Companies More Reluctant to Deploy Short-Term Cash

More U.S. companies hoarded cash again in the third quarter, according to the latest Corporate Cash Indicators data from the Association for Financial Professionals, and their finance leaders expect to continue to maintain high levels of liquidity in the final quarter of 2016.The difference betwe...

By Vincent Ryan • Nov. 3, 2016

Internal Auditors Strain under Unethical Pressures

Almost a quarter of all internal auditors experience pressure to change or suppress unfavorable audit findings, but the true prevalence of such pressure might be far greater.Socrates: Father of Ethics In a new report from the Internal Audit Foundation, based on a survey of more than 14,500 audit ...

By David McCann and Sean Allocca • Nov. 2, 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

S&P 500 Firms Beefing Up Audit Disclosures

The percentage of S&P 500 companies that disclose information on key areas of external auditor oversight has more than doubled in the past two years, according to a new survey.The 2016 Audit Committee Transparency Barometer, issued jointly by the Center for Audit Quality and Audit Analytics, ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 2, 2016

IASB Plans Revamp of Financial Term Definitions

The International Accounting Standards Board is aiming to make it easier for investors to understand financial reports by providing new definitions of common financial terms.The board is responsible for setting the International Financial Reporting Standards, which are applied in more than 120 co...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 2, 2016

How CFOs Can Shift Operating Focus to Value Creation

CFOs are now business value architects rather than cost controllers — and their operating models are being reshaped to reflect that. To re-architect outdated operating models, CFOs are finding new ways to adapt their organizations to a new value proposition. In many cases, that can be an uphill c...

By Christian Campagna and Accenture • Nov. 1, 2016

PwC Auditor Accused of VC Fund Audit Failures

A PricewaterhouseCoopers audit partner has been charged with failing to conduct proper audits of a venture capital fund from which biotech investor Steven Burrill looted millions of dollars.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Adrian D. Beamish signed off on audit opinions for Burrill...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 1, 2016

Shell, BP Profits Beat Estimates in 3rd Quarter

Better-than-expected results from Royal Dutch Shell and BP fueled optimism that the oil industry is adapting to the oil price downturn.Both companies said they had made progress with efforts to stabilize profits by making further cuts in spending. “Shell delivered better results this quarter, ref...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 1, 2016

Navigating Changes to Employment Laws

For CFOs charged with overseeing HR, it is imperative to keep abreast of employment law and regulations. This is particularly pertinent as the new Department of Labor overtime rule are about to kick in. Here are five articles to help finance chiefs from running afoul of when the company hires, fi...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Oct. 29, 2016

Reducing Uncertainty with Predictive Modeling

The business corollary of the popular quote, “The only thing that is constant is change,” by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, is that the only thing constant in business is uncertainty.How businesses deal with that uncertainty is everything. It can limit opportunities and hamstring the business,...

By Shaheen Dil • Oct. 26, 2016

Coke Beats Estimates for 7th Straight Quarter

Coca-Cola’s third-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates as higher prices for sodas and strong demand for water and sports drinks in North America offset continued sales weakness abroad.The company on Wednesday reported a profit of $1.05 billion, or 24 cents a share, down from $1.45 billion, o...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2016

SEC Clarifies New Rules on Executive Pay

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has clarified what data companies can use to comply with its new rule requiring disclosure of the relationship between executive pay and performance.The pay-for-performance proposal is part of the Dodd-Frank law’s disclosure package involving executive ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 24, 2016

Stock Options Help Firms Keep Workers Quiet

Companies offer stock options to rank-and-file employees to deter them from reporting financial misconduct, according to a new study that may have implications for regulatory efforts to encourage whistleblowing.The study found firms involved in financial reporting violations granted more rank-and...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 21, 2016

New ISO Standard Is an Anti-Bribery Game-Changer

As of Oct. 14, there is a new global standard for anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) management systems, courtesy of the International Organization for Standardization. Called ISO 37001, it means there is now an internationally recognized set of measures to prevent and detect bribery.David Lawler ...

By David Lawler • Oct. 20, 2016

The End of Accounting?

