Latest Sears Loss Fuels Bankruptcy Speculation

Sears Holdings on Thursday reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and a 14% drop in sales, prompting predictions that the struggling retailer is headed for bankruptcy.Net loss attributable to Sears’ shareholders swelled to $748 million, or $6.99 per share, in the third quarter, from $454 mill...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 8, 2016

Metric of the Month: Performance Management Cost

With 2017 budgets now wrapped up, CFOs are preparing to kick off the new race toward financial performance targets. Why not take a moment to consider your organization’s true philosophy toward investment in finance staff, analytical skills, and enabling technology?Do operating executives really h...

By Mary Driscoll • Dec. 7, 2016

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

Sustainability Disclosures Fall Short

Sustainability is still far from the top priority for most investors, but environmental factors can have material impacts on the health and longevity of a company. By increasing energy efficiency, for example, companies can bring down operational costs. Effectively managing resources, in another ...

By Sean Allocca • Dec. 7, 2016

Renewed Focus on Non-GAAP Measures: How to Comply

Where there’s smoke, there may not be fire, but there will be firefighters. This year, there has been a lot of agitation in the press and among regulators about public companies using non-GAAP financial measures that look better than GAAP numbers.In May, the SEC staff in charge of reviewing compa...

By Yoon-jee Kim, Harald Halbhuber, Robert Evans, and Richard Alsop • Dec. 6, 2016

Trump Tax Cut Could Add 20% to Corporate Profits

U.S. companies could be in line for a significant earnings boost if President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his campaign promise of corporate tax cuts, according to Standard & Poor’s Investment Advisory Services (SPIAS).The current federal corporate income tax rate in the United States is ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 6, 2016

PCAOB Imposes $8M Penalty on Deloitte Brazil

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said on Tuesday that Brazil-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Auditores Independentes will pay an $8 million civil penalty, the largest ever imposed by the PCAOB, to settle charges of issuing materially false audit reports and attempting to cover up audi...

By Vincent Ryan • Dec. 5, 2016

The Future of Finance in a Trump Presidency

Even before he takes the oath of office, President-elect Donald J. Trump is taking a number of bold steps that will shape the future of the economy. Here are five articles looking at what a Trump administration might mean to CFOs.Post-Election Advice for CFOs: Keep Calm and Carry OnLessons learne...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Dec. 3, 2016

A ‘Sad Case’ of Execs’ Personal Liability for Sales Taxes

The Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission has issued a final ruling in a tax dispute that began eight years ago, holding executives of an affiliated group of marinas personally liable for the payment of sales taxes.Found liable were Richard Heckel and Robert Heckel II, who owned three now-defunct, sep...

By David McCann • Dec. 2, 2016

Audit Fees Rise Again

Audit fees swelled for the majority of publicly and privately held companies last year, but some of the largest SEC filers are combating rising costs by improving internal controls before auditors come knocking.A new survey by the Financial Executives Research Foundation found audit fees increase...

By Sean Allocca • Dec. 2, 2016

Pimco Fined $20M for Overvaluing Securities

Pacific Investment Management Co. has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle charges that it misled investors about the initial performance of an exchange-traded fund by overvaluing mortgage-backed securities it had purchased.According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the early...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 2, 2016

Kroger Earnings Hit by Food Price Deflation

Kroger on Thursday reported a drop in third-quarter earnings, citing a “difficult operating environment” caused by lower food prices.The largest U.S. supermarket chain recorded net earnings of $391 million, or 41 cents per share, matching the Wall Street estimate but two cents below the prior-yea...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 1, 2016

PCAOB Chair Goes on the Defensive

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman James R. Doty delivered a detailed defense of his tenure on Tuesday in the keynote address at the annual auditing conference sponsored by Baruch University’s Zicklin School, stressing the PCAOB’s economic benefits and its advantages in cutting th...

By David Katz • Nov. 30, 2016

OECD Lifts Global Growth Forecast on Resurgent U.S. Fiscal Policy

Global economic growth is projected to rise over the next two years thanks to ongoing or projected changes to economic policies. It will also be buoyed in part by a Trump administration that is expected to follow an expansionary fiscal policy in the United States.The world economy is expected to ...

