Do You Even Know What Cyber Defense Is?

The days are over when you could simply install software to block cyberattacks. If malware did get through, you just cleaned it and moved on or made sure employees didn’t access the wrong systems. That was information security.Today’s companies are burdened with a task that was formerly that of t...

By Bob Shaker • June 23, 2017

Sales Woes Force BlackBerry Earnings Miss

BlackBerry said an unexpected drop in sales of its high-margin software and professional services caused it to miss analysts’ forecasts for the first quarter. The company said its professional services revenue went from $27 million in the fourth quarter of last year to “almost nothing” in the fir...

By William Sprouse • June 23, 2017

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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

Hain Completes Audit of Revenue Woes

Hain Celestial announced it has completed a review and audit of its accounting practices, ten months after disclosing it discovered potential problems with the time frame in which certain revenue was booked, according to CNBC.Hain, whose brands include Celestial Seasonings, Terra Chips, and Garde...

By William Sprouse • June 22, 2017

M&A Drives Largest Hikes in Audit Fees

The fees companies pay to have their financials audited have stayed fairly flat for the past decade. But each year produces some significant outliers at individual companies.For fiscal 2016, Centene, the big provider of Medicaid and Medicare health plans, saw its audit fees triple (see chart). Th...

By David McCann • June 22, 2017

Robots Help Siemens Cope in Brazil

As part of its operating philosophy, Siemens, the German conglomerate operating in more than 200 countries and regions, applies a yearly target range of 3% to 5% of productivity growth to each of its subsidiaries, to go along with certain cost objectives. Not unexpectedly, Siemens Brazil has had ...

By David Katz • June 22, 2017

Banks, Companies Partner on Cyber-Ratings Principles

Big U.S. banks and corporations are partnering to establish principles for setting cybersecurity ratings, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.The companies say having agreed-upon principles for the ratings will allow them to better understand the ratings and to challenge then if necessary, ...

By William Sprouse • June 21, 2017

Companies Should Learn from Cyber Attacks Against Government

A rash of recent, politically-motivated cyberattacks has thrust cybersecurity and spear phishing into the spotlight. But as we watch this global political drama unfold, we may be distracted from a much more urgent threat within our own organizations. There’s nothing preventing cyber-savvy crimina...

By Markus Jakobsson • June 21, 2017

Choosing a Sound Path Forward for Cybersecurity

Capital market stakeholders across the spectrum are as primed as ever to take action on an issue that affects us all: cybersecurity. Fifty percent of U.S. chief executives say they are “extremely concerned” about cyber threats, according to a recent survey. Boards of directors are engaged on the ...

By Cindy Fornelli • June 19, 2017

Wal-Mart Nabs Bonobos for $310M

Global mega-retailer Wal-Mart has reached a deal to buy Bonobos, a men’s clothing online retailer, for $310 million in cash, the companies announced.Bonobos is one of the first apparel brands to launch and build its business primarily online. It began internet-based operations in 2007 and opened ...

By William Sprouse • June 16, 2017

FASB Holds Christmas in June for Derivatives Users

It may be hard to think of the serious-minded standard setters of the Financial Accounting Standards Board as Santa Clauses. But  Rob Royall, EY’s derivatives and financial instruments leader, suggests that might be an apt metaphor after FASB voted earlier this month to go ahead with its plan to ...

By David Katz • June 15, 2017

PCAOB Auditor Pressure Spurs Sarbox Controls Tightening

Prodded by increasing inspection report requirements placed on their outside auditors by the Public Company Oversight Board, senior finance and accounting executives say companies are tightening their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts, according to a report by Protiviti issued earlier this week.S...

By David Katz • June 14, 2017

Earnings Report Readability Pays Off: Study

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of a notable Securities and Exchange Commission initiative — the issuance of its “plain English handbook,” a self-described 83-page guide to “writing disclosure documents in a language investors can understand.”While disclosure readability, particularly wh...

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 14, 2017

Big Data Will Yield Finance’s Big Stories, Nobelist Predicts

As a rule, CFOs are rational individuals. Adept at thinking in terms of logic and numbers, they tend to look for quantitative explanations for the ups and downs in the valuation of their companies and of markets as a whole. They’re likely to assume that reality will conform to those models.In tha...

