Tech M&A Activity on the Rise

The tech sector has seen quite a bit of activity recently, with Microsoft buying LinkedIn, Salesforce buying Demandware, and Marketo going private. Here’s a look at some of the larger tech deals so far this year.In the largest tech deal of 2016, Microsoft announced early Monday that it was acquir...

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 13, 2016

Medtronic Wins Battle Over $1.3B Tax Bill

A U.S. Tax Court judge has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service improperly assessed Medtronic a $1.3 billion tax deficiency, finding its allocation of profits between the medical device maker’s operations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico was unreasonable.In a case that focuses on Medtronic’s transf...

By Matthew Heller • June 13, 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

Dell Parent Posts Loss from EMC Deal

Dell’s parent company on Friday reported that profits were hit by costs related to Dell’s pending acquisition of EMC Corp. and weaker-than-expected sales.For the first quarter, Denali Holding posted an operating loss of $161 million, an improvement from last year’s loss of $335 million but steepe...

By Matthew Heller • June 10, 2016

H&R Block Shares Up Despite ‘Bad Tax Season’

H&R Block’s tax return volume fell more than 4% during its tax-season quarter but its shares surged on Friday as earnings beat estimates and the company increased its dividend.The tax preparer earned $700.7 million, or $3.13 a share, for the fourth quarter that ended April 30, down 5.2% from ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 10, 2016

Coach’s CFO Nielsen to Leave

Jane Hamilton Nielsen has left New York luxury handbag and accessories retailer Coach to be chief financial officer at ailing Ralph Lauren, sources told The Wall Street Journal, but the rival has yet to publicly confirm.Late on Wednesday Coach said that Nielsen had told the company that she would...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 9, 2016

Metric of the Month: The Cost of an Invoice

Process improvement in financial management means spotting resource leaks that you don’t see when working on a day-to-day basis. In the area of accounts receivable (AR) management, revenue leakage can take the form of unnecessary overhead costs, toleration of late customer payments, weak recovery...

By Mary C. Driscoll • June 9, 2016

Staggered Boards Affect Audit Committee Quality

Audit committees at companies with a staggered board structure are not responsive to low shareholder approval, making them less effective than their counterparts at firms that do not stagger board elections, according to a new study.In staggered (or classified) votes, only a third of board seats ...

By Matthew Heller • June 8, 2016

And the Winners Are …

The votes are in, and CFO’s readers have chosen. Chosen their favorite service providers and software products, that is — accounting firms and banks, CRM and ERP software, benefits and management consulting firms, health and property/casualty insurers, and more.We launched the inaugural CFO Reade...

By Edward Teach • June 8, 2016

Big Bank Loan Approvals for Small Firms Hit High

Large banks approved loans to small businesses at a record pace in May, while alternative lenders’ approval rates continued to decline, according to a new survey.In its latest monthly review of small business loan applications, online marketplace Biz2Credit found that approval rates at banks with...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 8, 2016

Ralph Lauren to Cut 1,000 Jobs, Book $400M in Charges

Ralph Lauren will cut about 1,000 jobs and close 50 stores, incurring restructuring charges of up to $400 million in fiscal 2017, as part of its so-called “Way Forward Plan” to boost sales and profits.The jobs being eliminated represent about 8% of the company’s full-time jobs, spokesman Ryan Lal...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 7, 2016

Four Kinds of Hires That Save Money

Does your company employ veterans who’ve served our country? Does it give individuals who’ve experienced long-term unemployment the chance to work again? Do you hire low-wage workers or persons living with disabilities?By not asking themselves these questions, many financial leaders at small and ...

By Benjamin Geyerhahn • June 7, 2016

WeWork Staff Cuts May Indicate Growth Pains

Co-working startup WeWork is cutting 7% of its staff and placing a temporary freeze on hiring as soon as next week.The company, which rents out desks and office space, said it was laying off about 70 of its 1,000 employees as part of a “talent review process to ensure that we have the right teams...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 6, 2016

How Cash-flow Friendly Is Your Contract?