Although the title of the new book Baruch Lev has co-authored, “The End of Accounting,”  provocatively suggests the finale of financial reporting as we know it, he cautions that he really isn’t calling for its absolute elimination.Baruch Lev Baruch Lev“We don’t recommend getting rid of financial ...

By David Katz • Oct. 20, 2016

How to Choose a 401(k) Plan Auditor

For startup companies or others that are putting a 401(k) plan in place, the details may seem endless.Generally, audits of such plans with 100 or more participants are required as part of the Form 5500 filing for employee benefit plans. For 2015, the instructions for the form ran 82 pages. By com...

By Robert J. Rojas • Oct. 18, 2016

Banks Take on the Fintechs

While there is great uncertainty about the future of banking, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the digital revolution that has pitted fintechs and banks against each other, in recent years, is beginning to approach an inflection point. Competition in many markets is tightening as new pla...

By Kenny Smith • Oct. 18, 2016

Goldman Sachs Posts 58% Increase in Profit

Goldman Sachs reported surprisingly strong earnings on Tuesday, breaking out of a recent slump amid a surge in revenue from its core trading division.CFO Harvey Schwartz said the third quarter was Goldman’s best in five quarters, with revenue increasing 19% to $8.2 billion and profit climbing 58%...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 18, 2016

BofA Crushes Estimates With 6.6% Profit Gain

Bank of America on Monday reported its first profit increase in three quarters, benefiting from a surge in trading revenue and its cost-cutting efforts.The bank’s top and bottom lines beat analysts’ estimates as profit rose 6.6% to $4.45 billion, or 41 cents a share, and revenue increased 3% to $...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 17, 2016

Presidential Campaign Spotlights Net Operating Losses

On Oct. 1, The New York Times released pages from the Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York 1995 tax returns of Donald J. Trump, the  Republican presidential nominee. The pages showed a $916 million loss, which could potentially cancel out federal income tax liability for up to 18 years. The news...

By Ken Crutchfield • Oct. 17, 2016

Merger Mania: How to Reconcile Tax Functions

You cannot throw a rock these days without hitting a financial executive at a multinational corporation who’s stressed-out about a merger. Calendar year 2015 saw an all-time record volume of M&A transactions, with a total of $4.7 trillion in global deals announced during the 12-month period. ...

By Brian Peccarelli • Oct. 17, 2016

Netflix Stock Rises 20% on Q3 Member Growth

Netflix shares soared in after-hours trading Monday as the video streaming service reported adding nearly 3.6 million subscribers in the third quarter.The growth in subscribers far exceeded Netflix’s forecast of about 2.3 million new subscribers and made up for its sluggish second quarter, when i...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 17, 2016

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Oct. 14

Jason Hollar has been promoted to CFO at Sears Holdings, effective immediately. He succeeds Robert A. Schriesheim, who left the company to pursue other business interests. Hollar joined Sears in October 2014 as senior vice president of finance.Voya Financial has promoted Michael Smith to the top ...

By Joan Urdang • Oct. 14, 2016

Wells Fargo Profit Falls But Beats Estimates

The scandal over Wells Fargo’s sales practices didn’t appear to have dramatically affected its bottom line as the embattled bank’s third-quarter earnings came in ahead of analysts’ estimates.Wells Fargo reported Friday that profit fell 2.6% to $5.64 billion, or $1.03 a share, beating the consensu...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 14, 2016

Clinton v. Trump: Who’s Better for Business?

As you may be aware, this year’s presidential election campaign is like no other. We’ve heard a whole lot of buzz about the candidates’ temperaments and character, about demagoguery and email servers, about bigotry and speaker fees—not to mention marital fidelity, reality TV, pantsuits, and hand ...

By Russ Banham • Oct. 11, 2016

Rent-a-Center Blames POS System for Sales Drop

Shares of Rent-a-Center plunged on Tuesday after the furniture and equipment rental firm preliminarily reported a sharp drop in same-store sales resulting from problems with a new point-of-sale system.Rent-A-Center said sales at stores open at least a year fell about 12% in the third quarter, com...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 11, 2016