FASB Income Tax Disclosure Compliance Won’t Be An Easy Lift

“I think it is fair to say that this is a significant chapter in greater tax transparency,” said Brett Weaver, partner and ESG tax leader at KPMG.

By Vincent Ryan • Sept. 7, 2023

90% of Finance Leaders Plan to Reduce or Pause Spending to Meet Short-Term Targets

With the time crunch to meet goals while also planning for an uncertain future, CFOs who balance the now and later precisely may be better off.

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 10, 2023

Non-GAAP Definitions, Environmental Credits, ESG Data: Baruch Conference Highlights

 Back in person for the first time since the pandemic, the Baruch auditing conference provided valuable insights and frank discussions.

By Vincent Ryan • May 9, 2023

Overburdened Audit Committees Threaten Quality of External Audits

Most public company CFOs would want audit committee members to be available, aware, and undistracted. Unfortunately, audit committees, in general, are drowning in information and data, having been handed an almost endless list of oversight responsibilities. That trend may endanger the quality and...

By Vincent Ryan • May 8, 2023

PCAOB Inspection of SPAC Audits Finds Flaws

Inspections of more than 100 SPAC-related U.S. public company audits performed in 2021 and 2022 found significant deficiencies, according to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).The deficiencies included weaknesses in internal controls, incomplete audit sampling techniques, insuf...

By Vincent Ryan • April 24, 2023

FASB Issues Draft of Crypto Asset Accounting Rules

If a new accounting standard for crypto assets is approved, companies would have to reveal more information about their holdings of cryptocurrencies. But they would also get net income boosts when crypto assets rise in value.The Financial Standards Board (FASB) published a proposed accounting sta...

By Vincent Ryan • March 27, 2023

54% of CFOs Have Positive Outlook Despite Economy: Weekly Stat

Despite feeling largely unprepared for any type of recession last year, CFOs and their executive counterparts have used 2023 to tighten up both spending and corporate policies. Through automation and technology, outsourcing, wide-scale changes to work environments, and job cuts, many organization...

By Adam Zaki • March 15, 2023

Only 17% of Finance Leaders Expect a Worse 2023: Weekly Stat

Despite an unpredictable economic and geopolitical climate, executives remain confident  in pursuit of their set goals in 2023. Finance leaders still expect their companies to perform during economic downturn, and some even expect to grow their companies regardless of what takes place.According t...

By Adam Zaki • Feb. 22, 2023

5 Ways to Speed Up the Year-End Close: Metric of the Month

The annual close comes during one of the heaviest workloads of the year for accountants. Month-end, quarter-end, and year-end closing processes converge in a perfect storm that takes time and energy away from operations-supporting daily activities. However, the best accounting teams don’...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Feb. 8, 2023

Are Financially Constrained Firms Bad Audit Clients?

Not all firms have easy access to capital markets, particularly when economic conditions worsen. Whereas large and mature firms are considered relatively financially unconstrained, others typically have limited internal funds and face more friction when attempting to raise external financing.&nbs...

By Ahmet Kurt • Feb. 7, 2023

Cycle Time for Short-Term Cash Forecasting: Metric of the Month

In moments of disruption — whether from a global pandemic, geopolitical conflict, a recession, or something else — the need to prepare an accurate short-term cash flow forecast becomes critical. The ability to create and adjust these forecasts quickly allows management to make better ...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Jan. 3, 2023

Only 27% of Businesses Can Forecast at Scale With Data Analysis Tools

Dependency on data, and the accuracy of that data, is pivotal for any organization. But in a recent research report from insightsoftware, less than a third (27%) of organizations said a majority of their users can forecast at scale using current data analysis tools. As dependency on data increase...

By Adam Zaki • Dec. 14, 2022

58% of CFOs Said Cost Optimization Is Their Top Concern: Weekly Stat

More than half (58%) of finance executives said cost optimization is their biggest concern over the next six months, according to recent data compiled from 246 CFOs by Grant Thornton. With workforce rationalization and liquidity also being major concerns for those surveyed (40% and 37%, respectiv...

