Using IFRS, Daimler Pins Loss on Chrysler

German-based Daimler AG blamed a good deal of its $1.9 billion fourth-quarter loss on expenses related to its $4 billion investment in Chrysler and on the lower earnings of its Mercedes-Benz Car division. The end-of-year drop was the first loss for the automaker since the third quarter of 2007.Da...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 17, 2009

Stimulus Bill Bites Losing Companies

Companies that generated losses over the past year will get stung by the stimulus compromise bill that will likely be signed by President Obama on February 16. The $790 billion economic recovery package that was blessed by the White House and Congress Wednesday night decimated the net operating l...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 13, 2009

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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

Halliburton, ITT Settle Bribery Charges

The Securities and Exchange Commission settled two big bribery cases with U.S. multinationals today, calling one case the “largest combined settlement ever paid by U.S. companies” since the passage of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).The record-breaking settlement involved KBR Inc. and Ha...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 11, 2009

Stimulus Tax Provisions Take Shape

While President Barack Obama travels around the country drumming up support for an economic stimulus package, corporate tax managers may want to take a closer look at what a new compromise bill may offer. Today a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement on a substitute version of a propo...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 9, 2009

Let’s Be Clear: There Is a TARP Tax Exception

It seems the government wants to be very clear about tax issues related to the bailout. To that end, the Internal Revenue Service has issued another clarification with respect to loss corporations, and the potential tax benefits that await loss corporations that participate in its rescue programs...

By Robert Willens • Feb. 9, 2009

Convertibles Rule Weighs Down Earnings

The rewrite of an old accounting rule related to convertible bonds has cut earnings-per-share ratios of affected companies by an average 6.5 percent, says new research from RiskMetrics Group.The revised rule (FSP APB 14-1), which was issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board staff last M...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 5, 2009

Fair-Value Tweaks Afoot?

Add fair-value accounting rules to the many projects and concessions stuffed into the giant stimulus bill currently being debated on Capitol Hill.At least that’s the hope of many financial services firms that blame accounting standards for massive write-downs of their mortgage-related assets. Las...

By Sarah Johnson • Feb. 5, 2009

SEC Pushes Back IFRS Roadmap

The Securities and Exchange Commission has given businesses two more months to respond to its proposed timeline for moving all U.S. public companies to international financial reporting standards. The extension of its public-comment period could hinder the hopes of the few companies that had want...

By Sarah Johnson • Feb. 4, 2009

Citi’s Amazing Smith Barney Gain

The Citigroup/Morgan Stanley “joint venture,” announced on January 13, will result in the combination of Citi’s Smith Barney unit with Morgan Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Group. Under the terms of the agreement, Citi will exchange 100 percent of Smith Barney for a 49 percent stake in the jo...

By Robert Willens • Feb. 3, 2009

What’s So Good about Goodwill?

The deteriorating stock market has forced another three companies to take big impairment charges for goodwill stemming from earlier acquisitions.As is always the case, the impairment charges will not result in any current or future cash expenditures. Underlying the announcements are implicit admi...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 3, 2009

Who Put the Brakes on Capex Spending?

The amount of capital expenditures a company makes during the year often provides clues about the company’s growth plans. Indeed, increased capex spending – which includes purchases of property, industrial building, and new equipment – usually means a company is preparing to expand its operation ...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 3, 2009

Tax Tip: Spend Your Way Out of the Recession

As capital-intensive companies in the United States put the brakes on capital spending, it’s likely that their taxable income will climb — and so will their tax bill. That’s because the slowdown in spending is likely to eat away at any deferred tax benefit that might have offset taxable income, s...

By Marie Leone • Feb. 2, 2009

Huge Changes in Store for Financial Statements

A balance sheet that doesn’t balance?Financing and operating classifications that depend on your company type?A (gulp) cash-basis income statement?Well, not quite. But accounting standards-setters are online and on the road urging investors and companies to weigh in now on a proposal to radically...

