SEC Official Urges Closer Look at Cash Flow Statements

Citing an increase in restatements due to errors in the statement of cash flows, a Securities and Exchange Commission official has suggested that companies take a fresh look at how they prepare and review the statement, Compliance Week reports.In 2009, only 65 restatements (8.7% of the total) cou...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 23, 2014

New Mortality Tables Shine Spotlight on 401(k) Plans

The Society of Actuaries recently updated the mortality tables that pension plans use to project the life expectancy of plan participants and beneficiaries to reflect that people are living longer. For example, average life expectancy for a 45-year-old has increased from 83 to 87[1]. And as peopl...

By Alan Vorchheimer • Dec. 23, 2014

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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

Multinationals Hit Hard by Currency Volatility in Q3

After a relatively quiet second quarter, currency volatility hit hard in the third quarter, with negative currency impact costing North American and European multinationals a total reported dollar value of $8 billion, according to the latest FiREapps survey.In FiREapps’ latest “Currency Impact Re...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 22, 2014

Did Property Mogul ‘Scapegoat’ Chief Accounting Officer?

In the latest fallout from an accounting scandal at American Realty Capital Properties, the real estate investment trust’s former chief accounting officer has accused her former boss, property mogul Nicholas Schorsch, of falsely portraying her as responsible for improper financial reporting.Nicho...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 19, 2014

Tax Extenders Likely to Get Tiny Reprieve

When Congress passed a bill late Monday to extend bonus depreciation, the research and development credit and a plethora of other extensions of business tax breaks set to expire at year’s end, it didn’t leave much time for businesses to act on them.The bill, which applies just to 2014 and include...

By David Katz • Dec. 18, 2014

GE Sees Price Pressure But Still Likes Oil

General Electric expects a “sluggish” oil and gas sector next year due to falling oil prices but is better positioned than some of its competitors to weather the storm, CEO Jeffrey Immelt told investors.The oil price slump was a recurring theme at GE’s annual outlook investor meeting Tuesday, whe...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 17, 2014

Florida Lender, CEO Found Liable for Misleading Investors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has prevailed on most of the claims in a lawsuit alleging real estate investment firm BBX Capital and its CEO misled investors about the health of residential development loans during the 2007 financial meltdown.A federal jury found BBX, formerly known ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 17, 2014

It’s Not too Late to Save Tax via IRS Tangible Property Regs

The IRS issued final tangible property regulations at the end of 2013 that are mandatory and effective for 2014. The regulations affect all businesses regardless of size, industry, or location that acquire, produce or improve property. Put simply, these regulations affect the capitalization and e...

By Nathan P. Clark • Dec. 17, 2014

Equipment Investment to Grow 6% in 2015

Corporate investment in equipment and software will grow 6% next year, driven by a steadily improving economy that should gradually loosen credit constraints and increase credit demand, according to a new survey.The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s outlook for 2015 sees a slowdown fro...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 16, 2014

Corporate Transparency: The Openness Revolution

Howard Schultz, the head of Starbucks, said last year that “the currency of leadership is transparency.” If so, bosses should be feeling ever more qualified to command their troops. Business is being forced to open up in a host of reporting areas, from tax and government contracts to anti-corrupt...

By Economist Staff • Dec. 15, 2014

Is Human Bias Governing Your Cash Deployment?

More than half of U.S. executives plan to deploy cash in the next 12 months, with the money being used principally to improve performance, according to a survey by Deloitte.In a poll of more than 1,500 professionals, Deloitte’s transactions and business analytics unit found that performance impro...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 12, 2014

From Pepsi to Sun Products: A CFO’s Odyssey

Five years can seem like an eternity in the career of a finance chief. In March 2009, Al Drewes was featured in CFO and depicted in a photo as appropriately quaffing a bottle of Diet Pepsi. At the time, he was head of finance at the $18 billion Pepsi Bottling Group, which had been spun off from P...

