PwC Fined $7M for Audit Independence Violations

PwC has agreed to pay more than $7.9 million to settle allegations that it improperly performed IT and other non-audit services for audit clients.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the firm violated auditor independence rules in connection with 19 engagements on behalf of 15 issuers...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 24, 2019

Harley-Davidson Unveils New Growth Strategy

Harley-Davidson announced its accelerated growth strategy that will expand its ridership to 4 million riders in the United States by 2027 from 3 million in 2017, but the strategy will require significant investment.The company’s ‘More Roads to Harley-Davidson’ strategy is planning to leverage its...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 24, 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

Lorenzo Flores Steps Down As Xilinx CFO

Chipmaker Xilinx is parting ways with CFO Lorenzo Flores as it transitions into a supplier of processing platforms for data centers.Xilinx shares fell 1.6% in extended trading Thursday after the company announced Flores, who has served as finance chief since 2016, was stepping down to “pursue ano...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 20, 2019

Will Saudi Oil Strikes Hamper Supply Chains?

First it was digital disruption. Then it was events like Brexit and trade battles. Now, a new, violent issue has emerged to threaten supply chains around the world.The drone strikes at oil facilities in Saudi Arabia last weekend, which took out 5% of the world’s daily oil production and sent crud...

By David McCann • Sept. 19, 2019

The Zero-Based Mindset

Successfully balancing between increasingly evasive sales growth and earnings performance in the modern business environment would seem to require a finance chief with a magical touch.With evolving demands from stakeholders come evolving business strategies designed to respond to them. In finance...

By Chris Roark and Kris Timmermans • Sept. 18, 2019

Broadcom Beats Estimates, Chip Sales Fall 5%

Broadcom beat analysts’ estimates for the third quarter but delivered cautious full-year guidance amid weak semiconductor demand and trade uncertainty.The chipmaker said it earned an adjusted $5.16 a share as sales rose 9% to $5.52 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $5.11 a share on sales...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 13, 2019

Oracle Reports Sales Miss, Co-CEO Taking Leave

Oracle shares fell as much as 5.8% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the software giant reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and said co-CEO Mark Hurd was taking a medical leave of absence.For the first quarter, Oracle had sales of $9.2 billion, flat from the year-ago period and belo...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 12, 2019

Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange Makes $37B Bid for London Stock Exchange

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing made an unsolicited cash and stock bid of $37 billion to purchase its rival London Stock Exchange to combine the companies.If it goes forward, the deal would mark the second largest foreign takeover of a U.K.-listed company, second only to when Japanese pharmaceut...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 11, 2019

IRS Aims to Catch Up to Tech Advancements

Recently proposed IRS regulations would significantly affect tax on income from international cloud transactions and electronic transfers of digital content. Accordingly, CFOs should review the structure of agreements involving such transactions and transfers.Issued on Aug. 9, the proposed regula...

By David McCann • Sept. 9, 2019

Apple Says Zhengzhou Factory Broke Labor Rules

Apple said a factory in Zhengzhou, China, operated in violation of its rules on working conditions and that it was trying to correct the situation. The company was responding to a report from China Labor Watch that alleged the company broke local laws and its own standards to produce the iPhone 1...

By Lauren Muskett • Sept. 9, 2019

Watchdog Slams PCAOB Oversight of Big Four

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has been too lenient with the Big Four accounting firms over audit deficiencies, resulting in only $6.5 million in fines during its 16-year history, according to a new report.The Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an independent watchdog, said it...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 6, 2019

Audit Committees Boost Disclosure to Shareholders

The audit committees of large public companies are continuing a long trend of voluntarily disclosing to shareholders more and more information about the companies’ independent auditors.The changes are incremental from year to year. But since EY began studying these disclosures by the Fortune 100 ...

By David McCann • Sept. 5, 2019

Starbucks Shares Fall on Reduced 2020 Outlook

Starbucks reduced its earnings forecast for 2020 on Wednesday but said it was still “firing on all cylinders” operationally as it seeks double-digit long-term growth.In a presentation at a Goldman Sachs conference, the coffee chain said it expects earnings per share next year to be below its “ong...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 4, 2019

State Laws Cloud the Use of Independent Contractors

Forces leading to changes in state laws governing the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors appear to be gaining momentum across the country.The changes to the classification regime that are currently in the air or have been enacted significantly restrict compan...

