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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dollar Tree Shares Drop 16% on Earnings Miss

Dollar Tree shares plunged on Wednesday after the discount retailer reported lower-than-expected quarterly results and gave a downbeat full-year profit forecast amid rising labor and freight costs.The latest earnings season has been a rough one for discounters, who had been a relative bright spot...

By Matthew Heller • March 7, 2018

Zero-based Budgeting Is Surging

Zero-based budgeting, where an organization formulates a budget from scratch each year instead of basing it on what happened the previous year, has been around as a concept since the 1970s. However, adoption of the methodology was quite limited until the past few years, according to new research ...

By David McCann • March 7, 2018

Target’s Earnings Miss on Heavy Spending

Target continued its sales turnaround in the fourth quarter but the retailer’s heavy spending on refurbishing stores, delivery logistics, and customer service weighed on profit, disappointing investors.Target shares fell 4.4% to $71.79 on Tuesday even though its same-store sales rose 3.6% in the ...

By Matthew Heller • March 6, 2018

Tintri Shares Jump 15% as CEO Steps Down

Shares of flash-storage company Tintri soared in after-hours trading as investors apparently welcomed the news that Ken Klein wll step down as chief executive.Tintri went public in June, but its stock has dropped as much as 59% from the offering price. In the third quarter, it had a GAAP loss of ...

By Matthew Heller • March 6, 2018

ASC 606: What’s the Impact So Far?

With the new revenue recognition rule now in effect and earnings season in full swing, we are beginning to see how different companies have changed the way they account for revenue.For some, it will improve fiscal 2018 financial results. However, if a company shows revenue improvements, it could ...

By Derryck Coleman and Olga Usvyatsky • March 5, 2018

J.C. Penney Shares Dive on Q4 Sales Miss

J.C. Penney shares fell more than 5% on Friday as it reported lower-than-expected quarterly same-store sales growth amid weak demand for apparel and fierce online competition.A downbeat full-year profit forecast added to investors’ concerns even though adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 57 cents...

By Matthew Heller • March 2, 2018

So Far, Only 6% of Tax Savings Going to Workers

Once 2018 began, it became the single biggest question the wider public wanted to know: How did large U.S. corporations plan to spend the windfall bestowed on them by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?Two months and about 90 company announcements in, the discussion hasn’t died down. Indeed, firms like JU...

By Vincent Ryan • March 2, 2018

Auditor Rotation Rules Miss Their Mark

Last year, in a pointed footnote to the scandal enveloping Wells Fargo, two major pension funds opposed ratification of the company’s external auditor and called on Wells Fargo to explore changing audit firms.Yet, the bank’s 85-year relationship with the auditor continues today despite the object...

By David McCann • Feb. 28, 2018

Lowe’s Falling Margins Drive 5% Stock Slide

Lowe’s Companies on Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly sales but profits disappointed Wall Street as heavy promotional spending squeezed margins.The home improvement retailer’s shares tumbled 5% after it also forecast operating margin this year would decline by about 30 basis point...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 28, 2018

Fitbit Stock Drops 13% on Q4 Earnings Miss

Fitbit shares fell 13% in after-hours trading on Monday after the wearable device maker reported lower-than-expected earnings as the market for its fitness trackers continued to shrink.Fitbit launched a new smartwatch, the Ionic, last year in a bid to diversify its product line and offer an alter...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 27, 2018

Macy’s Ends Same-Store Sales Losing Streak

Macy’s on Tuesday reported quarterly same-store sales growth for the first time since the end of 2014, fueling optimism that the retailer’s turnaround efforts are paying off.Like other retailers, Macy’s benefited from a strong holiday season as comparable sales rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter tha...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 27, 2018

Supreme Court Whistleblower Ruling: Analysis

Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling limiting the scope of the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protections immediately disrupts the status quo created by SEC’s broader interpretation.Marc Rosen Under the ruling, whistleblowers are now required to report violations of law to the Securities and Exchange...

By Robert Tuchman and Marc Rosen • Feb. 23, 2018

Barclays Shares Jump 4.4% on Dividend Hike

Barclays swung to a net loss of more than $2.6 billion in 2017 but its shares jumped more than 4% on Thursday after the British bank said it will pay out its full dividend this year.Barclays’ bottom line was hit in part by a 901 million pound ($1.26 billion) writedown in the fourth quarter relate...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 22, 2018

Risky Business

Companies face risks of many shapes and sizes but sometimes struggle to prioritize them. Yet it’s a flat-out certainty that, today, the greatest perceived threat to business health and success is the scourge of bad actors aiming to gain access to corporate information systems.A recent CFO Researc...

By Josh Hyatt • Feb. 21, 2018