Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesCFO Square-Off on human capital… The cover story for the November 2011 edition of CFO magazine, “Power from the People,” introduced a topic that had been discussed among human capital experts for some time but had been the subject of little media coverage. The discussion was about...

By Kerry Maruna • March 17, 2016

Cashing In on Insight

Cash management and forecasting are more difficult than ever, but they are more important than ever as well. Increasingly, companies recognize that improving the speed and accuracy of cash reporting and forecasting can catalyze growth. In turn, this recognition is putting pressure on treasury fun...

By David W. Owens • March 17, 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

Should Companies Expand Human Capital Disclosure?

The cover story for the November 2011 edition of CFO magazine, “Power from the People,” introduced a topic that had been discussed among human capital experts for some time but had been the subject of little media coverage. The discussion was about whether investors and other stakeholders would b...

By David McCann • March 16, 2016

The Risks, Rewards, and Fallacies about Human Capital Reporting

Many people would agree that quantifying the worth of human capital would be advantageous to a company because, putting aside the administrative burden, it would permit them to shift the focus away from tangible assets to the real core of value creation.Mark Oppenheimer Human capital reporting wo...

By Mark Oppenheimer • March 16, 2016

Material World: Human Capital Disclosure Matters

As a former CFO with 20 years of experience at some of the world’s most admired companies, I fully understand the significance of calls for companies to report yet more information, in light of the ever-increasing responsibilities and workload for CFOs and accounting.Jeff Higgins However, since w...

By Jeff Higgins • March 16, 2016

SunEdison Again Delays Filing of Annual Report

Troubled renewal energy firm SunEdison said Wednesday it is again delaying the filing of its annual report after identifying “material weaknesses” in its accounting.SunEdison attributed the problems primarily to “deficient information technology controls in connection with newly implemented syste...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 16, 2016

Caution: Human Capital Reporting Zone

Corporate reputations are contributing $3.3 trillion of shareholder value across the S&P 500, according to Reputation Dividend’s 2015 report. Of that value, almost $1 trillion is derived from perceptions of people management and management quality.Usha Mirchandani So, should companies annuall...

By Eddie Short and Usha Mirchandani • March 16, 2016

Human Capital Disclosure Is ‘Unambiguously a Good Thing’

Yes, companies surely should disclose more information about their human capital.Laurie Bassi Looking at the issue from the perspectives of major stakeholders — including companies, shareholders, employees, and society as a whole — increased disclosure on human capital is unambiguously a good thi...

By Dan McMurrer and Laurie Bassi • March 16, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesPost-merger integration… The list of high-profile mergers that have faltered or failed due to a clash of cultures is long. It’s a serious and common problem — and largely avoidable. When it comes to integration, as one of our clients likes to say, “culture trumps strategy.”In our ...

By Kerry Maruna • March 16, 2016

Small Business CFOs Report Fewer Cyber Attacks

Less than one-fifth of finance executives at small and midsize businesses say their companies have experienced a cybersecurity attack in the last 24 months, according to a survey conducted by CFO in early February 2016. The 22% of finance executives reporting an attack is significantly less than ...

By Vincent Ryan • March 15, 2016

Metric of the Month: Total Cost of the Finance Function

It wasn’t so long ago that the term “finance” brought to mind large teams of accountants sitting at desks and slogging through spreadsheets day after day. Thank goodness for technological advances that made it possible for finance teams to do so much more in so much less time. Right?Here’s the su...

By Mary C. Driscoll • March 15, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesHealth care… Savile in London is best known for producing some of the world’s finest bespoke suits. But tucked away in a quiet corner of the same street is a firm that gives tailored health advice through a smartphone app. Your.MD uses artificial intelligence to understand natural...

By Kerry Maruna • March 15, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesGeneral Motors and driverless cars… General Motors is accelerating its push into self-driving cars by acquiring Cruise Automation, a startup that has developed a system for retrofitting existing vehicles with autonomous-driving software.GM cited Cruise’s “deep software talent and ...