By David McCann • Sept. 4, 2019

Lego Posts 6% Sales Gain, Plans More Stores

Lego on Tuesday reported a 6% global sales increase and said it was stepping up investment in its retail and digital businesses to fuel long-term growth.The world’s biggest toy maker in terms of sales said revenue rose to 14.8 billion kroner ($2.2 billion) in the first half of 2019, with toys lin...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 3, 2019

Investors Shun Companies That Play ‘Robin Hood’

That companies do well by doing good has been a persistent theme among students of corporate management during the past few decades. The theme was resoundingly reinforced by last month’s Business Roundtable statement, in which 181 leading chief executives affirmed their commitment not just to the...

By David McCann • Sept. 3, 2019

Metric of the Month: Days Cash on Hand

This month’s metric, days cash on hand, measures the number of days that an organization can continue paying its operating expenses with the amount of cash currently available. If sales revenue suddenly dried up or an unexpected catastrophe interrupted the business, an organization with substanti...

By Perry D. Wiggins • Sept. 3, 2019

Pernod Ricard to Buy Bourbon Whiskey Maker Castle Brands For $223M

French wine and spirits maker PERNOD RICARD S/ADR (PDRDY 2.28%) has been bulking itself in a bid to grow, buckling under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.What HappenedPernod Ricard announced Thursday it has signed an agreement to buy all outstanding shares of Castle Brands (ROX ...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 29, 2019

Hong Kong Unrest Disrupts Tiffany’s Q2 Sales

Tiffany reported quarterly sales on Wednesday that fell short of analysts’ estimates as “meaningful disruption” from protests in Hong Kong hurt its Asian business.CEO Alessandro Bogliolo told analysts during an earnings call that the luxury jeweler lost six selling days in Hong Kong, its fourth-l...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 28, 2019

Analyst Says Altria, Philip Morris Reunion Merger Makes ‘Strategic Sense’

Cigarette maker Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) said Tuesday that it’s in discussions about the possibility of reuniting with industry leader Altria Group (NYSE: MO) in a possible blockbuster all-stock merger that would create a massive $200-billion-plus company.Altria spun PM off more tha...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 27, 2019

Admit It, Your Investments Are Stuck in Neutral

This article was first published in McKinsey Quarterly.Studies show that companies that actively reallocate resources outperform those that don’t. In many companies, however, a range of obstacles — cognitive biases and inconsistent decision-making processes, for example — keep planning teams and ...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 19, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending August 16

Craig Connop SME announced the hiring of Craig Connop as its new finance chief. Connop will be the non-profit association’s first CFO. He most recently was vice president of finance at Stoneridge Control Devices. Previously, Craig was the CFO and VP of Finance and IT at GKN Driveline Americas.Dia...

By Joan Urdang • Aug. 16, 2019

Cisco Warns of Soft Growth Amid Trade Tensions

Cisco Systems posted its largest quarterly revenue increase since 2013 but delivered lower-than-expected guidance, citing weak service-provider spending and the fallout from U.S.-China trade tensions.The networking-equipment giant said Wednesday it expects revenue for the current quarter to be fl...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 15, 2019

How CFOs Can Unlock Innovation

A company’s success — or indeed its very survival — increasingly depends on its ability to drive change and innovate at pace. Yet most organizations aren’t equipped to do this. At one extreme, organizations micro-manage innovation with rigid processes and metrics. At the other extreme, companies ...

By Ken Gabriel • Aug. 14, 2019

Macy’s Shares Fall 13% on Big Earnings Miss

Macy’s shares tumbled on Wednesday after a big quarterly earnings miss and a lowered profit outlook fueled doubts about its turnaround efforts.Under CEO Jeff Gennette, Macy’s has recently been delivering same-store sales growth, with a 0.2% gain reported for the second quarter compared to flat sa...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 14, 2019