Signing a multimillion-dollar project is a boost for any company and is usually not possible without partners such as suppliers and subcontractors. During the contracting process, project managers and buyers focus on defining technical parameters, quality standards, and timelines in addition to n...

By Tomas Szabo • June 2, 2016

Lands’ End Swings to $5.76 Million Loss in Q1

Apparel and accessories retailer Lands’ End swung to a loss in the first quarter as aggressive discounting cut into profit margins and failed to prevent a steep sales slide.The company on Wednesday reported a loss of $5.76 million, or 18 cents a share, down from a year-earlier profit of $1.72 mil...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 1, 2016

Salesforce to Acquire Demandware for $2.8B

Business software developer Salesforce is expanding into e-commerce, announcing Wednesday it had agreed to acquire Demandware for $2.8 billion.Demandware makes software that businesses use to run e-commerce websites, providing a new avenue for Salesforce as it competes with companies such as Orac...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 1, 2016

States Want to Tax Services Offered Via Computing Platforms

Most professional services aren’t subject to state sales tax. But some states are now casting their nets to tax online services that use computing to deliver their otherwise nontaxable service. As a result, CFOs of online service businesses need to be wary that some states might say their service...

By Marvin Kirsner • May 31, 2016

Palo Alto Networks Shares Dive on Q4 Forecast

Palo Alto Networks’ third-quarter sales beat analysts’ estimates but the cybersecurity firm’s shares took a big hit Friday on a weaker-than-expected forecast for the current quarter.For the quarter ended April 30, Palo Alto reported $345.8 million in sales and 42 cents earnings per share excludin...

By Matthew Heller • May 30, 2016

Big Lots’ Shares Soar on 20% Jump in Q1 Profit

As many higher-priced retailers continue to struggle, deep discounter Big Lots is benefiting from its low-cost offerings with a 20% jump in profits for its first quarter.The Columbus, Ohio company on Friday reported income from continuing operations of $38.6 million, or 79 cents per diluted share...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • May 27, 2016

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Surge 3.4% in April

New orders for U.S. durable goods in April easily beat economists’ expectations but the increase mostly reflected a big jump in the volatile civilian aircraft segment. Other manufacturing measures continued to show weakness.The Commerce Department on Thursday said orders for items meant to last t...

By Matthew Heller • May 26, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives: May 26, 2016

 Standout StoriesSpecial report: health care… Companies race against the clock and employ new strategies in their bid to avoid an onerous excise tax that takes effect in four years.Only when it comes to health care would anyone cheer for a 4% annual increase in a major category of corporate expen...

By Kerry Maruna • May 26, 2016

Alibaba Discloses U.S. Probe of Accounting

Alibaba shares fell sharply on Wednesday after the Chinese e-commerce giant disclosed that U.S. regulators had opened an investigation into its accounting practices.In a regulatory filing, Alibaba said the Securities and Exchange Commission had requested documents and information relating to, amo...

By Matthew Heller • May 25, 2016

HP Spinoff Doing Its Own IT Services Spinoff

One of the two companies created from the split of Hewlett-Packard is splitting itself up through a deal with IT services provider Computer Sciences Corp.Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced Tuesday it will spin off its troubled IT services unit and merge the business with CSC in a deal worth abo...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • May 25, 2016

Tiffany’s Sparkle Dims as Q1 Sales Drop 7%

Tiffany on Wednesday posted lower-than-expected results for the first quarter, citing continued weak demand by both domestic customers and foreign tourists.The jeweler said net earnings fell 16.6% to $87 million, including a tax benefit of 5 cents per diluted share related to the settlement of a ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • May 25, 2016

New Cures for Health Costs

Even as increases in the cost of health care have moderated significantly in recent years, for finance departments the issue remains a festering wound.After many years of shifting costs to employees and promoting programs designed to keep them healthier, employers — large ones, that is — are stil...

By David McCann • May 25, 2016

Self-Funding Health Benefits Could Kill Your Company

I support the goal of quality health care for all Americans, including the 38% of workers employed by businesses with between 3 and 199 workers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.Unfortunately, under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, starting this year employers with at ...

By Robert C. Pozen • May 25, 2016