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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEC Seeks to Boost Resource Extraction Disclosure

After a lengthy delay, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a rule for oil, gas, and mining companies that supporters say will increase transparency in the resource extraction industries.Under the proposed rule, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consu...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 15, 2015

Rallying Against the Cadillac Tax

For all their differences, Hillary Clinton, Paul Ryan, and Bernie Sanders agree on one thing: the “Cadillac tax” should be scrapped.Scheduled to be implemented in 2018, the 40% excise tax on high-cost health-benefit plans (hence the nickname) has been controversial from the beginning. Both the U....

By David McCann • 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

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

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

The Year in Review

An up-and-down economy, a volatile stock market, and continued low interest rates made 2015 a memorable year for many readers. But there were other compelling trends and stories in the world of finance, as we reported in the pages of CFO over the past 11 months. Here is a look back at some of the...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Dec. 15, 2015

Five Accountants Charged With Audit Violations

The former CFO of two public companies, four other accountants, and two audit firms have been disciplined for violating professional rules related to audit reviews and conflicts of interest.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Florida accountant Peter Messineo and his firm Messineo &a...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 14, 2015

U.S. Lawmakers Still Wrestling Over Tax Extenders

With negotiations intensifying on Capitol Hill, uncertainty remained over whether lawmakers would pass a major tax bill with permanent extensions benefiting both political parties, or simply opt for a two-year extension of existing tax breaks, the Associated Press reports.The talks started before...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 11, 2015

How to Promote a Digital Revolution in Supply Chain

Digitization and the Internet of Things are new buzzwords in the supply chain arena. But the key to applying these concepts to achieve business success is ensuring that digital innovations in supply chain operations are maximizing efficiency — and, by extension, profits — instead of just implemen...

By Patrick Van den Bossche • Dec. 11, 2015

U.K. Lenders Must Issue $41B in New Debt

The Bank of England said Friday that banks, building societies and investment firms in the U.K. would need to issue about $41 billion in new debt by 2020 to comply with European Union rules intended to reduce the need for bailouts.The new rules, known as the minimum requirement for own funds and ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 11, 2015

Walmart Launches Smartphone App for Paying at Register

Walmart on Thursday introduced Walmart Pay — the ability to pay at the register with smartphones.The new Walmart app works with any iOS or Android device that can download it, and with any major credit, debit, prepaid, or Walmart gift card. Customers can scan a QR code displayed at the register w...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Dec. 10, 2015