Whistle-blower Debate Heats Up

You might expect someone like Sherron Watkins, the famous Enron whistle-blower, to be an outspoken supporter of the proposed whistle-blower-friendly rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act.You would be wrong. The ex-Enron accountant predicts that the forthcoming final rules fleshing out Congress’s i...

By David McCann • Feb. 11, 2011

Spreadsheets: Arranging Pivot Charts

Editor’s Note: To read more about spreadsheets, share a tip with other readers, or suggest a topic for Bill Jelen to cover in an upcoming column, click here to visit CFO.com’s Spreadsheet Tips Page.Joe Z. wins an autographed copy of Pivot Table Data Crunching for his question: “I have source data...

By Bill Jelen • Feb. 9, 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

How to Exit a Controlled Foreign Corporation

Ownership in a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) is a designation many companies feel is a must to avoid. But in order to extract itself from that entanglement, a company may find it necessary to “decontrol” the structure of the CFC. That was true in a situation involving a CFC we’ll call Bull...

By Robert Willens • Feb. 7, 2011

How to Exit a Controlled Foreign Corporation

Ownership in a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) is a designation many companies feel is a must to avoid. But in order to extract itself from that entanglement, a company may find it necessary to “decontrol” the structure of the CFC. That was true in a situation involving a CFC we’ll call Bull...

By Robert Willens • Feb. 7, 2011

Is Cash Still King?

Shareholders, analysts, and pundits are up in arms about Corporate America’s ballooning cash balances and are demanding share repurchases to disgorge the cash. The nonfinancial companies in the S&P 500 (including the 405 members of the current S&P that are not financial institutions and w...

By Gregory V. Milano • Feb. 4, 2011

Is Cash Still King?

Shareholders, analysts, and pundits are up in arms about Corporate America’s ballooning cash balances and are demanding share repurchases to disgorge the cash. The nonfinancial companies in the S&P 500 (including the 405 members of the current S&P that are not financial institutions and w...

By Gregory V. Milano • Feb. 4, 2011

A Warming Trend in Credit

Trust is returning to business partnerships. Suppliers are increasingly granting credit to their customers, according to the latest monthly report by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM).For the manufacturing industry in particular, the NACM says credit access for trade customers ...

By Sarah Johnson • Feb. 4, 2011

A Warming Trend in Credit

Trust is returning to business partnerships. Suppliers are increasingly granting credit to their customers, according to the latest monthly report by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM).For the manufacturing industry in particular, the NACM says credit access for trade customers ...

By Sarah Johnson • Feb. 4, 2011

Spreadsheets: Cleaning Out Old Records

Editor’s Note: To read more about spreadsheets, share a tip with other readers, or suggest a topic for Bill Jelen to cover in an upcoming column, click here to visit CFO.com’s Spreadsheet Tips Page.Jeff M. wins an autographed copy of Guerilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel from CFO and MrExc...

By Bill Jelen • Feb. 3, 2011

No Taxation Without Ramifications

The Bush tax-cut debate may have captured the headlines leading up to the new year, but there are at least half a dozen lower-profile tax issues that CFOs should keep tabs on, with more to come as the year unfolds.The most important is, no doubt, the corporate tax rate. Japan plans to cut its cor...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 1, 2011

No Taxation Without Ramifications

The Bush tax-cut debate may have captured the headlines leading up to the new year, but there are at least half a dozen lower-profile tax issues that CFOs should keep tabs on, with more to come as the year unfolds.The most important is, no doubt, the corporate tax rate. Japan plans to cut its cor...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 1, 2011

Tweedie Takes a Bow

In June, Sir David Tweedie will retire as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, a position he has held since the organization’s inception 10 years ago. We recently asked him about the future of accounting.Some critics grumble that if the United States does not adopt IFRS, it s...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 1, 2011

How the High Court Could Help Amazon

Besides imposing hefty increases in its personal and corporate income-tax rates, Illinois is also taking steps to require that out-of-state retailers, most notably Amazon.com, collect sales taxes with respect to goods shipped into the state.Thus, HB 3659 (which passed both houses of the Illinois ...

