Four Ways Forecasting Goes Wrong

“Doc, about the future…”“No! Marty! We’ve already agreed that having information about the future can be extremely dangerous.”What Doc Brown doesn’t know about running a business is a lot. While Back to the Future may warn of an altered course of history, in real life having information about the...

By Ashish Pareek • April 5, 2018

AICPA Seeks Clarity on Meals, Other Expenses

The American Institute of CPAs has asked the Treasury Department and the IRS to clarify whether business meals and other work expenses continue to be deductible under the new tax law.The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act disallowed the deduction for entertainment expenses. But according to the largest associ...

By Matthew Heller • April 4, 2018

China, Brazil Present Greatest Finance Complexity

Running finance for a multinational corporation is a complex undertaking no matter what. But just how complex it is depends greatly on what countries the company does business in.China is the most complex country to operate in from a finance-management standpoint, according to TMF Group, a profes...

By David McCann • April 4, 2018

Don’t Let Blind Spots Ruin Your Finance Career

This article was originally published by FEI Daily. It is republished here with the permission of Financial Executives International.Kevin McCarthy says he was blindsided by a conspiracy that resulted in him being charged with mail fraud and sentenced in 2004 to four years in prison. Today, he sa...

By Olivia Berkman • April 2, 2018

Metric of the Month: Shared Services

A growing number of organizations are choosing to move common or repetitive finance processes from far-flung corners of their organization to a centralized shared services center, aiming to reduce cost while improving productivity and efficiency. This month’s metric comes from the Financial Share...

By Perry D. Wiggins • April 2, 2018

GameStop Hardware Sales Jump 45% in Q4

GameStop’s revenue beat analysts’ estimates for a fourth straight quarter on strong demand for hardware, particularly the Nintendo Switch console.The world’s largest video game and gaming console retailer reported a 12.2% jump in same-store sales, topping the average estimate of a 9.32% rise.Tota...

By Matthew Heller • March 29, 2018

Pharmacy Sales Prescribe Growth for Walgreens

Walgreens Boots Alliance reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday as growth in its pharmacy business offset falling retail sales.As Reuters reports, the drugstore giant has been seeking to stanch the retail bleeding by focusing on boosting pharmacy sales through partnerships w...

By Matthew Heller • March 28, 2018

Controller Charged in Revenue Recognition Scheme

Are a disproportionate amount of your company’s sales taking place in the last days of a quarter? Are sales credit limits being frequently overridden? Are some customers being granted significantly extended payment terms, as long as 180 days from the invoice date?While this was happening at Maxwe...

By Vincent Ryan • March 27, 2018

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending March 23

Dominic Caruso, finance chief at Johnson & Johnson since 2007, plans to retire in September, the company said. Joseph Wolk, vice president of Johnson & Johnson investor relations, has been appointed to replace Caruso, effective July 1.Christina Leotis Mark Harris has been named to lead th...

By Joan Urdang • March 23, 2018

Conagra Boosts Guidance Despite Rising Costs

Rising supply chain costs apparently aren’t fazing Conagra Brands, which on Thursday reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its full-year profit outlook.The maker of Hunt’s ketchup and Slim Jim meat snacks said it has been able to counter higher commodities and freight costs ...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2018

Ready or Not, Here It (Rev Rec Standard) Comes

The first financial statements required to present revenue calculated under the new revenue recognition standard will begin appearing in April.Christoph Hütten, SAP That doesn’t mean, though, that all companies are “ready” to do so. That’s according to someone who is decidedly in the know: Chris...

By David McCann • March 22, 2018

General Mills Slashes Guidance, Stock Plunges

General Mills’ third-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates but the cereal maker’s shares fell nearly 9% on Wednesday as it drastically lowered its full-year profit outlook, citing supply chain costs.Just a month ago, General Mills said full-year operating profit would range between flat or a...

By Matthew Heller • March 21, 2018

How Audit Committees Can Help with Non-GAAP

Companies’ use of non-GAAP metrics remains under close scrutiny by regulators, while investors and analysts lean ever-more heavily on the measures.With that backdrop, the Center for Audit Quality undertook a mission to educate audit committees on leading practices for exercising their roles as ov...

