New Credential, Standards Add Value to Valuations

Companies that issue financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and users of the financials, would benefit from a more rigorous, consistent, and efficient approach to valuation for financial-reporting purposes.Now that benefit is at hand, via a new professional credential — along with mor...

By Michael Aronow and Joan D'Uva • Sept. 19, 2017

Rope Tightens Around Global Tax Avoidance

The OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, with an overall goal of reducing global loss of tax revenues due to double non-taxation, has created the need for careful monitoring of developments in international tax law.Christopher Howe Universal revenue needs are fueling an unprece...

By Christopher Howe and Alan Cathcart • Sept. 18, 2017

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

Oracle Shares Slip on Cloud Revenue Outlook

Oracle shares fell more than 7% on Friday as the company’s quarterly guidance came in below analysts’ estimates amid a slowdown in the growth of its cloud business.For the first quarter, Oracle reported total revenue increased 7% to $9.19 billion, driven by a 51% gain in cloud revenue to $1.5 bil...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 15, 2017

CFOs Should Partner with Chief Procurement Officers

For most companies, supplier spending is their single largest cost — about 50% of revenue for manufacturing and 30% for services. And yet, this major contributor to profit and loss is often buried as many companies have poor visibility into their procurement costs.Mike Hales But what exactly is “...

By Mike Hales and Jeff Postma • Sept. 14, 2017

Board Interest in Sustainability Reporting Doubles, Survey Finds

The portion of public company board members who believe that sustainability disclosures are important to inform investors has more than doubled, according to a new survey.Out of 130 board members surveyed in August by the accounting firm BDO USA, 54% say that disclosures regarding sustainability ...

By David Katz • Sept. 13, 2017

Alexion to Cut 20% of Workforce, Move HQ

Drug maker Alexion said Tuesday it will reduce its global workforce by 20% and move its headquarters as it seeks to rebuild a drug pipeline that is heavily dependent on the blood disorder treatment Soliris.The moves continue Alexion’s “strategic assessment” of its organization amid pressure to cu...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 12, 2017

Getting Over Hurdle Rates

As upbeat as CFOs may feel about the growth prospects for their own companies and the broader economy, they have yet to loosen the criteria they use for making investment decisions.In the second-quarter Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey, which collected responses from 75...

By Josh Hyatt • Sept. 12, 2017

What I Learned from Being Fired

During his company’s August earnings call, Robert Falzon, the CFO of Prudential Financial, demonstrated his longstanding ability to develop a positive outcome from a negative event. Falzon and other executives of the life insurance and financial services giant had some bad news to explain to the ...

By David Katz • Sept. 12, 2017

Dell Revenue up 48% on Strong PC Business

On the first anniversary of its $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corp., Dell Technologies reported quarterly results that showed the impact of the largest tech merger in history — and its continuing costs.Dell’s second-quarter quarterly revenue rose 48% to $19.3 billion amid strong PC shipments whi...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 8, 2017

Kroger Profit Slips 8% Amid Discounting War

Kroger shares tumbled on Friday after the nation’s largest supermarket chain reported an 8% decline in quarterly profit as intense price competition cut into its margins.As of Thursday’s close, the stock, once a Wall Street darling, had fallen nearly 35% this year and it slid another 7.5% to $21....

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 8, 2017

PCAOB Probes Help Companies Raise Capital

Audit firm inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board increase companies’ ability to raise capital, according to a new study.Companies audited by PCAOB-inspected auditors “raise significantly more external capital following the disclosure of their auditors’ PCAOB inspection repo...

By David Katz • Sept. 7, 2017

Barnes & Noble Same-Store Sales Slide 4.4%

Barnes & Noble’s cost-cutting yielded a reduced quarterly loss but the bookseller’s shares fell sharply on Thursday as its results missed analysts’ estimates.For the first quarter, Barnes & Noble reported a net loss of $10.8 million, or 15 cents per share, after a loss of $14.4 million, o...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 7, 2017

New IRS Rules Could Give Headaches to Partnerships

New rules poised to take effect next year will significantly alter the way the IRS audits partnerships and other “pass-through” entities. The rules could have widespread effects, since many large companies are formed as partnerships and other types of pass-throughs, and even more invest in them v...

