Online Banking Fraud: Who Pays?

In the movie “The Town,” actor Ben Affleck dons an impressive array of disguises as he holds up banks, employing everything from goblin masks to nun habits. When it comes to draining corporate bank accounts, though, most thieves are masquerading in a more muted way: as finance executives. While i...

By Alix Stuart • Aug. 1, 2011

Have Project, Will Travel

Some finance executives fill time between jobs by signing on with agencies that provide consultants to perform temporary or interim financial services. For Tom Jones, who works for one such firm, DLC, the gig is as permanent as most others.Jones has worked for DLC under annual employment contract...

By David McCann • Aug. 1, 2011

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

Chipping Away at Ratings Reform

Various postmortems of the financial crisis have resulted in a consistent theory: that to some extent, regulators, investors, and companies have been overly reliant on credit-rating agencies, an industry dominated by three players (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratin...

By Sarah Johnson • July 27, 2011

Debt Ceiling: Big Deal or Not?

With the calendar moving closer to August 2, the day the U.S. government will run out of funds to pay its obligations if Congress doesn’t raise the federal debt ceiling, finance executives may need to prepare for the worst. But the possibility of the government defaulting on its debt is keeping o...

By Alix Stuart • July 20, 2011

Debt Ceiling: Big Deal or Not?

With the calendar moving closer to August 2, the day the U.S. government will run out of funds to pay its obligations if Congress doesn’t raise the federal debt ceiling, finance executives may need to prepare for the worst. But the possibility of the government defaulting on its debt is keeping o...

By Alix Stuart • July 20, 2011

Pricing Software for All?

CFO welcomes your letters. Send them to: The Editor, CFO, 51 Sleeper St., Boston, MA 02210E-mail us at [email protected], or contact a specific author by clicking on his or her byline. You can also post a comment directly on CFO.com by clicking on the appropriate link at the end of any article.P...

By CFO Readers • July 18, 2011

Treading Water

Finance chiefs’ spirits have hit the summer doldrums. Buffeted by bad news about rising oil and commodity prices, declining home sales, bouts of severe weather at home and abroad, and ongoing global political instability, CFOs are less optimistic than they were last quarter, according to the late...

By Kate O'Sullivan • July 15, 2011

What’s in Store for Consumers?

Consumer demand, long a top concern of CFOs as measured by our quarterly Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey (see “Treading Water“), has been the focus of intense study of late. A new report from Boston Consulting Group, released in June and based on a survey of 24,000 wor...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 15, 2011

A Feel for the Deal

With substantial stores of cash on hand, companies continue to toss more money into mergers and acquisitions. The total value of M&A has jumped by 39% this year compared with this time last year, although the number of deals is down, according to a recent tally by PricewaterhouseCoopers.But s...

By Marielle Segarra • July 15, 2011

Sources of Misery

As a compliance manager at TriQuint Semiconductor, John Sharp has spent much of the past year focused on one little-known compliance rule before it goes into effect. To satisfy it, he must query hundreds of suppliers to figure out the origin of some 450 materials used in his company’s products. I...

By Sarah Johnson • July 15, 2011

China’s Currency Conversion

Three years ago, China’s policy of hampering the movement of its currency across national borders and in currency markets shielded its banks and investors from the worldwide financial crisis. But as its rapid-growth, globalized economy threatens to burst at the seams, China’s isolationist policy ...

By Vincent Ryan • July 15, 2011

Fuel Intentions

 With the price of fuel climbing about 30% from January to early June, it’s small wonder that 80% of finance chiefs reported in the most recent Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey that high oil prices are hurting their companies (see “Treading Water“).Finance executives ha...

By Alix Stuart • July 15, 2011

Alive and Kicking

Women’s soccer is in the spotlight this month as the World Cup concludes in Germany. Closely watching is the U.S. Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league, which hopes to benefit from the buzz. But with only six weeks left in the WPS season, the league will have to hustle to capture audience atte...

By Marielle Segarra • July 15, 2011

Treading Water

Finance chiefs’ spirits have hit the summer doldrums. Buffeted by bad news about rising oil and commodity prices, declining home sales, bouts of severe weather at home and abroad, and ongoing global political instability, CFOs are less optimistic than they were last quarter, according to the late...

By Kate O'Sullivan • July 15, 2011

After the Settlement, He’ll Be Watching You

The increasing number of settlements between companies and authorities over bribery-for-business cases usually include public promises to pay hefty penalties and clean up compliance programs. Added on top of the punishment is often an independent monitor to keep these companies in line.What happe...

By Sarah Johnson • July 11, 2011

Enemy Number One: The Clock

CFOs face plenty of hindrances in trying to get their job done right: office politics, sluggish staff members, and a never-ending set of new regulations demanding compliance, to name a few. Which one is most vexing, though?In a recent survey, CFO asked more than 300 finance executives at small an...

By Alix Stuart • July 6, 2011

Going Global: Choosing a Location

With this column, CFO begins a series of articles about how businesses can expand into new geographic territories more successfully. For expert advice, we asked Bill Hite, CEO of Hull Speed Associates, a firm that helps companies set up overseas operations, for his perspective. In this first colu...

By Bill Hite • June 28, 2011

A Depression in Greece?

Having survived a confidence vote on Tuesday, the Greek government is set to approve new austerity measures in another effort to right Greece’s economic ship. But European CFOs say such measures have a nearly one-in-two chance of plunging the country into a depression.Greek Prime Minister George ...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 23, 2011

A Depression in Greece?

Having survived a confidence vote on Tuesday, the Greek government is set to approve new austerity measures in another effort to right Greece’s economic ship. But European CFOs say such measures have a nearly one-in-two chance of plunging the country into a depression.Greek Prime Minister George ...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 23, 2011

Risk Managers’ Outlook Improves, Somewhat

Risk managers have loosened up a bit. Emphasis on “a bit.”The financial crisis is still fresh in memory, and they have plenty of worries to keep them up at night. But a fairly new index that measures risk managers’ concerns has declined since last year, suggesting their optimism is growing.For no...

By Sarah Johnson • June 10, 2011

CFO Optimism Is Down, and So Is Hiring

Like so many economic indicators lately, finance chiefs’ expectations have taken a turn for the worse, as the unease that has dogged the recovery since it began has deepened in recent months. From the ongoing European debt crisis to the disaster in Japan to rising oil prices and bouts of severe w...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 8, 2011

CFO Optimism Is Down, and So Is Hiring

Like so many economic indicators lately, finance chiefs’ expectations have taken a turn for the worse, as the unease that has dogged the recovery since it began has deepened in recent months. From the ongoing European debt crisis to the disaster in Japan to rising oil prices and bouts of severe w...

By Kate O'Sullivan • June 8, 2011

What’s Your Return on Buybacks?

During informal discussions after a recent presentation to a company’s investors and analysts, I stood with the CFO and watched in dismay as he was barraged with questions about buybacks. He and his CEO had presented a strong growth strategy and were commended for it, yet the questions were dispr...

By Gregory V. Milano • June 3, 2011

As the World Churns

At the risk of getting a certain Disney song stuck in your head, let’s acknowledge that it truly is a small world after all. Companies no longer need to be thought of as “multinationals” to do business in multiple nations. And even the most local of companies is now vulnerable to disruptions on t...

By Scott Leibs • June 1, 2011

Feeling the Pain

With oil prices averaging nearly $4 per gallon (as of late May) and gas prices reaching all-time highs in some parts of the country, finance chiefs are once again struggling to find ways to keep their energy and materials costs down. But the weak economy — and their companies’ relatively lean cos...

By Marielle Segarra • June 1, 2011