Hilton Swings to Loss on Restructuring Costs

Hilton Worldwide swung to a fourth-quarter loss, due in part to restructuring costs, but earnings still beat Wall Street estimates.The company reported a net loss of $382 million, or $1.17 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, compared to a profit of $816 million for the year-ago q...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 16, 2017

FASB Eyes Big Changes in Inventory Disclosure

After more than 60 years of little change in the requirements for disclosing inventory, U.S. accounting standard setters are proposing to update the standards.Prompted by financial statement users who want more details about changes in inventory during reporting periods, the Financial Accounting ...

By David Katz • Feb. 15, 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

Activist Investors Fined for Disclosure Violations

Two activist investors have been charged with failing to properly disclose material information during a series of campaigns to influence or take control of microcap companies.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Jeffrey E. Eberwein and Charles M. Gillman began collaborating on activi...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 15, 2017

GOP Group Pushes Tax on Carbon Emissions

A group of prominent Republicans has proposed a tax on carbon emissions to combat climate change, calling it “a conservative climate solution” based on free-market principles.The proposed tax, released in a report titled “The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends,” would replace the Obama admini...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 14, 2017

Cash-Flow Forecasting Still Vexing

By now, one would think finance departments would have made some improvements to the all-important task of cash-flow forecasting. But this year’s Global Corporate Treasury Benchmarking survey by PwC suggests otherwise. While a vital function of the treasury department, cash-flow forecasting is st...

By Vincent Ryan • Feb. 14, 2017

Burger King Same-Store Sales Jump 2.8% in Q4

Restaurant Brands International shares jumped more than 4% on Monday after the company reported better-than-expected profits and same-store sales growth at both its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains.As Financial Post reports, the chains “posted strong sales in the U.S. market, where rival McDona...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 13, 2017

Metric of the Month: The Cost of General Accounting

In some organizations, general accounting processes run like well-greased machines, and when adjustments to the process model are needed, the changes are not unwieldy. In others, it seems there’s always the need to call in a mechanic to keep the gears moving smoothly. Constantly “fixing” things c...

By Mary Driscoll • Feb. 13, 2017

Franchising Boosts Dunkin’ Brands to Profit

Dunkin’ Brands swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts benefited from increased royalty income and franchise fees.Same-store sales at Dunkin’ Donuts shops in the U.S. grew 1.9% in the quarter, missing Consensus Metrix’s expectations of 2.1% growth, while same-store ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 11, 2017

More Companies Met Project Objectives in 2016

For the first time in five years, more organizations are meeting project goals on time and on budget, according to new data from the Project Management Institute. Seventy percent of all projects met strategic business goals in 2016, up from just over 60% the previous year, PMI said.The Pulse of t...

By Sean Allocca • Feb. 10, 2017

Whole Foods Same-Store Sales Slide 2.4% in Q1

Whole Foods reported lower-than-expected earnings and a sixth straight quarterly decline in same-store sales as the grocer continued to struggle with competition from conventional grocery stores offering organic foods at lower prices.For the first quarter, Whole Foods earned 30 cents per share on...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 9, 2017

No ‘Trump Bump’ for Twitter in 4th Quarter

Twitter shares tumbled more than 12% on Thursday after the social media platform’s fourth-quarter results suggested it is struggling to convert growing usage into revenue growth.While the number of daily Twitter users rose 11% year over year, revenue increased just 1% to $717.2 million — the slow...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 9, 2017

GrubHub Delivers 27% Increase in Food Sales

Grubhub’s revenue jumped 38% in the fourth quarter as the food delivery service added markets and customers, though profit missed analysts’ estimates.As The Wall Street Journal reports, GrubHub, which went public in April 2014, “has grown rapidly, generating increasing profit by charging restaura...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 8, 2017

‘Fantastic Beasts’ Boosts Time Warner in Q4

Time Warner’s fourth-quarter revenue and profit beat analysts’ expectations as the media conglomerate benefited from hits such as the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” and the HBO series “Westworld.”Time Warner on Wednesday reported that revenue rose 11% to $7.9 billion due to incre...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 8, 2017

ComScore Gets Booted Over Delinquent Filings

Media measurement and analytics company ComScore, known for tracking website metrics, has been curiously unable to track its own financial numbers for the better part of a year.The firm was finally delisted from the Nasdaq exchange this morning after announcing it won’t meet a Feb. 23 deadline to...

