United Profit Falls 52% But Beats Estimates

United Airlines’ fourth-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates and a key revenue metric outperformed the company’s initial guidance due to stronger close-in bookings and yields in November and December.United on Tuesday reported that net income fell 52% in the fourth quarter to $397 million down...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 18, 2017

GE Transfers Bulk of Tax Team to PwC

Reacting to what it sees as increasing uncertainty about tax rules in the United States and the rest of the world, PwC will hire more than 600 lawyers and public accountants from General Electric’s tax team and incorporate GE’s tax technologies and processes. In exchange, GE will get to shed sala...

By David Katz • Jan. 18, 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

Allergan Fined $15M Over Disclosure Failures

Allergan has agreed to pay $15 million to settle charges that it failed to timely disclose merger talks with other companies after it rejected a takeover bid by Valeant Pharmaceuticals.In the months following Allergan’s rejection of Valeant’s $46 billion offer in June 2014, the drug maker discuss...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 18, 2017

Inline XBRL Poses Risks, Presents Opportunities

Communication is the key to commerce. If a business wants to succeed in the global economy it needs to communicate in a common language. The ability to translate from French, German, Japanese, Spanish, etc. to English (as the common language), and back again, drives the communication supply chain...

By James Dreyer • Jan. 18, 2017

Morgan Stanley Profit Almost Doubles to $1.6B

Morgan Stanley reported its largest fourth-quarter profit since the financial crisis, underscoring the rising fortunes of the banking sector amid investor optimism over the election of Donald Trump.The firm’s net income rose nearly 90% in the fourth quarter to $1.67 billion, or 81 cents a share, ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 18, 2017

Setting Tech Priorities in 2017

The Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence and cyber security are just some of the tech tools finance execs say will be essential in the coming year. Some even think that automation could replace them one day. Here are five articles to help you get up to speed.Will Automation Take ...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Jan. 14, 2017

BNY Mellon Fined $6M Over CLO Accounting

BNY Mellon has agreed to pay $6.6 million to settle charges that it overstated its risk-based capital ratios by excluding about $14 billion in collateralized loan obligations from its calculations.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the bank incorrectly determined the CLOs did not po...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 13, 2017

Delta Sees Clearer Skies Ahead for Revenue

Delta Air Lines is forecasting a key revenue metric will increase for the first time in two years, another indication that the revenue picture for the airline industry is improving.The No. 2 U.S. carrier said Thursday it expected a flat to 2% increase in the first quarter of 2017 in its passenger...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 12, 2017

L3 Technologies Settles $1.6M Revenue Recognition Case

One of the largest U.S. defense contractors has agreed to pay more than $1.6 million to settle charges of booking millions of dollars in improper revenue that allowed some executives to “barely satisfy” targets for incentive bonuses, the SEC said on Wednesday.L3 Technologies is accused of imprope...

By Sean Allocca • Jan. 12, 2017

Low Effective Tax Rates Don’t Signal Excess Risk: Study

How much tax should U.S. corporations pay? Even as a national legislative consensus seems to be growing that the current federal statutory rate of 35% is too high, a large swath of public opinion contends that companies too often find ways to pay less than their fair share.Research has shown that...

By David McCann • Jan. 10, 2017

Metric of the Month: Cost Control Savvy

Nothing warms the heart of a top executive like seeing everyone in the organization rowing in the same direction. CEOs and CFOs have spent years green-lighting IT investments to get business information flowing smoothly across the organization, keeping everyone in the know to support competitive ...

By Mary Driscoll • Jan. 9, 2017

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Jan. 6

Kenneth Moreland, who began his career at T. Rowe Price Group in 2004, plans to retire as head of finance this year. A search is under way for his successor, and Moreland will assist during a transition period.Gregor Morela Insurance brokerage Hub International Northeast has promoted first vice p...

By Joan Urdang • Jan. 6, 2017

In Accounting Swan Song, SEC’s White Urges Convergence

In what seemed like a swan song on accounting issues for her tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission, outgoing SEC Chair Mary Jo White advised the next commissioner to restart currently moribund efforts to converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles with those of the Internati...