By Kerry Maruna • March 14, 2016

Listen: Cyber Threats and the Problem of Sharing

Although a brave new world of corporate sharing of cyber threat information is arising, there are still concerns about government involvement.CFO.com Editor in Chief Vincent Ryan interviews Deputy Editor David M. Katz about the challenges that companies face in using the Cybersecurity Information...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 14, 2016

SEC Faults Magnum Hunter’s Internal Controls

The former CFO and former chief accounting officer of Magnum Hunter Resources have been charged with failing to identify staffing problems in the oil company’s accounting department as a material weakness that should be disclosed publicly.In a complaint filed last week, the U.S. Securities and Ex...

By Matthew Heller • March 14, 2016

Staffing Firm Fires CFO for Misstating Costs

Barrett Business Services has disclosed that it fired CFO James D. Miller after learning that he made “unsupported journal entries” in financial records during each calendar quarter of 2013.The staffing solutions provider said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that Miller notified its audit commit...

By Matthew Heller • March 11, 2016

CFO Readers’ Choice Awards 2016

We want to know who your favorites are!CFO magazine is conducting a survey of its readers to determine their preferred financial software products and service providers. This is your opportunity to vote for your favorite accounting firm, bank, consulting firm, 401(k) recordkeeper, insurer, ERP pr...

By 10Rule • March 11, 2016

U.S. Budget Deficit Holds Steady at $193B

The United States government continues to run a budget deficit near a seven-and-a-half year low ahead of an expected increase as spending measures for 2016 kick in.The gap between government spending and revenue was $193 billion in February, the Treasury Department said Thursday, up only slightly...

By Matthew Heller • March 10, 2016

Ex-CFO Charged With Deceiving Uni-Pixel Investors

The former CFO of Uni-Pixel Inc. made about $1.2 million in profits from selling his shares in the company after misleading investors about the prospects for its touchscreen devices, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.The SEC on Wednesday charged both ex-CFO Jeffrey Tomz and ex-CEO ...

By Matthew Heller • March 10, 2016

Deutsche Börse Sells ISE To Nasdaq For $1.1B

Deutsche Börse is offloading an operator of three U.S. equity options exchanges to Nasdaq, a move analysts say could boost the German exchange operator’s prospects in a proposed merger with London Stock Exchange (LSE).Frankfurt-based Deutsche Börse on Wednesday said that it was selling Internatio...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 10, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesShareholder topics 2016… A volatile stock market, stagnant wages, global economic challenges, a strong U.S. dollar, and a presidential election like no other are just a few of the factors contributing to a growing feeling of uncertainty in corporate board rooms around the country....

By Kerry Maruna • March 9, 2016

$300B Capex Lost in Recession Goes Unreplaced

Nearly $300 billion in capital expenditures cut by U.S. companies during the recession had not been replaced through May 2015, according to a 15-year study of capex released recently by the Georgia Tech Financial Analysis Lab.  Capital spending for U.S. non-financial firms with revenues of more t...

By David Katz • March 9, 2016

Conquering Foreign Currency Concerns

Corporate treasurers are no strangers to the obstacles restless currency markets can create for cash management and accounting, yet few anticipated the currency turbulence of 2015. To help conquer any issues, CFO offers the following stories and content on foreign exchange risks, hidden costs of ...

By Kerry Maruna • March 8, 2016

Intuit Completes Divestitures With QuickBase Sale

Intuit has completed the divestitures of three businesses intended to shed non-core assets, agreeing to sell the QuickBase software-development unit to private-equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe for an undisclosed amount.QuickBase, which provides tools for businesses to build and cus...

By Matthew Heller • March 8, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

Standout StoriesMachines may be taking over finance… I [John Parkinson] have been interested in artificial intelligence (AI) – the concept that humans can design a machine that thinks for itself without explicitly provide instructions (or a “program”) — since the early 1970s. As an undergraduate ...

By Kerry Maruna • March 8, 2016