All-Day Breakfast Boosts McDonald’s Sales

McDonald’s move to an all-day breakfast and the addition of healthier menu choices is reaping rewards as the company posted its best U.S. quarterly sales in four years.U.S. comparable store sales rose 5.7% in the fourth quarter and global comparable sales were up 5%, McDonald’s said Monday. Earni...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 25, 2016

Google Settles U.K. Tax Probe for $185 Million

Google has agreed to pay the U.K. government $185 million in back taxes and bear a heavier tax burden in the future, the latest move by a U.S. tech firm to settle claims that it does not pay its fair share of taxes in Europe.The agreement covers taxes from 2005 to 2015 and Google will change how ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 25, 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

Firms Slow to Implement New Revenue Standard

Companies still have some time before they must begin applying the new standard for revenue recognition but many seem to be making slow progress in preparing for the change.According to a KPMG survey, less than 29% of corporate financial preparers say their companies have a clear plan to implemen...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 25, 2016

Q4 Profit Falls in Most of GE’s Core Businesses

Plummeting oil prices drove down General Electric’s fourth-quarter profits in most of its core industrial businesses.Five of GE’s eight industrial business units experienced declines, including a 10% fall in the power turbine business and an 8% decline in the health-care unit, which makes imaging...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 22, 2016

Ocwen Fined $2M for Misstating Results

In the latest fallout from regulatory investigations of Ocwen Financial and affiliated companies, Ocwen has agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges over its valuation of billions of dollars in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and its relationship with former Chairman William Erbey.Ocwen sold t...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 21, 2016

KPMG Withdraws Audit Opinions on Regulator

KPMG has withdrawn nearly a decade of audit opinions about the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s accounts, citing an error in the agency’s accounting for lease payments for its offices.According to a KPMG opinion included in the CFTC’s 2015 financial report, the commission understated i...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 21, 2016

CBO Increases 2016 Deficit Forecast to $544B

The Congressional Budget Office has raised its projected U.S. budget deficit estimate for 2016 to $544 billion, reflecting in large part the fiscal impact of extended tax breaks.The deficit that the CBO is currently projecting is $130 billion higher than the one that the agency projected in Augus...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 19, 2016

New Iran Supplies Will Add to Oil Price Pressures

Now that sanctions in Iran are lifted and the country can start selling its oil internationally again, the market stands to be greatly exacerbated by the new supplies, the International Energy Agency warned Monday.The IEA said Iran could add around 300,000 barrels a day of additional crude by the...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 19, 2016

How to Reimagine Your Forecasting

We’re always forecasting — thinking about what will happen, assessing its likelihood, and contemplating the implications. For CFOs, the stakes are especially high when it comes to the difference between accurate and inaccurate forecasts.Paul Blase, PwC It’s a CFO’s worst nightmare: Expected and a...

By Paul Blase • Jan. 19, 2016

Finance Roundup for Executives

The Latest Headlines from CFOEleven former executives and board members at Superior Bank and its holding company have been charged with engaging in a “massive series of accounting frauds” to hide loan losses as the Alabama-based bank spiraled toward collapse.In a civil complaint the U.S. Securiti...

By Kerry Maruna • Jan. 15, 2016

GE Moves Headquarters to Boston

After reviewing more than 40 potential locations, General Electric on Wednesday said it would move its global headquarters from Fairfield, Conn., to Boston, to take advantage of better corporate tax rates and incentives and capitalize on local tech talent as the company tries to lead “the digital...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 14, 2016

Ex-CFO, Others Charged in Superior Bank Fraud

Eleven former executives and board members at Superior Bank and its holding company have been charged with engaging in a “massive series of accounting frauds” to hide loan losses as the Alabama-based bank spiraled toward collapse.In a civil complaint the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission al...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 14, 2016

JPMorgan Posts Record Annual Earnings

JPMorgan Chase on Thursday posted a record $24.44 billion in earnings for 2015, but fourth-quarter results for individual business lines were mixed.The New York City-based company’s net income for the year was $24.44 billion, exceeding the previous record income of $21.76 billion for 2014. For th...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 14, 2016

CEO Exits Reach 6-Month High in December

Turnover among U.S. chief executive officers rose 33% to a six-month high in December, but total CEO departures for the year fell 9%, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.The global outplacement consultancy reported that 114 CEOs vacated their posts last month, compared with 86 in Novemb...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 13, 2016

New Lease Standards May Demand Two Sets of Books

Launching an era in which many U.S.-based multinationals may be required to keep two sets of books on their leasing arrangements, the International Accounting Standards Board issued its new lease accounting standards late on Tuesday.Still to come are the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board’...

By David Katz • Jan. 13, 2016

Alcoa Swings to Loss on Restructuring Costs

Alcoa has reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $500 million, or 39 cents a share, and an 18% decline in revenue amid sharply lower aluminum prices.The loss compared with a year-earlier profit of $159 million, or 11 cents a share. But excluding $565 million in costs related to shuttering parts of...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 12, 2016

American Airlines to Take $592M Currency Charge

American Airlines on Tuesday said it would take a $592 million write-off in its fourth quarter on the Venezuelan currency it holds due to the continued economic deterioration in that country. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is the latest multinational company to be affected by the fall in the...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 12, 2016

EU Finds Belgian ‘Excess Profit’ Tax Break Illegal

The European Commission said Monday it had ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($762 million) from at least 35 multinationals after concluding that Belgian authorities had unfairly provided the companies with tax breaks.The commission’s case against Belgium is part of a crackdown o...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 11, 2016

How Scripted Should Your Earnings Calls Be?

With quarterly earnings calls a routine corporate ritual, it’s imperative not to let the cat out of the bag. That may be easier said than done. How can top management guard against unintentionally revealing potentially damaging inside information in the course of responding to analyst and investo...

By David McCann • Jan. 11, 2016

The ‘Need-to-Knows’ of Enterprise Performance Management

What is the mission and vision for your organization? A simple enough question, yet the answer can be a complicated one. Without the complete visibility of all operations within your organization, it becomes nearly impossible to answer.Of course, this is where enterprise performance management co...

By Kerry Maruna • Jan. 11, 2016

PwC to Pay Investors $55M Over Madoff Losses

After seven years of litigation, PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to pay $55 million to settle charges that it was negligent in auditing the books of Fairfield Greenwich Group, the largest operator of “feeder funds” to convicted swindler Bernard Madoff.The settlement adds to the recovery for inv...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 8, 2016

CEOs to CFOs: We Need More from You

Fat chance you’d ever catch a CEO publicly disparaging the company’s CFO — yet praise for the finance chief wouldn’t necessarily pass muster in a lie detector test.In a worldwide survey of 549 chief executives by KPMG, 30% said their CFO doesn’t understand or assist them enough with the challenge...

By David McCann • Jan. 8, 2016

Metric of the Month: Internal Audit Staff Size

Is your internal audit function in good shape?Try answering some basic questions about it. Does internal audit provide reliable assurance of the effectiveness of internal controls? Does the internal audit function adequately cover the scope of the audit plan and report findings in a timely manner...

By Mary C. Driscoll • Jan. 8, 2016

Gilt Sells for Bargain-Basement Price

Fashion deals web site the Gilt Groupe has come back down to earth. Four years since it was valued at more than $1 billion, the company was sold to Hudson’s Bay, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, for $250 million in cash.One of the originators of “flash” sales online, the site still claims...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 7, 2016

Food Safety Woes Bite Into Chipotle Sales

Chipotle Mexican Grill disclosed Wednesday that a wave of foodborne illnesses linked to its restaurants had taken a larger-than-expected bite out of its sales and that it is facing a federal investigation.Chipotle said in a regulatory filing that it expected same-store sales to be down 14.7% for ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 6, 2016