Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesMobile services… “You are a developer and you’ve just spent two weeks writing this amazing app. What is your dream? Your dream is to get it in front of every iPhone user.” That was how Steve Jobs, then Apple’s boss, introduced an online shop for smartphone apps eight years ago. At...

By Kerry Maruna • April 12, 2016

Currency Volatility Costs Hit Record $33.9B

Currency headwinds continue to batter North American multinationals, with the average negative impact on earnings per company reaching a record $217 million in the fourth quarter, according to a new report by FiREapps.The consulting firm said a record 357 companies reported currency headwinds in ...

By Matthew Heller • April 12, 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

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesFuture innovation in finance… Tomorrow’s business world will look different from today’s. And it logically follows that tomorrow’s finance teams will look different as well. Professionals joining the world of finance can look forward to a career that is more deeply engaged with, a...

By Kerry Maruna • April 11, 2016

Texas AG Accused Over Promotion of Tech Stock

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with failing to disclose that a North Texas tech firm had paid him to promote its stock.Paxton’s relationship with Servergy Inc. is part of an SEC investigation that also resulted Monday in securities fraud ...

By Matthew Heller • April 11, 2016

How to Get Fast, Accurate, and Value-Generating Finance Reports

Finance executives are always looking for ways to improve their financial reporting process. Efficiency and timeliness are top priorities. So what’s the best way to get fast and accurate reports? CFO offers the following articles to gauge how confident you are in your current processes, whether o...

By Kerry Maruna • April 11, 2016

A World of Tax

Although the effective rate for many companies is much lower, finance chiefs still smart over the United States’ top marginal corporate income tax rate of 39%, the highest such rate among the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. How much do you know about tax...

By CFO Editorial Staff • April 8, 2016

Stock Option Rules Simplify Reporting, FASB Says

If the Financial Accounting Standards Board is right, CFOs of companies that pay their employees and executives in stock options and restricted shares will find it simpler to report the related tax deductions starting at the end of this year.Moreover, finance chiefs at private companies, in parti...

By David Katz • April 8, 2016

Battles Brew over Climate Risk Disclosure

Pressure is building on companies to disclose more information about their climate-related risks, but it remains to be seen whether such calls will actually pose a burden for more than a handful of isolated companies.Since a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2007, which held that greenhouse gas ...

By David McCann • April 8, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesRepublicans and tax reform… The candidates for the Republican presidential nomination may be calling each other “losers” and “lightweights” and “robots” and “cheaters,” but there is at least one issue around which they share common ground — corporate tax reform. Though there are m...

By Kerry Maruna • April 7, 2016

Rethinking Disclosure

In December 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission sent a report to Congress on Regulation S-K, the disclosure rules for public companies. Although its JOBS Act mandate was to investigate ways to simplify the registration process for so-called emerging growth companies, the SEC concluded it...

By Edward Teach • April 7, 2016

It’s U.S. Corporate Tax Policy, Stupid!

The candidates for the Republican presidential nomination may be calling each other “losers” and “lightweights” and “robots” and “cheaters,” but there is at least one issue around which they share common ground — corporate tax reform. Though there are minor differences in specifics there is major...

By Douglas S. Stransky • April 6, 2016

CFO Readers’ Choice Awards 2016: Phase Two

We want to know who your favorites are! CFO magazine is conducting a survey of its readers to determine their favorite financial software products and service providers. Phase two of the survey is your opportunity to select the top accounting firms, banks, consulting firms, 401(k) recordkeepers, ...

By 10Rule • April 6, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesThreats and opportunities… Ask a business prognosticator what’s in store for 2016, and likely you’ll hear how gloomy the outlook is — particularly overseas. But ask a finance chief, and you may get a response along the lines of that provided by Vsevolod Rozanov, CFO of Sistema, a ...

By Kerry Maruna • April 6, 2016

Angola Seeks Three-Year Aid Package From IMF

OPEC member Angola has become the latest oil-producing country to seek international help to cope with the collapse in crude oil prices.The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it had received a request from Angola for a three-year aid program and was “ready to help Angola address the econo...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 6, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesPension plans… As we reported last Thursday, steeply rising Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. premiums are forcing pension plan sponsors to get more serious than ever about funding their plans.One result of moving closer to a fully funded plan is that the sponsor can afford to derisk...

By Kerry Maruna • April 5, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesMaking sales forecasts more accurate… Companies miss quarterly numbers. Deals slipped, conversion rates sank, or there just wasn’t enough volume.This happens despite sales teams spending lots of time on the forecasting process. According to SiriusDecisions, reps spend on average 2...

By Kerry Maruna • April 4, 2016

New York Strikes Deal to Raise Minimum Wage

New York has joined California in crafting a deal that could gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.As part of a $147.2 billion budget agreement between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders, workers would receive a gradual increase of the hourly minimum wage to $15, to be ph...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • April 1, 2016

Navistar Fined $7.5M Over Engine Disclosures

Navistar has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle charges that it misled investors about its efforts to obtain regulatory approval for an advanced technology truck engine.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Navistar failed to disclose the difficulties it was having in obtaining a doc...

By Matthew Heller • April 1, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesKenyan coffee… Coffee was once Kenya’s biggest foreign-exchange earner, but these days the industry looks less perky. The country’s record, 127,000-ton crop was all the way back in the 1987-88 season. Output plunged by 40% the following year, after the global coffee cartel axed it...

By Kerry Maruna • March 31, 2016

Boeing to Cut up to 10% of Airplane Jobs

Boeing’s commercial aircraft division may cut up to 8,000 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce, by the end of the year, a move that could save $1 billion in costs as the company faces fierce competition from Airbus.About 4,000 jobs would be cut by mid-year and, according to Reuters, Boeing’s goal ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 30, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesDebtor-in-possession financing… When a company enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and wants debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a bank or permission to spend proceeds of accounts receivable that have been pledged (that is, use cash collateral), it needs the bankruptcy c...

By Kerry Maruna • March 30, 2016

Kenyan Coffee: A Bitter Harvest

Coffee was once Kenya’s biggest foreign-exchange earner, but these days the industry looks less perky. The country’s record, 127,000-ton crop was all the way back in the 1987-88 season. Output plunged by 40% the following year, after the global coffee cartel axed its quotas, exposing the industry...

By Economist Staff • March 30, 2016

Class-Action Settlements Reach Five-Year High

Securities class-action settlements surged in 2015 to their highest level in five years, while the total value of settlements rose substantially over 2014’s historic low, according to a new report.The number of settlements totaled 85, representing a 27% increase over 2014 and the highest number s...

By Matthew Heller • March 29, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesReducing joint venture risk… International joint ventures remain one of the principal means for multinational companies to enter a foreign market. According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 1,409 global CEOs in 83 countries, 49% plan to enter into a new joint venture o...

By Kerry Maruna • March 29, 2016

A Key for Getting Debtor-in-Possession Financing

When a company enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and wants debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a bank or permission to spend proceeds of accounts receivable that have been pledged (that is, use cash collateral), it needs the bankruptcy court’s approval. A key part of the debtor’s requ...

By Kenneth A. Rosen • March 29, 2016