How CFOs Can Jumpstart Automation of the Close

The financial close is a necessary part of business, yet among the most arduous of tasks. Every month, organizations invest significant resources in closing systems, compiling reports, tending spreadsheets, reconciling data, booking entries, and assembling huge binders.How significant is this inv...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 23, 2020

Netflix Subscriber Growth in U.S. Misses Forecast

Netflix beat quarterly earnings estimates but missed its forecast for U.S. subscriber growth for the third straight quarter amid increasing competition.The streaming giant added 423,000 domestic subscribers in the fourth quarter, compared with its forecast of 600,000 additions and Wall Street est...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 22, 2020

Halliburton Takes $2.2B Charge From Shale Slump

Halliburton swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as it took a $2.2 billion charge to earnings due to the slowdown in the U.S. shale market.As The Wall Street Journal reports, the rapid shale production growth of recent years has been “waning as shale companies, many of which have struggled to ma...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 21, 2020

Media to Go Tech-Free in Data Release ‘Lockups’

The U.S. Department of Labor is changing the way it releases potentially market-moving information to the public, saying the current system gives an unfair advantage to high-speed traders.The new procedures bar reporters from using electronic devices in the secure “lockup” rooms from which they p...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 20, 2020

Goldman Q4 Profit Dives as Expenses Jump 42%

Goldman Sachs missed quarterly earnings estimates as a $1.1 billion litigation charge and heavy spending on technology and compensation drove its operating expenses up 42%.For the fourth quarter, the bank’s revenue rose 23% to $9.96 billion, led by a 33% increase from global markets, by far its l...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 16, 2020

House Passes Bill to Close ‘8-K Trading Gap’

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill to close a loophole that allows corporate insiders to trade company shares before the public disclosure of a significant corporate event.According to a 2015 study, the loophole has created an opportunity for insiders to make “meaningful” p...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 15, 2020

Wells Fargo Misses Estimates as Profit Falls 55%

Wells Fargo’s profit dropped by more than half in the fourth quarter as low interest rates and litigation expenses weighed on its bottom line, offsetting its cost-cutting efforts.The results for the quarter ended Dec. 31 represented the first measure of the bank’s performance under Charles Scharf...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 15, 2020

Fired Boeing CEO to Depart with Potential $80 Million

Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted from the company amid the crisis following the crashes of two 737 Max aircraft that killed 356 people, is leaving the company with $80 million in stock options and other assets.In October, the board of Boeing announced Muilenburg wa...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 13, 2020

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending January 10

Jenny Buchholz Captivate appointed Jenny Buchholz as the digital media company’s finance chief. In addition to leading finance, accounting, and human resources, Buchholz will serve as a financial and strategic business advisor to the CEO and broader leadership team. She joins the company from fle...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 10, 2020

WD-40 Shares Dive 4% as Sales Slump in China

WD-40 shares dipped in extended trading Thursday after the cleaning supplies company missed quarterly estimates amid lower sales of its Specialist lubricant and a sales slump in China.For the first quarter, WD-40 earned 88 cents per share, compared to 95 cents a year ago, as net sales declined 3%...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 10, 2020

Walgreens Shares Dive on Q1 Earnings Miss

Walgreens Boots Alliance shares fell more than 5% on Wednesday after the drugstore chain missed earnings estimates amid unexpectedly low prescription volume.For the first quarter, Walgreens’ net income fell 24.8% to $845 million, or 95 cents per share, as revenue rose 1.6% to $34.3 billion. On an...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 8, 2020

Is It Time to Reevaluate the Wisdom of Brand Writedowns?

To reduce tax exposure, corporate finance and accounting organizations will occasionally consider making a noncash writeoff to an underperforming brand. Yet some writedowns permanently damage the brand and the outlook for long-term value appreciation.Unfortunately, accounting rules may cloud a fu...