By Adam Zaki • Dec. 7, 2022

Q4 Checklist for CFOs: 6 Things to Clean Up

For a CFO, the fourth quarter brings a lot of stress not normally felt throughout the year. First, there’s the budget for next year, and then, the year-end close, and completing any tax-driven transactions. But there’s one item, which is often given short shrift, that a chief financia...

By Eric Segal • Nov. 28, 2022

Recession Resilience: The Power of Recurring Revenue

If the pandemic taught the CFO anything, it's that businesses need to be prepared for anything. That is why finance leaders need to strategize a long-term approach to protecting revenue, jobs, and customer satisfaction and ultimately build resilience into their business models.  Despite recent in...

By Todd McElhatton • Nov. 17, 2022

ESG Investors Value Disclosure Outside of Securities Filings

When speaking of ESG, investor groups often sound like they are taking a hard line on the sustainability disclosures they want to see from CFOs and their companies. But ESG investors on a panel at the FEI’s Corporate Financial Reporting Insights Conference last week sounded more pragmatic and fle...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 15, 2022

Audit Regulators Vow a Tougher Regime

Two years ago, the Public Company Accounting Standards Board (PCAOB) was on the ropes. Its investor advisory group accused it of abandoning its core mission, media were reporting an unhealthy internal climate, and U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were calling for a complete perso...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 12, 2022

Audit Fees Rise Only 2.5%, But Audits Require Greater Effort

Fees for external audits rose only slightly last year, by 2.5%. Indeed, the real increase in costs was probably the effort required to complete external audits, both for the issuer and the audit firm.Average fees for existing large accelerated and accelerated filers rose modestly by 1.8% and 2.3%...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 9, 2022

How CFOs Should Gauge the Value of Attending In-Person Events

Cities are being flocked with representatives from companies across corporate finance and beyond, as the weeks between Labor Day and Thanksgiving tend to host industry events that can draw thousands. As salespersons, marketers, public relations teams, and journalists share cocktails and ideas in ...

By Adam Zaki • Oct. 21, 2022

The Audit Wars Are About to Begin

Employee turnover is almost always costly for organizations, but it’s rare that hiring new staff can hurt clients and raise their costs. The exception? The Internal Revenue Service. The agency, which lost thousands of employees to retirement and budget cuts over the years, will soon be filling it...

By Bruce Willey • Oct. 17, 2022

Finding the Right Auditor for Government Contractors

Having the government as a customer offers several advantages such as facing lower demand uncertainty and having fewer covenants in loan contracts. However, doing business with the government has its challenges as well.Unlike other firms, government contractors must comply with additional rules a...

By Ahmet Kurt • Oct. 6, 2022

Capital Budgets Fall to 13% of IT Spending

 In the next 12 months, half of the North American IT decision-makers surveyed by Spiceworks Ziff Davis said their companies would be increasing tech spending, and only 6% said they intended to cut back. But the kind of spending organizations will undertake is changing. This year, capital budgets...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 17, 2022

How Will ESG Impact be Measured?

Corporate reform — similarly to how Ernest Hemingway described bankruptcy in his novel "The Sun Also Rises," — happens two ways: gradually, and then suddenly. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG), a movement that seeks to hold corporations accountable for far more than just ordinary financ...

By Ted Jackson • July 21, 2022

Best Organizations Report Consolidated Financials in 4 Days: Metric of the Month

Consolidated financial statements enable organizations with a parent company and subordinate reporting units (e.g., subsidiaries, regional operations, or multiple locations) to report their finances as a single enterprise for creditors, investors, operational leaders, and other stakeholders. Prep...

By Perry D. Wiggins • July 6, 2022

The Big Four Continue to Dominate Auditing: Weekly Stat

As Jim Peterson noted in his book, "Count Down: The Past, Present and Uncertain Future of Big Four Accounting Firms," the market for public company audits resembles that of utilities such as cable providers and power grids."Market forces strictly limit the number of providers with the necessary s...

By Vincent Ryan • June 29, 2022