By Sean Allocca • Nov. 29, 2016

Is Court Ruling on Overtime Regs the Last Word?

After the Labor Department issued new rules last May that doubled the salary threshold under which workers were eligible for overtime pay, many companies undertook an employee-by-employee review of compensation and hours worked to determine how to minimize any financial fallout.But now that a fed...

By David McCann • Nov. 29, 2016

WTO Tells U.S. to Withdraw Boeing Tax Break

The World Trade Organization has given the European Union a partial victory in a trade battle with the U.S., finding that a tax break granted to Boeing amounted to an illegal subsidy.The EU had filed a complaint over seven separate tax incentives for the aerospace industry that were included in l...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 28, 2016

The Way Forward: The Digital Supply Network

Digital disruption is changing markets everywhere. Today’s digital customers want unique experiences delivered “on demand” and at hyper-speed. In a recent study by Accenture Strategy, 4 in 10 supply chain executives reported their customers are looking for faster and more flexible fulfillment, wh...

By Kris Timmermans • Nov. 22, 2016

Foot Locker Earnings Double in Third Quarter

Sneaker and athletic apparel retailer Foot Locker reported a robust third quarter, doubling its profit and posting same-store sales growth of nearly 5%.Net income rose to $157 million, or $1.17 per share, compared to $0.57 per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings per share were 1.13, ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 21, 2016

SEC Comment Letters Spur Corporate Tax Compliance

SEC comment letters are supposed to keep companies in line with the regulator’s disclosure rules, but they can also indirectly increase a company’s provision for income taxes, according to a new study published in The Accounting Review.In other words, after receiving an SEC comment letter dealing...

By Sean Allocca • Nov. 21, 2016

Wal-Mart Posts ‘Solid’ Quarter But Stock Falls

Wal-Mart on Thursday reported lower-than-expected revenue gains for the third quarter as its grocery business continued to be hit by food-price deflation.Same-store sales in the U.S. rose 1.2%, the ninth straight increase, but analysts had been expecting growth of 1.3%, according to Consensus Met...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 17, 2016

The Case Against Trump’s Economic Proposals

NEW YORK — Attendees at a conference for finance executives on Tuesday got an earful of sharp talk about the economic impact of Donald Trump’s tax and spending proposals, should they be implemented.Joel Naroff There must have been plenty of Trump supporters in the large, crowded room at FEI’s Cur...

By David McCann • Nov. 16, 2016

Risky Business: SEC Focuses on Internal Controls

(Editor’s note: The author is a former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.)A developing trend in the SEC’s approach to accounting enforcement has increased risk for public companies in the area of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR)....

By Howard Scheck • Nov. 16, 2016

Target’s Same-Store Sales Beat Expectations

Target Corp. shares jumped more than 6% on Wednesday after the retailer reported a lower-than-expected drop in same-store sales and an improved outlook.For the third quarter, comparable sales fell 0.2%, rebounding from a 1.1% slump in the previous quarter. The results came as some relief to inves...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 16, 2016

The Changing Face of Retail

Scott Settersten is a retailing CFO to be envied. The company he works for, Ulta Beauty, has 907 stores and in August was on track to complete its 2016 plans to open 100 net new locations. The company’s financial “overperformance” relative to other retailers stems largely from its exclusive focus...

By David Katz • Nov. 14, 2016

Disney Profit Hurt by Revenue Decline at ESPN

Walt Disney Co. reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as operating income declined at all four of its business segments.The media giant earned $1.10 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $13.1 billion but according to Thomson Reuters, the consensus estimate was earn...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 14, 2016

Plotting Your Tech Spending for 2017

 As last-minute year-end budget jockeying takes place, CFOs are looking for the optimal return on their technology investments. Here are five articles looking at some of the top considerations when evaluating your IT spending.10 Questions for Technology OptimistsFrom time to time, it’s useful for...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Nov. 12, 2016