By David McCann • Jan. 8, 2020

Cybersecurity 2020: Welcome to the Digital Cold War

In the year ahead, organizations must prepare for the unknown. They can do so by ensuring they have the flexibility to endure unexpected and high-impact cybersecurity events. Businesses will need to manage security risks in ways beyond those traditionally handled by the information security funct...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 8, 2020

FEMA Disaster Preparedness Report Ignores Climate Change

The Trump administration’s National Preparedness Report, which describes the greatest risks and hazards to the country, did not mention climate change, sea-level rise, or drought. It was the first such report — prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — to not acknowledge climat...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 8, 2020

Pier 1 to Close 450 Stores as Q3 Loss Widens

Pier 1 shares tumbled on Monday after the troubled retailer announced sales had dropped for a ninth straight quarter and it would close almost half its stores.For the third quarter, Pier 1’s net sales fell 13.3% to $358.4 million while its loss widened to $59 million, or $14.15 per share, from $5...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 7, 2020

Break the Bad Habit of Overreacting to Metrics

CFOs, of course, play a key role in overseeing financial metrics and, increasingly, operational performance measures. They pay a great deal of much-needed attention to the question of what to measure. But an opportunity typically remains for getting better at evaluating metrics.The methods and mi...

By Mark Graban • Jan. 6, 2020

CFO Magazine’s Most-Read Stories of 2019

Which of the more than 1,300 stories we published in 2019 are worth a second read (maybe even a third)? The following 10 stories definitely fit into that category. Dealing with everything from digital transformation to lease accounting to the cost of hiring talent, they were our most popular arti...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 1, 2020

The Growing Importance of Data Democratization

Data democratization — the process of making data accessible enterprise-wide — is a topic that’s been bandied about the boardroom for some time.Data, and universal access to it, is recognized as the key to transforming companies, creating new opportunities, and unlocking the value embedded within...

By Dina Kholkar • Dec. 27, 2019

3 Considerations for New Cloud Computing Accounting Rules

Despite rapid growth in cloud services, global revenues for which Gartner pegs to hit $331 billion by 2022, updated cloud computing accounting rules have been a back-burner issue for many companies.More significant new accounting standards — for leases, credit losses, and hedges — that have been ...

By David McCann • Dec. 26, 2019

Nike Beats Estimates as Digital Sales Rise 38%

Nike reported quarterly earnings that beat estimates but North America sales came up short and tariffs weighed on margins.For the second quarter, the company earned 70 cents per share as overall revenue grew 10% to $10.33 billion and Nike brand revenue rose 12% to $9.8 billion. Analysts had expec...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 20, 2019

Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group Agree to $50B Merger

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot maker PSA Group have reached a binding combination agreement that would create the world’s fourth-largest automaker.PSA chief executive officer Carlos Tavares and Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley after signing the combination agreement. The merger, under which e...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 18, 2019

IT Pros to Finance: We Need More Budget

While IT professionals have a positive outlook for the global economy, they are expecting only modest increases to their budgets next year, according to a Computer Economics survey.The research firm reported in its Worldwide IT Spending and Staffing Outlook for 2020 that none of the companies it ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 18, 2019

IASB Proposes Changes to Reporting of Profit and Income

Hans Hoogervorst, IASB The International Accounting Standards Board on Tuesday proposed improvements to the statement of profit or loss and a more disciplined and transparent approach to the reporting of management-defined (or “non-GAAP”) performance measures.The standard-setter is hoping to nudg...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 17, 2019

Technology Helps Year-End Budget Processes

‘Tis the season of merriment. ’Tis the season to take inventory and make resolutions. ’Tis the season to G.I.V.E. (more on that later) and receive – particularly for CFOs. Allow us to explain.To most folks, December marks the arrival of the holiday season. To CFOs, it marks the final chapter of t...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 16, 2019

Do Clawback Policies Accomplish Their Desired Purpose?

Will the SEC ever finalize section 954, the clawbacks rule, of the Dodd-Frank Act?It’s been nearly a decade since the much-heralded bill was signed into law and almost five years since the SEC proposed rules to implement section 954. The key provision requires all companies listed on national sec...

By David McCann • Dec. 16, 2019