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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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