Cargill Posts Strongest Quarter in Seven Years

Agribusiness giant Cargill posted a sharply higher quarterly profit, reflecting improved performance in sweeteners, bio-industrials, ocean shipping and chocolate.The company said adjusted operating profit for the third quarter rose 50% to $715 million, while net profit increased 42% to $459 milli...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 2017

Democrats Seek Probe of Acting SEC Chair

Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee have asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether its acting chair has exceeded his authority in directing staff to review two Obama-era rules.In a letter to the SEC’s internal watchdog, the senators said Michael Piwow...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 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

Bitcoin Users May Be Cheating on Taxes

An Internal Revenue Service investigation into tax evasion related to Bitcoin has found that only a tiny percentage of virtual currency owners are declaring profits or losses on Bitcoin transactions in their annual returns.As part of the investigation, the IRS is seeking a court order requiring v...

By Matthew Heller • March 28, 2017

Two CFOs Tell a Tale of Fraud at HealthSouth

The infamous $2.8 billion accounting scandal at HealthSouth, which was perpetrated from 1996 through 2002, left a trail of misery in its wake. Included in the carnage was the imprisonment of CEO Richard Scrushy and several HealthSouth CFOs, among a number of other company officials. Two of the...

By David McCann • March 27, 2017

GameStop Shares Plunge on 13% Sales Decline

GameStop shares dropped more than 13% on Friday after the video game retailer reported a sharp drop in same-store sales though its non-gaming businesses showed strong growth.GameStop has been diversifying away from its core gaming business as its core customers move away from physical video games...

By Matthew Heller • March 24, 2017

Ford’s Heavy Spending to Cut Into 2017 Profit

Ford Motor has made a surprisingly weak earnings forecast for 2017 amid an industry-wide sales decline but expects an improvement in 2018 as its investments in “emerging opportunities” start to pay off.In a regulatory filing Thursday, the automaker predicted adjusted pre-tax profit of about $9 bi...

By Matthew Heller • March 24, 2017

Why Workday Adopted New Revenue Recognition Rules Early

Given the complexity inherent in the new revenue recognition standard, it’s not surprising that only a small handful of large companies have signed up as early adopters.All public companies are required to adopt the new standard as of their first reporting period that begins after Dec. 15, 2017. ...

By David McCann • March 23, 2017

Nike Sales Just Didn’t Do It in Third Quarter

Nike shares fell more than 7% on Wednesday after the retailer reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and indicated it is expecting a 4% decline in futures orders, a barometer of sales growth.Nike’s third-quarter revenue grew just 5% to $8.43 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $8.47 bil...

By Matthew Heller • March 23, 2017

Accenture Shares Fall 4.5% on Earnings Misses

After rising 8% this year and hitting record levels earlier this week, Accenture shares suffered a setback as the consulting and outsourcing services provider issued lower-than-expected guidance for the full fiscal year.Accenture reported that net revenue for the second quarter rose 4.75 to $8.32...

By Matthew Heller • March 23, 2017

Lands’ End’s Loss More Than Doubles to $94M

Lands’ End’s losses more than doubled in the fourth quarter but the struggling apparel retailer’s new CEO said its fortunes could improve if it leverages its “iconic brand heritage” and e-commerce platform.For the quarter ended Jan. 27, Land’s End posted a net loss of $94.8 million, or $2.96 per ...

By Matthew Heller • March 22, 2017

Prosper’s Loss Increases to $118M in 2016

Prosper Marketplace has joined other online lenders in reporting a net loss for 2016 as the sector continues to struggle with a reduction in loan purchases by investors.Prosper’s annual loss more than quadrupled to $118.7 million from $26 million for 2015. Total revenue fell 33% to $68.3 million,...

By Matthew Heller • March 21, 2017

Pricing Strategy Hurts General Mills’ Q3 Sales

General Mills’s pricing strategy was a double-edged sword in its third quarter, helping profits beat analysts’ estimates but contributing to a seventh straight quarterly sales decline.As rivals have been slashing prices to compete for retailers’ shelves, General Mills has opted instead to limit d...

