time of economic volatility. 

By CFO Editorial Staff • Nov. 10, 2022

How CFOs Can Be Sustainability Leaders

Businesses should be careful not to let the legal and regulatory requirements being introduced in the sustainability disclosure arena to overshadow the need to embed sustainability into core business operations.To adequately incorporate sustainability factors into core operating functions, organi...

By Kevin Dancey • Nov. 10, 2022

Nearly 99% of Tax Leaders Have Begun Preparing for ESG Requirements

With ESG disclosures and regulations being forecasted on the horizon for some time, a recent survey by Deloitte of 335 global tax leaders found nearly all respondents said they were in some stage of preparation or implementation of ESG-induced changes.Despite being in different stages of implemen...

By Adam Zaki • Nov. 8, 2022

6 Stakeholders Who Support the CFO to Take ESG Beyond Compliance

Corporate attitudes towards environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) typically lie on a spectrum between obligation and opportunity. Those with the dial set at obligation tend to focus on disclosure, reporting, and regulation. And yes, there are plenty of frameworks and regulations t...

By James Paterson • Nov. 3, 2022

Why APIs are the Future of Business-to-Bank Connections

Small-company CFOs and corporate treasurers know the software links with banks are suboptimal. Sending funds via wire can be a hassle, account balances are often accurate only as of the previous day, and some processes still have to be done manually.But an increase in the development of applicati...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 2, 2022

Fed Shows Resolve to Hit 2% Inflation Goal, Raises Rates Again

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his staff have unanimously agreed to raise interest rates another 0.75% as of November 2. Although he expressed awareness of rising rates on both consumer prices and the ability to borrow, Powell insisted the Fed is willing to do whatever it takes to put in...

By Adam Zaki • Nov. 2, 2022

China’s Economic Slowdown: What CFOs Should Know

As economies across North America and Europe prepare for an economic downturn in the new year, China’s financial and manufacturing industries are also on pace for a slowdown. The world’s second-largest economy is experiencing the consequences of a major housing crisis, significant blows to its la...

By Adam Zaki • Nov. 1, 2022

Twitter CFO Ned Segal Ousted in Aftermath of Elon Musk’s Acquisition

Ned Segal, previously CFO of Twitter, was let go in the aftermath of Elon Musk's acquisition of the social media platform. After closing the deal on Oct. 27, per an SEC filing, Musk will take the company private as a subsidiary of X Holdings. The stock ticker is now delisted from the New York Sto...

By Adam Zaki • Oct. 29, 2022

4 Ways to Navigate a Recession in Today’s Tight Labor Market

The post-pandemic world has been marked by the release of pent-up demand, resulting in substantial growth for companies and a labor market strongly favoring employees. It seems as if now, the tables are turning. With one million fewer job openings reported in August compared to July, and steadily...

By Rob DiMase • Oct. 28, 2022

79% of Executives Expect a Recession; Only 35% Feel ‘Very’ Prepared: Weekly Stat

As the likelihood of a recession continues to increase as we approach the new year, a recent Aon survey of 800 C-suite leaders and senior executives found a majority of organizational leaders are self-admittingly underprepared for a major economic downturn.While the survey found nearly 79% of exe...

By Adam Zaki • Oct. 26, 2022

1st Time M&A: 3 Challenges CFOs Will Face

CFOs are a source of accuracy within an organization — essential for providing data related to day-to-day operations as well as for weighing in on larger strategic decisions. The CFO helps reconcile big-picture vision with reality by offering a set of ironclad facts.  You can have an entire caree...

By Frank Williamson • Oct. 24, 2022