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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Audit Woes in U.K. Hit KPMG’s 2019 Profit

KPMG posted record annual revenues but its profit in the United Kingdom fell sharply as it invested heavily in an audit practice that has suffered a series of blows to its reputation.In fiscal 2019, the Big Four accounting firm’s revenues grew 6.2% to $28.96 billion, beating last year’s record of...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 13, 2019

To Better Manage Health Care Costs, Ditch the Silos

With health care spending growing faster than the economy and likely to reach 20% of GDP by 2027, U.S. employers are forced to make health care cost control a top priority, sometimes to the detriment of their employees and business performance.But the fragmented approach most employers have taken...

By David McCann • Dec. 13, 2019

Oracle Misses on Sales Again Despite ERP Gains

Oracle shares fell nearly 3% in extended trading Thursday after the enterprise software giant reported another quarterly revenue miss despite strong growth in its Fusion and NetSuite cloud applications businesses.For the second quarter, Oracle earned an adjusted 90 cents per share, up from 80 cen...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 13, 2019

Nestlé Sells U.S. Ice Cream Business

Nestlé has reached an agreement to sell its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri, an ice cream-focused joint venture Nestlé created in 2016 with private-equity firm PAI Partners, for $4 billion, the companies said. The deal gives Froneri a strong presence in the largest ice cream market in the worl...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 12, 2019

Upgrading the Engagement

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), predictive analytics, and sophisticated mobile devices can potentially improve the quality of audits. And they couldn’t be arriving at a better time. The Big Four accounting firms and their smaller competitors have...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 12, 2019

Watchful Waiting

Amid growing fears of economic turmoil, pessimism appears to have crept into the perspectives of some finance executives. More than half (53%) of 225 U.S. CFOs surveyed by Duke University and CFO Research in the third quarter believe that the nation will be in a recession by the third quarter of ...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 12, 2019

Exxon Cleared in Landmark Climate Change Trial

Exxon Mobil has defeated the New York attorney general in a landmark fraud trial as a judge ruled the company did not mislead investors by downplaying the potential costs to its business from future climate regulations.Exxon’s victory in the second climate change lawsuit to reach trial in the U.S...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 11, 2019

Digital Rework Brings Overdue Innovation to Accounting

The storied history of accounting has undergone three disruptive innovations. From its invention in ancient Mesopotamia more than 7,000 years ago to the debut of double-entry accounting in the Middle Ages, the interval between disruptions clocked in at a mind-boggling eight millennia.The next inn...

By David McCann • Dec. 10, 2019

Biden Unveils Plan for $3.2 Trillion in Tax Hikes

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has released a package of fiscal proposals that would raise about $3.4 trillion in new tax revenues — significantly less than the plans of his more liberal rivals.The Biden package contrasts with Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposed $30 trillion to pay for ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 5, 2019

International Tax Reporting Standard Is Finalized

Thousands of companies may soon be reporting tax-related and other financial information on a country-by-country basis, following Thursday’s finalization of a proposal by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a sustainability standards-setting body.Three-quarters of the world’s largest companies...

By David McCann • Dec. 5, 2019

An Empowered Audit Team Can Be the Ultimate Safeguard

For multinationals operating in today’s political and regulatory environment, maintaining compliance with the endless stream of new and revised regulatory requirements feels a lot like tap dancing in a minefield.From the ongoing U.S. trade war with China to the introduction of localized digital t...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 4, 2019

Workday Tops Q3 Estimates But Stock Dips 1.9%

Workday beat quarterly earnings estimates but its stock price dipped after its CFO dashed hopes it will get an immediate boost from its push into financial software.The enterprise software company said third-quarter revenue rose 26% to $938.1 million as subscription services revenue jumped nearly...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 4, 2019

Simplified Cost Structuring Spurs ‘Efficient Growth’

The largest companies in the world are experiencing a rate of growth in costs that Gartner calls “untenable.”Specifically, from 2014 through 2017, the S&P Global 1,200 firms saw their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of costs increase 1.8 times as much as their revenue CAGR, Gartner says in...

By David McCann • Dec. 3, 2019

Audits Are Broken. Here’s a Radical Way to Fix Them.

First Under Armour and then Mattel recently confirmed that they are the subject of federal probes of their accounting practices. This is yet another in a series of examples that suggest the auditing process for U.S. public companies requires a significant overhaul. The health of our investment...

By Michael Whitmire • Nov. 27, 2019

Crypto Market Loses Over $40B in A Week

The cryptocurrency market has lost more than $40 billion over the last week, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping below $7,000 for the first time since May, data platform CoinMarketCap shows.What HappenedThe crypto market has been experiencing a downtrend over the last week, with major cryptocurrencies be...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 26, 2019

China Tariffs to Eat Into Dollar Tree Q4 Profits

Dollar Tree shares tumbled on Tuesday after the discount retailer cut its forecast for the holiday season, citing costs from tariffs on Chinese goods.Dollar Tree has been trying to mitigate the tariff costs by negotiating price concessions with vendors and canceling orders. But in its third-quart...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 26, 2019