By Tim Reason and Marie Leone • Jan. 30, 2009

SEC, Others to Oversee Global Accounting

A new oversight board has been formed to review the work of the trustees of the International Accounting Standards Board.As a result, the IASB trustees will be publicly accountable to the newly formed monitoring board, which will comprise key members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...

By Marie Leone • Jan. 30, 2009

SEC Action May Delve Inside Black Box Corp.

Black Box Corp. said it may face civil charges stemming from historical stock-option granting practices.The provider of data and voice-networking products said in a regulatory filing that it had received a “Wells notice” from the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating that the staff intend...

By Stephen Taub • Jan. 29, 2009

More Earnings Overwhelmed by Impairments

Damage from goodwill impairment continues to hit the books, with USAirways taking a $622-million noncash charge in 2008 to write off impaired goodwill relating to its September 2005 merger with America West Holdings Corp.The USAirways writedown came as the airline reported a $220-million fourth-q...

By Roy Harris and Stephen Taub • Jan. 29, 2009

Freeport Takes a Whopping $13.1B Charge

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s fourth-quarter results included a $13.1-billion charge related to its March 2007 acquisition of Phelps Dodge.The mining giant said the writeoff was needed to primarily reduce the carrying value of inventories, long-lived assets, and goodwill related to th...

By Stephen Taub • Jan. 27, 2009

New York Times Debt Setup Pays Off

During the 1980s, scores of deals were financed in part with “deferred interest” securities. But, despite its name, the interest on the securities was tax deductible as it accrued, even though payment of such interest was delayed – frequently quite far into the future.The accrued tax deduction wa...

By Robert Willens • Jan. 27, 2009

Out-of-State Amazon Must Pay New York Taxes

Amazon.com has lost its battle with New York State, despite arguing it was the target of a recently passed tax rule. On January 12, State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten dismissed a complaint made by Amazon accusing the state of imposing sales taxes on the company when no connection — or nexu...

By Marie Leone • Jan. 23, 2009

Will a Tortoise Pace Win the Global Accounting Race?

Staffers from President Obama’s transition team called the Financial Accounting Standards Board before the new president took office to ask for updates on current projects. That’s standard operating procedure for an incoming administration, but it is nice to know that accounting issues were on so...

By Marie Leone • Jan. 23, 2009

PCAOB to Auditors: Focus on the CFO

A sharp and experienced CFO with broad knowledge of a small company’s operation can make for a much easier and cheaper audit of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting. An unruly finance chief, however, can wreak havoc on the controls of a tiny firm.Through pithy scenarios, a Pub...

By David Katz • Jan. 23, 2009

Zapped over Expense Recognition

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a civil action against three former managers at Cablevision Systems Corp. in connection with improper expense recognition.The SEC alleged that Catherine McEnroe, Noreen O’Loughlin, and Martin von Ruden, while serving as officers and managers of s...

By Stephen Taub • Jan. 23, 2009

Northrop Grumman M&A Leads to $3B Charge

Northrop Grumman Corp. joined the growing list of companies reporting large noncash charges to reflect goodwill impairment. The defense contractor and maker of the B-2 bomber said it would record a fourth-quarter after-tax charge of $3 billion to $3.4 billion, reflecting acquisitions made in 2001...

By Roy Harris and Stephen Taub • Jan. 22, 2009

GM Settles SEC Pension Allegations

General Motors has agreed to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the struggling automaker violated pension and derivative-accounting laws.According to the SEC’s complaint, GM violated the issuer reporting, books-and-records, and internal controls provisions of the federal secur...

By Stephen Taub • Jan. 22, 2009

Geithner: Obama Eyes Corporate-Tax Overhaul

While being forced to talk more about his own taxes than the nation’s, Timothy Geithner, President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, told the Senate Finance Committee at his confirmation hearing this morning that the new administration is committed to overhauling the entire corporate...

By David Katz • Jan. 21, 2009