By Robert Willens • Jan. 31, 2011

How the High Court Could Help Amazon

Besides imposing hefty increases in its personal and corporate income-tax rates, Illinois is also taking steps to require that out-of-state retailers, most notably Amazon.com, collect sales taxes with respect to goods shipped into the state.Thus, HB 3659 (which passed both houses of the Illinois ...

By Robert Willens • Jan. 31, 2011

The Path to Global Standards?

In perhaps her first public appearance since becoming chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, last week Leslie Seidman laid out her “three highest priorities” through June 30. Remember that date. Not long after that, the Securities and Exchange Commission could reveal whether it int...

By David Katz • Jan. 28, 2011

The Path to Global Standards?

In perhaps her first public appearance since becoming chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, last week Leslie Seidman laid out her “three highest priorities” through June 30. Remember that date. Not long after that, the Securities and Exchange Commission could reveal whether it int...

By David Katz • Jan. 28, 2011

For This CFO, Nine Gigs Are Better Than One

If variety is the spice of life, it explains why Tom Kelly is so happy in his work.After spending the early years of his career as a Peat Marwick accountant and a finance executive at Pepsico, the famed CFO factory, Kelly landed finance-chief spots at several companies — large and small, public a...

By David McCann • Jan. 28, 2011

Blue-Ribbon Panel: Just Tweak GAAP for Now

The blue-ribbon panel charged with addressing generally accepted accounting principles for private companies presented its recommendations to the Financial Accounting Foundation on Wednesday, in the form of a 70-page report the FAF is slated to consider at its next meeting in February.At its core...

By Alix Stuart • Jan. 26, 2011

Spreadsheets: The Vertical-Horizontal Flip

Editor’s Note: To read more about spreadsheets, share a tip with other readers, or suggest a topic for Bill Jelen to cover in an upcoming column, click here to visit CFO.com’s Spreadsheet Tips Page.Dana A. wins an autographed copy of Learn Excel 97-2007 for this question posed during the recent P...

By Bill Jelen • Jan. 26, 2011

Blue-Ribbon Panel: Just Tweak GAAP for Now

The blue-ribbon panel charged with addressing generally accepted accounting principles for private companies presented its recommendations to the Financial Accounting Foundation on Wednesday, in the form of a 70-page report the FAF is slated to consider at its next meeting in February.At its core...

By Alix Stuart • Jan. 26, 2011

IRS Rules on Postbankruptcy NOLs

In a private letter ruling released on December 23, the Internal Revenue Service laid out conditions under which a parent company may use its net operating losses (NOLs) after it emerges from bankruptcy. With the economy apparently starting to emerge from the doldrums, more than a few companies m...

By Robert Willens • Jan. 24, 2011

IRS Rules on Postbankruptcy NOLs

In a private letter ruling released on December 23, the Internal Revenue Service laid out conditions under which a parent company may use its net operating losses (NOLs) after it emerges from bankruptcy. With the economy apparently starting to emerge from the doldrums, more than a few companies m...

By Robert Willens • Jan. 24, 2011

When Less Cash Is a Good Thing

While most companies continue to hoard their cash as if they were still mired in a recession, they have ever so slightly begun to loosen their purse strings, new research suggests.For the 12 months ending with the third quarter of 2010, median free cash margin (free cash flow divided by revenue) ...

By David Katz • Jan. 20, 2011

When Less Cash Is a Good Thing

While most companies continue to hoard their cash as if they were still mired in a recession, they have ever so slightly begun to loosen their purse strings, new research suggests.For the 12 months ending with the third quarter of 2010, median free cash margin (free cash flow divided by revenue) ...

By David Katz • Jan. 20, 2011

Spreadsheets: Tame Pivot Table Sequencing

Editor’s Note: To read more about spreadsheets, share a tip with other readers, or suggest a topic for Bill Jelen to cover in an upcoming column, click here to visit CFO.com’s Spreadsheet Tips Page.Reader Mike E. wins an autographed copy of Pivot Table Data Crunching from CFO and MrExcel.com for ...

By Bill Jelen • Jan. 19, 2011