By David Katz • June 13, 2017

Gymboree Files for Chapter 11, CFO Departs

The children’s clothing retailer Gymboree has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its CFO, Andrew North, is leaving, according to an announcement from the company.The decisions follow a move by S&P Global Ratings to downgrade Gymboree’s credit rating to “D” from “CC” following a missed intere...

By William Sprouse • June 12, 2017

Metric of the Month: Cost to Run the Finance Function

CFOs are facing a dilemma in terms of how they invest in the talent of their teams. On the one hand, unit heads want more practical analysis of performance drivers — information they badly need to stay competitive and cost-efficient. But the way many finance organizations operate today places obs...

By Mary Driscoll • June 9, 2017

Technology Will Force Tax Managers to Up Their Game

Advancements in robotic process automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are expected to displace tens of millions of people worldwide from their jobs over the next decade. Among the groups of workers that may worry about that are corporate tax professionals.After all, tax is a h...

By David McCann • June 8, 2017

Duluth Holdings Shares Slump on Earnings Miss

Shares in Duluth Holdings dropped sharply after the casual wear company reported lower-than-expected earnings amid heavy spending on new stores, marketing and advertising.For the first quarter, Duluth’s net income dropped 88% to $415,000, or $0.01 per share, well shy of the $0.05 per share that W...

By Matthew Heller • June 8, 2017

CFO Economics of Climate Change

There is a vast difference of opinion on whether President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement will be good, bad, or indifferent for the planet. Regardless of the answer, businesses have similar decisions to make regarding climate change: What risks does climate...

By Kerry Maruna • June 7, 2017

Dave & Buster’s Tops Estimates on Gaming Gains

Dave & Buster’s continued to defy the restaurant industry’s doldrums, reporting better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter amid another strong performance from its high-tech arcade gaming.The chain of “eatertainment” restaurants said Tuesday that it posted net income of $42.8 million...

By Matthew Heller • June 7, 2017

Lands’ End Loss Widens But Comp Sales Rise

Lands’ End’s first-quarter loss widened and revenue dropped for the 11th straight quarter but the struggling apparel retailer pointed to positive same-store sales as a sign of a turnaround.For the quarter ended April 28, Lands’ End posted a net loss of $7.8 million, or $0.24 per share, compared w...

By Matthew Heller • June 6, 2017

Don’t Be Held For Ransomware

If there’s a positive spin that can be placed on last month’s ransomware attacks, it’s that the topic of cybersecurity has finally emerged from the shadows and into the public eye. When 200,000 systems began to be infected across more than 150 countries on May 12, security became not just a matte...

By Kelly Bissell • June 6, 2017

Managements’ Estimate Biases Targeted by Two PCAOB Proposals

Amid the abundant press coverage of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s approval last week of the first major changes in the auditor’s report in 70 years, news of two PCAOB proposals launched at the same time might well have been overlooked.Lewis H. Ferguson Aimed at minimizing the ef...

By David Katz • June 5, 2017

HPE’s Enterprise Revenue Slumps 13% in Q2

It may take longer than expected to turn Hewlett Packard Enterprise into the high-flying, high-end computing equipment company that CEO Meg Whitman has envisioned.For the second quarter, HPE reported revenue of $9.9 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Excluding one-time item...

By Matthew Heller • June 2, 2017

Box Q1 Revenue Hits Record, Beats Estimates

Cloud content management service Box Inc.’s top and bottom lines beat Wall Street expectations for the first quarter, sending its stock up sharply in after-hours trading.Box’s revenue reached a record $117.2 million, an increase of 30% from the year-ago period, while billings increased 31% to $99...

By Matthew Heller • June 1, 2017

PCAOB OKs First Big Change to Audit Report in 70 Years

Worrisome matters reported by an auditor to a board audit committee would be disclosed in the auditor’s report under a new standard approved Thursday morning by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.Chairman James R Doty James R. DotyAlthough the standard would retain the current pass/fai...

By David Katz • June 1, 2017