By David Katz • Dec. 8, 2014

House Votes to Extend Tax Breaks for Only One Year

With lawmakers having abandoned efforts to reach a broader deal on reviving tax breaks that would have exceeded $400 billion over a decade, the House has voted in favor of a “bare minimum” package that provides $42 billion in temporary relief to individuals and corporations.The measure, passed on...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 5, 2014

Another Look at Auditor Nightmares

Following intense controversy about its plan to expand the auditor’s report on corporate financial statements, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board hopes to issue a revamped proposal by March 30, 2015, according to Martin Baumann, the chief auditor of the PCAOB.Speaking at Baruch College...

By David Katz • Dec. 5, 2014

House Passes Bill to Reform Bank Bankruptcies

A bankruptcy reform bill supported by big banks and their regulators has been approved by the House of Representatives but the Wall Street Journal questioned whether it would prevent taxpayer bailouts of financial institutions.The Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act of 2014 creates a new section...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 4, 2014

Study Urges Faster Disclosure of Audit Fees

The fees that publicly-traded companies agree to pay auditors should be disclosed at the time they are negotiated, a new research paper recommends, saying investors and markets could benefit substantially from accelerated disclosure.Audit fee negotiations conclude with the signing of an engagemen...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 2, 2014

Smart Machines: The New ‘Human’ Capital?

Stephen Hawking and colleagues warn that “success in creating artificial intelligence would be the biggest event in human history.… Unfortunately it might also be the last.”John Boudreau From self-driving cars, to intelligent assistants on smart phones, to IBM’s Watson beating humans at Jeopardy,...

By John Boudreau • Dec. 1, 2014

Lame-Duck Congress Mulls Laws to Ease State Tax Headaches

State and local taxes often present exposure traps for businesses. Each state—and many local governments—can create and assess its own taxes. The lack of uniformity among the taxing jurisdictions means that meeting these obligations is difficult and costly. Yet if a state finds a non-compliant ta...

By Matthew C. Boch and Arthur R. Rosen • Dec. 1, 2014

Real Estate: Let’s Get Strategic

For many strategic business planners, corporate real estate (CRE) is little more than an afterthought. But that may be beginning to change, judging from a recent survey of senior finance executives conducted by CFO Research in collaboration with SellYourHome.com.The survey results underscore the ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Nov. 26, 2014

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Nov. 28

Gregory Hayes United Technologies has promoted Gregory Hayes, who has headed finance for the past six years, to the posts of president and CEO. As chief executive he replaces Louis Chenevert, who has resigned.CFO and vice president of finance Ronald Foster plans to retire next year from MicronTec...

By Joan Urdang • Nov. 26, 2014

The Rise of Political Risk

“Can you recall a time when there was so much trouble in so many different places around the world?” asked CBS newsman Bob Schieffer earlier this year on the TV program Face the Nation. “There are an awful lot of things going on that need understanding and explanation,” responded his guest, forme...

By Edward Teach • Nov. 26, 2014

Is Private Company GAAP a Threat?

Greg Jonas, director of the office of research and analysis at the Public Company Accounting Standards Board, seemed alarmed. Speaking at a Standard & Poor’s accounting conference a few months ago, he worried aloud about the possibility that U.S. generally accepted accounting principles might...

By David Katz • Nov. 25, 2014

Clouds Gathering Over Global Economy, Survey Warns

Global business confidence plunged in October to a five-year low, according to a British research firm which said the decline in optimism and expansion plans in the United States was the major concern for the global economy.Markit reported in its latest Global Business Outlook Survey of 6,100 com...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 24, 2014

Joe’s Jeans in Talks With Lenders After Default

Joe’s Jeans, which has been struggling with dwindling demand for designer denim, has disclosed that it is in talks with lenders after defaulting on its nearly $94 million in debt.The default was triggered by the apparel maker’s failure to comply with the EBITDA covenant on its term loan as of Sep...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 24, 2014

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Nov. 21

Retailer The Children’s Place has selected Anurup Pruthi to lead the finance function, effective Dec. 1. Most recently, he headed finance for Reliance Industries.Brad Richmond Darden Restaurants has announced that CFO Brad Richmond will retire in March, or sooner if his replacement has been named...

By Joan Urdang • Nov. 21, 2014