By Matthew Heller • March 21, 2017

Watch Out for Tax Hits from Global Expansion

With companies of all sizes and industries looking to expand, or expand further into international markets — and with young companies aiming to do so earlier in their lifecycles — it is vital that they are equipped to manage the resulting tax implications.Christine Ballard Top of mind for many CF...

By Christine Ballard and Roy Deaver • March 20, 2017

More Agile Budgeting is the Wave of the Future

Chances are that the budgets that were carefully crafted at the end of last year already need adjusting. With increasing pressure to improve their budgeting and planning processes, savvy finance chiefs recognize that flexibility is key. Here are five articles that focus on a more nimble FP&A ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 18, 2017

Oracle Beats Estimates, Cloud Revenue up 63%

Oracle reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates while cloud revenue posted another big gain as the company continued its shift away from its legacy software licensing business.Oracle’s non-GAAP earnings were 69 cents a share on revenue of $9.2 billion, up from 64 cents a shar...

By Matthew Heller • March 17, 2017

Industry Trails Big 4 in Accounting Ethics: Study

New research finds that the ethical environments perceived by accountants employed in industry lag well behind the environments perceived inside the leading public accounting firms.That finding is “counterintuitive,” wrote the authors of a new paper on accounting ethics published in the Spring is...

By David McCann • March 16, 2017

More than Just Audits: The New IRS Compliance Campaigns

The rollout of the long-awaited Internal Revenue Service Large Business and International (IRS LB&I) compliance campaigns has left CFOs and financial executives with many questions. What are these campaigns? How do they work? When will they start? How can companies prepare for them?George Far...

By George Farrah • March 14, 2017

FASB Updates Pension Reporting

By the end of this year, public companies that offer defined-benefit pension plans will have to disentangle the costs of their plans when they report them on their income statements, according to the Financial Accounting Standards Board.Prompted by stakeholders who complained that current rules r...

By David Katz • March 13, 2017

What’s Behind Financial Statement Placement Order?

If publicly held companies can leverage a legal means of positively influencing investor and analyst perceptions as to their financial condition, then why not?Take, for example, the order in which companies present financial statements. Maybe you’ve never thought about that. Indeed, it’s likely t...

By David McCann • March 13, 2017

Pot Entrepreneur Fined $12M in Fraud Case

A former cannabis entrepreneur has agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges that he inflated the reported revenues of his marijuana vending machine company through sham transactions with an undisclosed affiliate.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Vincent Mehdizadeh created a shel...

By Matthew Heller • March 10, 2017

IT Focus Shifts from Revenue to Operating Income

I’m not sure exactly when it happened. But suddenly my technology clients are focused— very focused — on operating income, less so on top-line results. It seems technology investments made over the last few years are starting to pay off, creating urgency in management and boards to drive even mor...

By Akhilesh Tiwari • March 9, 2017

Dick’s Sporting Goods to Drop 20% of Vendors

Despite gaining market share as competitors have gone bankrupt, Dick’s Sporting Goods is forecasting lower-than-expected earnings this year and will drop about 20% of its vendors.In an earnings call, Dick’s CEO Ed Stack didn’t name any of the brands being dropped but said they will include minor ...

By Matthew Heller • March 9, 2017

Costco Hikes Fees by $5 as Q2 Earnings Miss

Costco is increasing its membership fee for the first time since 2011 as its latest quarterly results provided more evidence that competition from Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club and Target is cutting into its business.The warehouse club operator said that effective June 1, the annual fee for “Goldstar” in...

By Matthew Heller • March 6, 2017

What CFOs Need to Know About Corporate Tax Planning

 There are a lot of ongoing issues regarding tax policy that today’s finance chiefs are juggling. Here are five articles to keep on top of trends.Planning for Tax Policy TurmoilStrategies for navigating a potential sea change in the U.S. corporate tax system as the policies of the Trump administr...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 4, 2017

Raids Escalate Caterpillar Tax Dispute With U.S.

Federal authorities have raided three Caterpillar Inc. facilities in Illinois as part of a widening probe of the heavy equipment manufacturer’s tax-saving practices.Caterpillar confirmed that the raids were connected to its shifting of $8 billion in corporate profits from the U.S. to a Swiss subs...

By Matthew Heller • March 3, 2017