By Sean Allocca • Feb. 8, 2017

Institutional Ownership Spurs Tax Avoidance: Study

If corporate tax reform is high on the national economic agenda, the time is none too soon, a new study suggests.While criticism of the current tax law most commonly targets its high statutory rate, the new research underscores another important issue: the significant disadvantage the IRS code im...

By David McCann • Feb. 7, 2017

Disney’s Profit Drops 14% But Beats Estimates

Walt Disney Co. reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates but its media networks segment continued to struggle, posting declines in revenue and operating income.The company earned $2.5 billion, or $1.55 per share, down 14% from the year prior figure of $1.63, but better than t...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

GM Hits Record Profit But Expects Flat Growth

General Motors on Tuesday reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profit and predicted flat profit growth for 2017.Net income for the last quarter dropped 70.7% to $1.8 billion, reflecting in part special items and a $500 million negative foreign currency impact. Profit in the year-ago quarter...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

Tyson Shares Dip on News of SEC Subpoena

Tyson Foods shares dropped more than 3% after the nation’s largest poultry processor disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had opened an investigation into its chicken-pricing practices.In a regulatory filing, Tyson said Monday it had received a subpoena from the SEC on Jan. ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 7, 2017

Hershey Hit by 16.6% Sales Decline in China

Hershey’s fourth-quarter revenue missed Wall Street estimates as its business in China continued to struggle, but the bottom line got a boost from low cocoa prices and cost cuts.The chocolatier reported that net sales rose 3.2% to $1.97 billion but analysts on average had expected $1.99 billion. ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 6, 2017

Amazon Shares Dip 3% on Revenue Miss

Amazon shares dropped more than 3% on Friday as a 55% increase in fourth-quarter profit couldn’t offset lower-than-expected revenue growth.The online shopping giant posted net income was $749 million, or $1.54 a share, up from $482 million, or $1 a share, during the same period a year earlier. An...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 3, 2017

Accounting Change Boosts Facebook’s Earnings

Facebook’s earnings more than doubled in the fourth quarter, reflecting the tax benefit from a change in the way companies account for stock payments to employees.The social-media giant reported that net income rose to $3.57 billion, up from $1.56 billion a year ago, while full-year 2016 earnings...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

Shell’s Cash Flow Boosts Hopes for Strong 2017

Royal Dutch Shell posted its worst annual profit for more than a decade but better-than-expected cash flows cheered investors looking for an improved performance this year.Shell’s fourth-quarter earnings fell to $1.0 billion from $1.8 billion a year ago, while the company earned $3.5 billion for ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

Artificial Intelligence Comes to Financial Statement Audits

Can we trust Artificial Intelligence (AI) to audit financial statements?Perhaps.Artificial intelligence advocates speak of a time to come when these systems will be capable of auditing 100% of a company’s financial transactions. These visionaries foresee the day when AI will enable auditing that ...

By Bill Brennan, Mike Flynn, and Mike Baccala • Feb. 2, 2017

Acting SEC Chair Calls Disclosure Rule ‘Misguided’

The Republican now leading the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has called the conflict mineral disclosure rule “misguided” and directed staff to reconsider how companies should comply with it.The rule, mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, was intended to help determine whether th...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 2, 2017

Apple Posts Record Quarterly Revenue of $78B

Apple rebounded from three straight quarters of declining revenue, reporting all-time record quarterly revenue for the first quarter amid strong sales of the new iPhone 7.The company posted revenue of $78.4 billion and all-time record quarterly earnings of $3.36 per share, up from revenue of $75....

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 1, 2017