By Heléna M. Klumpp • Sept. 6, 2017

Trivago Shares Dive on Reduced Guidance

Shares in Trivago fell sharply on Wednesday after the hotel-search platform lowered its full-year guidance due to a slowdown in revenue from hotels and other travel companies.Trivago, which went public in December, charges hotels for the referrals it provides to theirwebsites. It now expects annu...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 6, 2017

Lego to Cut 1,400 Jobs Amid 8% Sales Drop

Lego plans to lay off 8% percent of its staff, saying it needed to press the “reset button” after experiencing its first sales decline in more than a decade.The Danish toymaker on Tuesday reported that sales for the first half of the year dropped 5 percent to 14.9 billion Danish crowns ($2.38 bil...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 5, 2017

Research Refutes Sarbanes-Oxley Critics

Since its passage in 2002 in response to financial scandals that shook the corporate world, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, has steadily been a target for critics. No provision of the law has provoked more complaints than Section 404(b), which requires companies to have external auditors assess t...

By David McCann • Sept. 5, 2017

Medium-Enterprise Business Boosts Workday

Workday reported second-quarter results that easily beat analysts’ estimates as the software-as-a-service provider delivered a fourth straight quarter of more than 40% growth in subscription revenue.Workday posted a net loss of $82.5 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with a loss of $107.8 mi...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 31, 2017

It’s a Big Year for Emerging Growth Companies

On April 5, 2012, four years after the 2008 financial crisis and in the midst of a still-sluggish economy, President Barack Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. Passed with bipartisan support, the legislation was intended to encourage the growth of small businesse...

By Financial Executives Research Foundation • Aug. 31, 2017

Rising Interest Rates Could Crush Some Small Caps

The total debt of nonfinancial U.S. corporations is at record levels, but is it a looming problem? Yes, at least for some companies, and despite low interest rates and high levels of balance-sheet cash.According to the Institute of International Finance’s latest capital markets monitor report, “U...

By Vincent Ryan • Aug. 31, 2017

Lands’ End Delivers First Sales Gain in 3 Years

Lands’ End’s on Thursday reported its first quarterly sales increase in three years but its shares dropped more than 12% as its loss widened.The apparel retailer’s second-quarter results were an early test for new CEO James Griffith, who, after taking over from Federica Marchionni in March, kille...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 31, 2017

Rev Rec Poses Health-Care Pricing Problems

At the core of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new revenue recognition standard is a five-step process companies will have to follow once the standard starts taking effect for financial periods starting at the end of this year.First, the company must identify the contract it has with t...

By David Katz • Aug. 30, 2017

Finish Line Stock Dives on Earnings Warning

Shares in Finish Line fell more than 24% after the athletic footwear retailer warned of weak second-quarter earnings and adopted a “poison pill” to deter a possible takeover.For the second quarter, Finish Line said consolidated net sales fell 3.3% to $469.4 million, driven by a 4.6% decrease in c...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 29, 2017

New Hedging Rules Will Cut Reporting Costs: FASB

The updated hedge accounting rules issued by the Financial Accounting Standard Board on Monday should cut the costs and burdens of derivatives accounting for companies and encourage fearful ones to enlist in the hedge accounting regime, FASB vice chairman James L. Kroeker said in an interview wit...

By David Katz • Aug. 29, 2017

Best Buy Comp Sales up 5.4% But Stock Dives

Best Buy on Tuesday reported its biggest same-store sales jump in seven years but its chief executive deflated investors by warning analysts not to expect such increases to be “a new normal.”The company outshone many other retailers as it posted a 5.4% surge in comparable sales for the second qua...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 29, 2017

Cost-Cutting Narrows Sears’ Loss to $251M

Sears Holdings on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, reflecting its cost-cutting efforts, but another double-digit decline in same-store sales underscored the challenges facing its turnaround program.For the second quarter, the retailer posted a net loss of $251 million, or...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 25, 2017