Kaiser to Leave PCAOB; Chief Auditor to Replace Him

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that James (Jim) G. Kaiser will leave the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) after completing his term as a board member. Kaiser was appointed to the board in December 2017 and his term expires in October 2020. He elected not t...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 15, 2020

Anti-Trust: The Battle Over China-Based Issuers

In a period when China-U.S relations are fractious, it was perhaps inevitable that a perennial issue with Chinese companies listed in the United States would rear its head.But China-based companies are also making headlines this year, and not in a good way. Luckin Coffee, iQiy, GSX Techedu, and T...

By Ramona Dzinkowski • Oct. 14, 2020

Pilgrim’s Pride to Pay $110M to Settle Price-Fixing Charges

Poultry giant Pilgrim’s Pride has agreed to pay a fine of $110.5 million to settle charges from the U.S. Department of Justice that executives at the company conspired to fix prices and rig bids on broiler chicken products.In June, Pilgrim’s Pride chief executive officer Jayson Penn and vice pres...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 14, 2020

IBM to Spin Off Infrastructure Unit

IBM is spinning off its managed infrastructure services unit into a new public company. In a statement, the company said the move would help accelerate its hybrid cloud growth strategy and drive digital transformation.“IBM is laser-focused on the $1 trillion hybrid cloud opportunity,” IBM chief e...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 8, 2020

Macy’s Invests in ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Company Klarna

Macy’s is investing in Swedish payments company Klarna.The five-year deal includes Macy’s using Klarna’s “buy now, pay later” service at online checkout, which allows customers to make payments in four equal, interest-free installments at the online checkout.Financial details were not disclosed.I...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 6, 2020

Leverage Technology for Smoother Tax Compliance

What did we learn from the 2018 and 2019 tax compliance seasons?Well, for one, we learned that hope is not a strategy. As tax professionals during the 2018 tax-year compliance season, we also learned that tax compliance in the Tax Cut & Jobs Act’s aftermath will not be simple or straightforwa...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 6, 2020

Metric of the Month: What is the Ideal Number of Budget Iterations?

Budgeting season is upon us, and the usual stresses and headaches that come along with it will likely be compounded by an especially volatile year. Reviewing and editing draft after draft of your budget will be time consuming, frustrating, and may even risk disengagement from your stakeholders. I...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Oct. 1, 2020

Hertz Loses Another CFO

Hertz Global Holdings is getting its second chief financial officer since August as the company goes through bankruptcy proceedings.  The company named Kenny Cheung to replace R. Eric Esper, who resigned after little more than a month in the position. Esper is joining United Natural Foods chief a...

By Vincent Ryan • Sept. 29, 2020

GM Ordered to Repay Ohio $28M In Tax Credits

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority has instructed General Motors to repay $28 million, an amount the company received in tax credits over the years.The government sanction is a direct result of GM’s decision to shut down its Lordstown plant last year, the Ohio Development Services Agency suggested in ...

By Vincent Ryan • Sept. 29, 2020

Costco Posts 11.4% Same-Store Sales Increase

Costco posted its largest quarterly gain in same-store sales on record as shoppers continued to stock up on everything from food and paper supplies to patio furniture amid the coronavirus pandemic.As Barron’s reports, Costco is “one of a cohort of big essential retailers that has seen the most be...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 25, 2020

Audit Partner Rotation Delivers Few Benefits: Study

A perennially contentious issue, auditor rotation has led regulators in both the United States and Europe to require public companies to change auditors periodically—in the European Union by requiring firms to invite bids from other audit firms after ten years and in the U.S. by mandating rotatio...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Sept. 25, 2020

Digitally Innovate to Create Real Value

One of the biggest challenges C-suite executives face today is around the disparity that exists in how revenue is valued by Wall Street. Depending on a company’s business model, one company can generate a dollar and Wall Street measures it as a dollar. Another company, such as Zoom, can make a do...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 24, 2020

