Falling Global Tax Rates Make U.S. Less Competitive

A country’s corporate tax rate is one of the largest factors that dictate where and how much companies invest their money. Presently, the United States is one of the highest-tax locations in the world, with a federal rate of 35% for corporations plus an extra layer of state taxes. Over the past 1...

By Jason Gerlis • July 18, 2017

The Ideal Federal Tax Rate? 21%

President Trump’s plan calls for cutting the federal corporate tax rate to 15%. However, 15% may not be feasible.Emilio Escandon A rate of 21% — whether applied strictly to business entities that are taxed at the corporate level or also applied to pass-through entities, such as S corporations and...

By Emilio Escandon • July 17, 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

Customer Obsession Drives Financial Results: Study

It’s about the customer, stupid.Companies that aren’t putting solutions to customer concerns at the top of their to-do lists risk losing ground to competitors. That might not be a surprising statement, but new research suggests that CFOs are flat-out obsessed with the idea.In a survey of 250 fina...

By David McCann • July 17, 2017

CFOs Pump Out Free Cash Flow

On the heels of last year’s economic recovery, U.S. companies have improved brilliantly this year as generators of free cash flow, mostly by tying up less cash in working capital, a new study finds.“CFOs as a group have once again demonstrated their ability to improve on the generation of cash,” ...

By David Katz • July 14, 2017

House Looks at Tightening Pass-Through Rules

Republican lawmakers appear to be leaning toward coupling a cut in pass-through business tax rates intended for small businesses with rules that would prevent large companies from taking advantage of pass-through treatment.At a hearing on tax reform, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), who is chairman of...

By Matthew Heller • July 14, 2017

Profit Drop Clouds Delta’s 2.5% Revenue Rise

Delta Air Lines showed growth in a key revenue metric for the first time in two and a half years but sharply higher labor and fuel costs cut into its bottom line.For the second quarter, Delta’s passenger unit revenue — which compares sales to how many seats an airline flies and how far it flies t...

By Matthew Heller • July 13, 2017

Square-Off: What Corporate Tax Rate Is Best?

The ayes have it. Our panel of tax and accounting experts, whose opinionated essays are gathered here, voted 3-1 in favor of a major cut in the federal corporate income tax rate.But whether congressional Republicans will have better luck fashioning a new corporate tax structure than they’ve had c...

By David McCann • July 13, 2017

Lower Corporate Taxes Would Spur Capital Investment

A tax rate in the range of 20% to 25% should make the United States an attractive destination for capital investments and help to align the fortunes of the overall economy with those of the stock market and corporations.Urooj Khan U.S. equities recently have been trading at all-time highs, and Am...

By Urooj Khan • July 13, 2017

Companies Aren’t Paying Their Fair Share of Taxes

Corporations and their lobbyists complain about the 35% federal corporate tax rate. But the effective corporate tax rate — what corporations actually pay after taking advantage of loopholes — is as low as 14%, according to a recent study by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.Frank C...

By Frank Clemente • July 13, 2017

SEC Chair Says Disclosure Burden Excessive

The new head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission believes its fundamental regulatory approach is sound but is concerned that disclosure burdens may be deterring some companies from going public.In a speech Wednesday, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton noted that the commission, lawmakers, and ot...

By Matthew Heller • July 12, 2017

Creating a Cognitive Audit

It’s likely that over the next several years, substantial portions of public and private company audits will be augmented by cognitive technologies. In fact, much of the audit profession is exploring, experimenting, and moving forward with efforts to use various cognitive technologies in the audi...

By Jon Raphael, Thomas H. Davenport, and Deloitte & Touche • July 12, 2017

Metric of the Month: Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting Costs

Today’s organizations are laser-focused on sustainable, profitable growth. To achieve it, they need top-quality business performance management, with a special focus on planning and management accounting. That puts CFOs in the hot seat, as finance and accounting are now expected to deliver strong...

By Michael Hinson • July 11, 2017

PepsiCo Q2 Profit Rises 11%, Beats Estimates

PepsiCo, one of the packaged food industry’s strongest performers, delivered another earnings beat, helped by increased sales of higher-margin healthier foods.For the second quarter, PepsiCo earned $1.50 a share, an 11% gain on a year ago, while revenue climbed 2% to $15.71 billion. Analysts had ...