By David Katz • Jan. 6, 2017

Macy’s Shares Drop 14% on Weak Holiday Sales

Macy’s stock price fell nearly 14% after the retailer reported same-store sales declined over the holiday period and lowered its earnings guidance for full-year 2016.Comparable sales fell 2.1% in the months of November and December 2016 combined from a year ago, signalling that Macy’s, like other...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 5, 2017

How to Cut Corporate Utility Costs: Look at Your Lease

Energy can represent as much as one-third of a facility’s operating costs, suggesting that even marginal reductions in consumption, rates, or both, will result in meaningful savings.Michael Zwang Utility costIt’s no secret that energy costs vary widely by region. Beyond moving its facility, howev...

By Michael Zwang • Jan. 5, 2017

2017: A Year to Review Capital Structure

Donald Trump’s tax plan may have the biggest impact on corporate capital structure strategy in the last 30 years. It is time for every company to prepare for what lies ahead. In all likelihood, the Trump tax plan will fundamentally change the way companies raise and deploy capital, and by extensi...

By Reuben Daniels and John R. Cryan • Jan. 3, 2017

New Private-Company Stock-Based-Pay Rules: Analysis

As part of its simplification initiative, the Financial Accounting Standards Board last March issued new stock-based compensation guidance. The update provides private companies, when granting stock to employees, with a one-time election to switch from measuring all liability-classified awards at...

By Rick Schwartz and Amy Thomas • Dec. 30, 2016

Start Preparing Now for New Lease Accounting Rules

The new lease accounting rules will have far-reaching implications for both public and private companies.The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s leases standard will take effect for public companies for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2...

By Sean Moynihan • Dec. 29, 2016

How to Boost Workers’ Take-Home Pay Without a Raise

A fiscal black cloud has emerged in American business, and it’s threatening the livelihood of the middle-class workforce. Health benefit plans, meant to enhance compensation packages, are having the opposite effect. Over the last decade or so, increases in disposable income have been hugely outpa...

By Eric Krieg • Dec. 28, 2016

How to Make Hay out of Trump Tax Plans

We’ve all read the headlines: a trillion dollars in infrastructure spending, a repatriation holiday, corporate tax reform, Let’s Make America Great Again!Tom Liguori Sounds great for the country. Though what will be the affect on your company? Will there be winners and losers? Which will we be?We...

By Tom Liguori • Dec. 27, 2016

When Cost Cutting Gets Expensive

During periods of slow economic growth, companies instinctively move to curtail their costs, often via strategies shaped by the CFO. Yet many cost cutting programs actually cost the company money.Daniel Mahler How? Serious efforts to shed costs require substantial investments, as evidenced by the...

By Daniel Mahler and Greg Portell • Dec. 27, 2016

Rite Aid Misses Estimates, Comp Sales Drop

Rite Aid reported a 3.4% drop in same-store sales for the third quarter as low prescription-reimbursement rates and cheaper generic drugs hurt pharmacy revenue.The decline in comparable sales reflected a 4.7% decrease in pharmacy sales that included an approximate 182 basis point negative impact ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 24, 2016

Disclosing Engagement Partner Improves Audit Quality

A PCAOB regulation slated to take effect on Jan. 31, which requires accounting firms to identify the principal engagement partner in corporate audits, should be a solid plus for investors and regulators, a new study suggests.Currently, companies disclose the audit firms overseeing their financial...

By David McCann • Dec. 22, 2016

Bed Bath & Beyond Shares Fall 10% on Earnings Miss

Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell sharply after the retailer reported a miss for third-quarter earnings, casting further doubt on the prospects for its turnaround plan.For the quarter ended Nov. 30, Bed Bath & Beyond earned $126.4 million, or 85 cents a share, down from $177.8 million, or $1....

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 22, 2016

Coca-Cola to Pay $3.2 Billion for Stake in African Bottler

Coca-Cola has reached a deal to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev’s majority stake in Coca-Cola’s African bottling venture, the companies said Wednesday.The world’s largest soft-drink maker will pay $3.15 billion for a 54.5% equity stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), a joint bottling operation est...

By Sean Allocca • Dec. 21, 2016