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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VMware Revenue Jumps 12%, Beats Estimates

Virtualization and cloud computing provider VMware reported revenue and profit that beat estimates as it continues its transition from primarily a software license vendor to a services-based model.The company said it earned non-GAAP net income of $489 million, or $1.19 a share, in the second quar...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 25, 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

Tiffany Comp Sales Drop for 7th Straight Quarter

An increase in wholesale sales of diamonds helped Tiffany beat earnings estimates but same-store sales declined for the seventh straight quarter.For the second quarter, the luxuty goods company on Thursday reported net income of $115 million, or 92 cents per share, on net sales of $959.7 million....

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 24, 2017

Medtronic Sales Show Impact of Supply Glitch

Medical device maker Medtronic overcame lagging sales of diabetes products to post better-than-expected earnings, though revenue missed estimates.Sales in Medtronic’s cardiac and vascular business, which sells defibrillators, pace-makers, heart valves and stents, rose 5.1% to $2.65 billion in the...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 22, 2017

Toll Brothers Hit by Drop in Average Sale Price

U.S. luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers reported mixed quarterly results on Tuesday as profits beat analysts’ estimates but revenue disappointed amid a dip in average selling price per home.For its third quarter, the company had net income of $148.6 million, or 87 cents a share, up from $105.5 mill...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 22, 2017

Foot Locker Shares Dive on Big Earnings Miss

Foot Locker shares tumbled to their biggest daily loss in nearly nine years after the athletic apparel retailer reported quarterly results well below Wall Street expectations, including a 6% drop in same-store sales.CEO Richard Johnson suggested Foot Locker’s suppliers were in part to blame for i...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 21, 2017

Walmart’s E-Commerce Sales Jump 60% in Q2

Walmart Stores reported better-than-expected earnings and a 12th straight quarter of same-store sales growth in the U.S. as the retail giant benefited from its aggressive moves into e-commerce.Walmart’s online sales soared 60% in the second quarter, with much of the growth in food. The company no...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 18, 2017

Deere Shares Drop on Equipment Sales Miss

Deere & Co. missed quarterly sales estimates, dragging its shares down more than 5%, but the company still sees agricultural market conditions improving worldwide.For the third quarter, the world’s largest farm-equipment manufacturer on Friday reported worldwide net sales rose 16% to $7.808 b...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 18, 2017

Voluntary Audit Committee Disclosures Surge

Despite a lack of new audit committee disclosure requirements since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, companies have been voluntarily disclosing more and more about their audit committees and their relationships with auditors, an Ernst & Young study issued earlier this month finds.For instance,...

By David Katz • Aug. 18, 2017

The Many Myths of Budgeting Season

August, it has been said, is the Sunday of summer. Relaxation gives way to a muted but growing anxiety about the demands of September as the workforce slowly marches back into business-as-usual mode. For no one is that more true than the CFO, as August marks the entrance to primetime budgeting se...

By Hal Polley • Aug. 17, 2017

Target’s Comp Sales Rise 1.3%, Beat Estimates

Target is apparently making some headway in its turnaround efforts, reporting its first increase in comparable-store sales after four straight negative quarters amid a surge in online traffic.The retailer on Wednesday said comparable sales rose 1.3% in the second quarter, better than the expected...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 16, 2017