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

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

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

Verizon Selling Tumblr to WordPress Owner

Verizon is selling blogging website Tumblr to the web service company Automatic, the owner of blogging platform WordPress.com.The sale price was not disclosed, but reports estimate it was under $10 million, a far cry from the $1.1 billion Yahoo paid for Tumblr in 2013. Verizon acquired Tumbler as...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 13, 2019

Libor’s Phase-Out: 3 Ways to Prepare

The London Interbank Offered Rate, commonly known as Libor, declined in favorability over the past decade as regulators discovered that major financial institutions were manipulating the 30-year-old benchmark for profit. In April 2018, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) selected the...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 12, 2019

Trinity Merger and Broadmark to Merge

Trinity Merger will merge with real estate lender Broadmark to create a commercial mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) with an expected equity value of $1.5 billion.Under the terms of the merger, Trinity, a special purpose acquisition company, and Broadmark will combine to form Broadmark...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 12, 2019

Fresh Evidence of Auditor Bias Emerges

“Don’t Make Me Look Bad: How the Audit Market Penalizes Auditors for Doing Their Job.”That’s the title of a study being presented at this week’s annual meeting of the American Accounting Association. While it may not portray companies in the most favorable light, at the same time it’s merely the ...

By David McCann • Aug. 12, 2019

Are CFOs Naive on Cyber Insurance Value?

Most senior finance executives at large companies believe that cyber insurance would cover most or all of the losses their company would incur in a cyberattack, a new study says. But they are wrong, according to commercial property insurer FM Global.In a study of 105 CFOs and other senior financi...

By David McCann • Aug. 12, 2019

Uber Posts Record Loss, Sales Growth Slows

Uber’s revenue growth slowed in the second quarter and its losses widened as it continued to spend heavily on discounting and new businesses.For the second quarter, Uber reported a record net loss of $5.23 billion, which included $3.9 billion of stock-based compensation costs related to its initi...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 9, 2019

KPMG Withdraws Two Audits for CannTrust

KPMG is withdrawing its report on the consolidated financial statements of CannTrust Holdings, a licensed producer of cannabis in Canada, saying its reports for 2018 and for the March 2019 quarter should no longer be relied on.The announcement comes after Canadian regulators found the company was...

By Lauren Muskett • Aug. 9, 2019

SEC Aims to Ease Disclosure Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday proposed revisions to disclosure rules that would ease the compliance burden for publicly held companies.The amendments would relax the prescriptive nature of Regulation S-K items 101 (description of the business) and 105 (risk factors). The chan...

By David McCann • Aug. 9, 2019

How a Tax Strategy Is Key to Divestment Success

The ebbs and flows of the global economic climate mean that pressure from shareholders has created a new normal of frequent and disciplined portfolio reviews. As a result, companies are actively identifying assets for disposal. Divestment can be an important business strategy, but increasingly, s...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 8, 2019