By David McCann • March 21, 2018

Sustainability Should Be on the Mid-Market CFO’s Agenda

For large multinational corporations, sustainability is now an accepted part of doing business, and companies are starting to recognize the meaningful business value that sustainability can offer.But for mid-market companies that typically don’t have the resources to dedicate to such projects, it...

By Pieter Puijpe • March 21, 2018

Digital Transformation on a Budget

Finance has always had to find ways to accomplish its goals using fewer resources. But now that it is expected to help deliver critical enterprise objectives, like formulating business strategy, might that change?Not in 2018, according to The Hackett Group’s Key Issues Study, even with the windfa...

By Vincent Ryan • March 20, 2018

Market Sees Clouds Over Oracle’s Cloud Future

Oracle shares fell sharply in after-hours trading amid renewed investor concerns that the growth of its cloud business is slowing.The company has shifted to the cloud amid the sustained decline of its legacy software licensing business. But on Monday, it posted mixed results for the third quarter...

By Matthew Heller • March 20, 2018

Claire’s Stores Joins Retail Bankruptcy Parade

Jewelry retailer and ear-piercing specialist Claire’s Stores filed bankruptcy on Monday, saying it needs to restructure its debt-laden balance sheet while emphasizing that its core business remains strong.The company pierced more than 3.5 million ears in 2017, reporting a net profit of $29 millio...

By Matthew Heller • March 19, 2018

Repatriated Cash Should Boost R&D Spending

After years of national hand-wringing about trillions of dollars in profits held abroad by multinational companies, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act mandated repatriation of those earnings at a greatly reduced tax rate.At the same time, an upsurge in corporate stock buybacks has raised concerns that the...

By David McCann • March 19, 2018

No More Tax Deductions for Bad Actions

It’s enough of a headache for CFOs when their company gets caught up in a costly government regulatory action or an embarrassing sexual harassment claim. But now they have two new worries to contend with when settling such cases.Marvin Kirsner The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted two provisio...

By Marvin Kirsner • March 16, 2018

Revlon Earnings Hit by Weak U.S. Retail Sales

Revlon reported that its fourth-quarter revenue dropped 1.8% and its net loss more than doubled as a sharp decline in North American sales was partly offset by strong international growth in the Elizabeth Arden business.The beauty company’s revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 fell to $786....

By Matthew Heller • March 16, 2018

The Cost of March Madness

How much is March Madness costing your company? Numerous studies have looked into the issue of employees who are slacking because they are distracted by the NCAA Division 1 Men’s basketball tournament. There is no definitive answer.This year, Challenger Gray & Christmas says U.S. employers wi...

By Vincent Ryan • March 15, 2018

Carillion Collapse Exposes Flaws in Trade Finance Disclosure

The collapse of a construction firm in the United Kingdom has exposed shortcomings in the accounting for reverse factoring arrangements, says Moody’s Investors Service. The trade payable financing tactic, also called supply chain finance, allowed the firm, Carillion, to hide nearly $500 million p...

By Vincent Ryan • March 14, 2018

U.K. Planning Revenue Tax on Digital Firms

The British government is moving ahead with a plan that could significantly increase the taxes of internet companies like Facebook and Google.A document released on Tuesday reveals the government is considering a new tax on revenue that would open up the huge U.K. sales of global digital firms to...

By Matthew Heller • March 13, 2018

Under Armour Woes Drag Down Dick’s Sales

Dick’s Sporting Goods on Tuesday reported a 28% jump in quarterly profit but sales were weighed down by distribution problems at Under Armour, one of the retailer’s major suppliers.For the fourth quarter, Dick’s net income increased to $116 million, or $1.11 a share, from $90.2 million, or 81 cen...

By Matthew Heller • March 13, 2018

SEC Charges Foreign Affiliates of KPMG, Deloitte, and BDO

Lapses in global oversight by large auditing firms were highlighted once again on Tuesday, when the Securities and Exchange Commission charged foreign affiliates of three firms with being involved in audits that circumvented the full oversight of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCA...

By Vincent Ryan • March 13, 2018