By Matthew Heller • July 11, 2017

Modern Finance Feat: Stay Stable, Be Dynamic

At the recent “CFO of the Future Summit” — an Accenture Strategy-sponsored gathering of 33 CFOs and future CFOs at Harvard University — the increasingly bifurcated aspects of the job came up again and again.Christian CampagnaCFOs are being asked to live simultaneously in the present and the futur...

By Christian Campagna and Accenture • July 10, 2017

The CFO as ‘Chief Commercial Officer’

Like many finance chiefs who work for startups, Lukas Wickart, the CFO of AutoGravity, a fintech firm launched in 2015, must improvise his role, rather than fit himself into some preconceived set of functions.Lukas Wickart “There is no handbook or training on [the job] out there. As a startup, we...

By David Katz • July 10, 2017

Jobs Report Tops Analysts’ Estimates

The Department of Labor said U.S. job growth surged last month as employers increased hours for workers and the labor market showed increased signs of strength.Nonfarm payrolls increased by 222,000 jobs, the DoL said. Revised data for April and May showed 47,000 more jobs created than previously ...

By William Sprouse • July 7, 2017

CBO: Shutdown Looms If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Lifted

Congress has to raise the national debt ceiling by October, or the federal government will run out of money, according to an announcement from the Congressional Budget Office, which said the deadline was approaching quicker than expected, Politico reports.The CBO estimated that the Treasury “will...

By William Sprouse • July 5, 2017

Fire Auditors Early, CFOs Are Advised

CFOs thinking about firing their companies’ independent auditors for legitimate reasons, like dissatisfaction with the firm’s price or quality, might want to cut the cord before the end of their fiscal second quarter, an author of a new study of auditor dismissals advises.Jeff Burks If a company ...

By David Katz • June 30, 2017

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending June 30

James Nickolas has been selected to head finance at Martin Marietta Materials, effective in mid-August. He takes over for Anne Lloyd, who is retiring. Nickolas currently heads corporate development at Caterpillar.James Nickolas Retailer Kohl’s has named Bruce Besanko to the top finance spot, effe...

By Joan Urdang • June 30, 2017

Special Report: Retirement Readiness

Ready? Set? Go!All things considered, companies would prefer to wave good-bye to their most veteran workers. While that sounds harsh, it’s a workplace reality that should be dealt with head-on.That’s a human resources issue, of course. But for most CFOs, employees’ retirement readiness is not a t...

By David McCann • June 29, 2017

New Lease Accounting Rules Pose Challenges, Study Says

Companies are slowly taking steps to adopt new accounting standards for leased assets, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and CBRE Group. The study found that only 23% of more than 600 finance executives said their companies have yet to begin the initial adoption process of the sta...

By William Sprouse • June 28, 2017

Biotech CFO Pitches Fundamentals, not Financials

“Why Is Ironwood (IRWD) Up 6.9% Since the Last Earnings Report?” That was one of the headlines on the website Zacks, the stock research firm, on June 12.As the headline suggested, the story went on to question the earnings rise, given other less-than-stellar indicators recorded by Ironwood Pharma...

By David Katz • June 28, 2017

Humans, Robots Must Combine in Digital Ecosystem

It is the dawn of a new era for the finance function. This might sound like hyperbole, but it is a reality for a CFO in the midst of digging into masses of data to provide boards with analysis of more complex information while sticking to the existing reporting schedule.Felice Persico Technologie...

By Felice Persico • June 27, 2017

This Week is the Biggest of 2017 for IPOs

This week is expected to be the busiest so far this year in the market for new shares, MarketWatch reports.Ten companies are set to list IPOs, according to market intelligence firm Ipreo Capital Markets. Among the companies planning to list are Blue Apron Holdings, the meal-kit delivery service, ...

By William Sprouse • June 27, 2017

Pret a Manger Shuffles Auditors, Fueling IPO Talk

U.K. sandwich retailer Pret a Manger has replaced its auditing firm, fueling speculation it could be getting ready for an initial public offering in the United States later this year.The company has parted ways with KPMG and hired rival firm Ernst & Young. KPMG did not meet strict U.S. govern...

By William Sprouse • June 27, 2017