General Mills Sales Rise on At-Home Food Demand

General Mills’ quarterly results beat analysts’ estimates as the cereal maker benefitted from increased demand for food consumed at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.For the first quarter, General Mills reported Wednesday that net sales rose 9% to $4.4 billion, led by a 14% increase for the comp...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 23, 2020

Digital Sales Surge Fuels Nike Earnings Beat

Nike reported better-than-expected quarterly results as strong digital sales drove the company’s rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.For the first quarter, Nike reported net income of $1.52 billion, or 95 cents per share, from $1.37 billion, or 86 cents per share, as revenue fell 0.6% to $10.59...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 23, 2020

Deloitte Fined Record $19M Over Audit Failures

Concluding a years-long investigation, the U.K.’s accounting watchdog has fined Deloitte a record 15 million pounds ($19.4 million) for “serious and serial failures” in its audits of software firm Autonomy.The Financial Reporting Council’s investigation focused on Deloitte’s audits of Autonomy’s ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 18, 2020

Opendoor to Go Public Through SPAC Merger

Online residential real estate platform Opendoor is listing shares publicly through a reverse merger that values the company at $4.8 billion.In a statement, Opendoor said it entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II, a publicly traded spec...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 15, 2020

How Finance Leaders Can Drive Sustainability Transformations

Stakeholders, employees, and corporate leaders increasingly call on companies to meaningfully engage in the transition to a zero-carbon economy; businesses can no longer afford to maintain siloed sustainability programs. If they are to achieve their sustainability goals, companies must work acros...

By Jeff Waller • Sept. 14, 2020

Deloitte to Create Independent Audit Board

Deloitte is restructuring its operations to comply with regulatory changes that followed a series of high-profile audit failures at Big Four accounting firms.The Financial Reporting Council, the U.K. accounting watchdog, announced in July it had asked the firms to agree to separate their audit an...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 11, 2020

CFTC Urges Changes to Climate Risk Disclosure

The Commodity Futures Exchange Commission has called for enhanced disclosure by public companies of climate-related financial risks to help prevent climate change from disrupting the U.S. financial system.In a report issued on Wednesday, a CFTC task force said disclosure is “an essential building...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 10, 2020

Business Interruption: Insurers Balk at Paying Claims

When disasters strike, many businesses rely on insurance to carry them through economic and financial rough patches. Not this time.The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent government-mandated business shutdowns wrecked many companies’ top and bottom lines. While there are some noteworthy exceptio...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 10, 2020

PCAOB to Consider Revising Audit Evidence Rule

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is making its own push to update standards for audit evidence to reflect the growing use of technology-based auditing tools.The PCAOB said Tuesday that its staff is assessing whether there is a need to change its AS 1105 standard, citing advancements ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 9, 2020

Michaels’ Sales Jump 11% on E-Commerce Push

Crafts retailer Michaels Companies posted strong quarterly results on Thursday as its e-commerce push fueled same-store sales growth despite the coronavirus pandemic.Michaels’ comparable sales, a key retail metric, rose 12.0% in the second quarter, while net sales increased 11.1% to $1.15 billion...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 3, 2020

Be Ready to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine in Two Months, CDC Says

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified public health authorities in all 50 states and five large cities to begin preparations to distribute two unidentified vaccines in late October or early November, the New York Times reported Wednesday.What Happened: The two vacc...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 3, 2020

Macy’s Shares Higher on Better-Than-Expected Q2

Retailer Macy’s reported second-quarter earnings and sales Wednesday that beat Street expectations.Macy’s reported revenue of $3.56 billion for the second quarter, down 36% year-over-year.Comp sales dropped 34.7% year-over-year. The retailer posted a net loss of $251 million versus a profit of $8...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 2, 2020

Metric of the Month: Cash-to-Cash Cycle Time

Cash-to-cash cycle time, also known as the cash conversion cycle (CCC), measures the amount of time it takes for a company to convert resources like inventory or investments in production into cash from sales. CCC is a critical measure of a business’s health and cash efficiency. If cash isn’t com...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Sept. 2, 2020