The Annual Budget May Be Past Its Useful Life

Unfortunately, in our experience advising hundreds of companies in how to create long-term shareholder value, we find most do not generate an adequate return on investment (ROI) on their budgeting processes. This, of course, is no small matter when you consider that for many companies, the annual...

By John R. Cryan and Gregory V. Milano • Oct. 29, 2015

Finance and Accounting Roundup for Executives

Here’s What’s Going on in Finance Today… Zero-based budgeting may be the wave of the future for some companies. In a special report CFO takes a look at building a better budget plan “from scratch” as opposed to using the previous year’s budget ups and downs as precursors for the following year. G...

By Kerry Maruna • Oct. 29, 2015

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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

Special Report: Building Better Budgets

Well entrenched though it is, traditional yearly corporate budgeting is coming in for more criticism today than it has at any time in recent memory. The dynamic nature of the digital economy is making it harder and harder for budgets hatched a year in advance — and based on a prior year’s experie...

By David Katz • Oct. 28, 2015

Finance and Accounting Roundup for Executives

Here’s What’s Going on in Finance TodayThe U.S. plans to sell 8% of its oil to raise money. This type of fundraising has occurred once before, following the oil crisis of 1973. A budget agreement between the White House and lawmakers from both sides of the isle calls for even more oil sales. Acco...

By Kerry Maruna • Oct. 28, 2015

Budgeting Your Way Through Exchange-Rate Volatility

In September 2014, when most companies were building their 2015 budgets, the euro was worth $1.25. By the time the books were being closed on January 2015, it was down to $1.05. By mid-September 2015, as the third quarter was ending and the 2016 budget season was in high gear, it had recovered to...

By David Axson • Oct. 28, 2015

Starting from Scratch

As PepsiCo’s second-quarter earnings call drew to a close in July, there was time for one more question. Asked Nik Modi, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets: Had the company thought about adding a zero-based budgeting program to its plan to save $1 billion over the next few years? “Every meeting ...

By David Katz • Oct. 28, 2015

SEC Probing IBM Over Revenue Recognition

IBM has disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how it recognizes revenue from certain transactions in the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland.IBM shares closed down 4% at $137.85 on Tuesday after it disclosed the investigation in a regulatory filing.“In...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 28, 2015

Baxter To Cut 1,400 Jobs

After Baxter International on Tuesday posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings for the third quarter, the Deerfield, Ill.-based medical device maker said it would cut about 1,400 jobs worldwide to achieve $130 million in annual cost-savings.The cuts come after Baxter spun off its bioscience ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 27, 2015

Finance and Accounting Roundup for Executives

What’s going on in Finance Today? Bridgestone acquires Pep Boys in an $835M deal. The two American automotive services plan to create an even stronger organization by combining forces. Get the full story below or click here.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is charging DBRS over their ...

By Kerry Maruna • Oct. 27, 2015

Moody’s Questions VW’s Response to Scandal

Moody’s Investors Service warned Tuesday that Volkswagen Group may not be going far enough to address “serious” governance deficiencies exposed by the scandal involving rigging of diesel engine emissions tests.The automaker has taken remedial actions including management changes since the scandal...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 27, 2015

Red October

Some investors believe that stocks are especially prone to decline in the month of October, a tendency sometimes referred to as the Mark Twain Effect. The name comes from Twain’s novel Pudd’nhead Wilson, whose title character observed that October “is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to spe...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Oct. 26, 2015

SEC Filed More Than 800 Cases in 2015

The number of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions rose nearly 7% to 807 in fiscal 2015, recovering about $4.2 billion in disgorgement and penalties.Of the enforcement actions filed in the year ended Sept. 30, a record 507 were for violations of securities laws, up from 413...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2015

Bridgestone Buys Pep Boys for $835 Million

Bridgestone Corp. said Monday it had agreed to acquire Pep Boys for about $835 million in a move to expand its service-center network.The world’s largest tire and rubber company will pay $15 a share in cash for Pep Boys, a 23% premium over Friday’s closing price of $12.15. The deal will add about...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 26, 2015

DBRS Fined $6M Over Credit Rating Methodology

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged credit rating agency DBRS with misrepresenting how it would monitor the ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities and other complex financial instruments.DBRS agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle the charges — the second s...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 26, 2015

Employees Want More Feedback on Their Future

Many companies are squandering an opportunity to retain talent by never discussing employees’ career prospects with them, according to Robert Half.In a survey of more than 1,200 U.S. finance and accounting professionals, 37% told the staffing specialist they would like to discuss their career pat...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 23, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Oct. 23

Aluminum manufacturer and recycler Novelis has named Steve Pohl interim CFO. He takes over for Steve Fisher, who was appointed CEO in August. