Finance Roundup for Executives

The Latest in Finance From CFOA federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit aimed at forcing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to require that public companies disclose their political contributions.A watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, brought the lawsuit in May on behalf of an Aet...

By Kerry Maruna • Jan. 6, 2016

Ex-Viacom Finance VP Files Whistleblower Suit

A former vice president of financial planning and analysis at Viacom accused the media giant on Tuesday of illegally firing her for opposing a plan to avoid U.S. taxes by transferring the international licensing rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the Netherlands.Nataki Williams said in...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 5, 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

State Taxes in 2016: It’s All About the Base

With the total debt of state governments in the United States debt projected to hit $1.17 trillion in fiscal year 2016, one thing thing is certain: Ben Franklin’s famous quote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” will remain true.Jonathan Barsade But state p...

By Jonathan Barsade • Jan. 5, 2016

How to Detect, Assess, and Manage Cyber Security

At CFO we have explored in many stories why senior finance executives must understand the importance of computer and information security. The CFO’s role in finding technical solutions to security issues, from hardware and software, to preventing the disruption and misdirection of the services th...

By Alexander Johnson • Jan. 4, 2016

Companies’ Investment Plans: From Diggers to Data Centers

There have been three great waves of corporate investment in the past two decades. First came the dotcom splurge of 1997-2001, when cash was poured into building mobile-phone networks and the internet’s backbone. Then there was the emerging-market frenzy of 2003-10. Western firms threw about $2 t...

By Economist Staff • Jan. 4, 2016

Apple Settles Italian Tax Probe for $350M

Amid increased scrutiny of U.S. companies’ tax arrangements in Europe, Apple has agreed to pay as much as $350 million in a settlement with Italian tax authorities.According to the BBC, investigators say they found an 880 million euro ($961 million) gap between Apple’s revenues in Italy of over 1...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 30, 2015

IRS Faulted Over Taxpayer Authentication

The Internal Revenue Service needs to beef up its data security by improving how it authenticates taxpayer identities, according to a report by an in-house watchdog.The agency has a goal of providing taxpayers with access to online accounts that allow them to see recent payments, make minor chang...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 23, 2015

New Tax Bill Boosts Hopes for Tax Reform

Congressional approval of a $680 billion tax bill last week may have “set the stage” for tax reform in 2017, The Hill reports.The bill locked in a number of costly tax breaks that could be traded as part of future legislation that lowers the 35% corporate tax rate, which is widely cited as one of...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 22, 2015

Number of U.K. CFOs Hit with Personal Fines Doubles

The number of U.K. CFOs and financial directors hit with personal fines for tax accounting failures by the company that they work for more than doubled in the year preceding April 2015, according to figures culled by the U.K.’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) agency figures obtained by U.K. law fir...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 22, 2015

Festive Splurges: Bank Run

In places that celebrate Christmas, retailers face the usual year-end scramble to keep their shelves piled high. They will not be the only ones facing a seasonal run on their inventory: banks need to stock up for Christmas, too.Just like eggnog, fruitcake and reindeer sweaters, demand for cash pe...

By Economist Staff • Dec. 22, 2015

Ban on Internet Access Tax Stalls in Senate

A bill that would enact a permanent ban on taxing access to the Internet has run into opposition in the U.S. Senate among lawmakers who favor combining it with a tax on sales by online retailers.A permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) was added to a trade bill conference report earlier this m...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 21, 2015

CFO’s Most-Read Stories of 2015

In 2015, corporate finance endured a drop in oil prices and a tightening labor market and waited with anticipation as the Federal Reserve mulled increasing interest rates for the first time in years.Amid the turbulence, CFO journalists dug into financial management and business planning, publishe...

By Kerry Maruna • Dec. 21, 2015

7 Ways to Own Corporate Tax

Tax management is only a burden for the unprepared. CFO will show you how to confidently stand up to the scrutiny from auditors, executives, and investors. Own your corporate income tax processes with these seven strategies.1. Don’t Just Plan, StrategizeTo be sure, tax strategy is often ancillary...

By Kerry Maruna • Dec. 21, 2015

Finance Roundup for Executives

What’s Going on in Finance from CFOControversial pharma executive Martin Shkreli has been charged with misappropriating money from investors in hedge funds that he managed and lying about their financial performance to cover up his trading losses.Federal prosecutors accused Shkreli of ensnaring i...

By Kerry Maruna • Dec. 21, 2015

BlackBerry’s Software Focus Gaining Traction

BlackBerry announced better-than expected quarterly results on Friday, suggesting its new focus on software is gaining traction.The Canadian company has been pushing higher-margin software and services to manage and secure enterprise mobile networks after its attempt to compete with Apple and Sam...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 18, 2015

Lawyer, M&A Master, CFO: SAP’s Arlen Shenkman

If you’re the CFO of a large company that’s looking at an ERP buy or to upgrade your SAP system, don’t be surprised to find Arlen Shenkman, finance chief of SAP North America, sitting in your office.Arlen Shenkman Shenkman, who took on the role of running finance for the global technology company...

By David McCann • Dec. 18, 2015

Access to Capital High But Demand is Wavering

U.S. small businesses’ access to capital at its highest level since 2012, but demand for funding is down, according to the latest results from Dun & Bradstreet and Pepperdine University’s Private Capital Access quarterly report.Small businesses surveyed were able to access more capital, with ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 17, 2015

Investment Advisor Charged Over Bond Issues

Investment advisory firm Atlantic Asset Management has been charged with failing to disclose conflicts of interest related to its investment of more than $43 million of client funds in Native American tribal bonds.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that AAM never disclosed t...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 16, 2015

GOP Acts to Block Political Disclosure Rule

The $1.1 trillion bill to fund the U.S. government now includes a provision barring the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from working on a rule that would force public companies to disclose their political donations.Republicans slipped the measure into a version of the spending bill releas...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 16, 2015

EU Steps Closer to Adopting Data Privacy Rules

The European Union has taken a major step toward adopting new bloc-wide data privacy laws that give consumers more control over how their data is used and retained.After nearly four years of negotiation, EU officials agreed Tuesday on a final text of the laws, which would impose hefty penalties o...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 16, 2015

Two-Year Delay for Obamacare’s Cadillac Tax Likely

Lobbying by corporations has helped win an almost-certain two-year delay in the implementation of the hated “Cadillac Tax” on high-cost, employer-sponsored health benefits plans.The proposed delay, announced at 1:30 Wednesday morning, is a late addition to the omnibus federal spending package for...

By David McCann • Dec. 16, 2015

Socially Responsible Companies Pay Lower Taxes

To many students of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, Pfizer’s recent decision to move its headquarters to Ireland may have been perplexing.According to an MSCI index that rates companies’ citizenship, Pfizer scores high in CSR, a status commonly thought to be at odds with aggressive tax a...

By David McCann • Dec. 16, 2015

Moody’s Slashes 2016 Forecast For Oil Prices

Moody’s on Tuesday slashed its 2016 forecast for oil prices, as OPEC continues to exacerbate oversupply by pumping oil.Moody’s has lowered its price assumption in 2016 for Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, to $43 from $53 per barrel and for West Texas Intermediate crude, the North Ame...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 15, 2015

Finance Roundup for Executives

What’s Going on in Fiance from CFOAdding fuel to the debate over private equity fees, a new study has found that PE firms have charged $20 billion in hidden fees to clients over the past two decades.The so-called portfolio company fees were charged to nearly 600 U.S. companies that were bought by...

By Kerry Maruna • Dec. 15, 2015

GM: The Road Ahead

Few people know General Motors as well as Chuck Stevens does. A GM lifer, Stevens hails from Flint, Michigan, where he attended General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) around the same time GM CEO Mary Barra did. “She graduated a couple of years after me,” recalls Stevens, 55. “I never...

By Edward Teach • Dec. 15, 2015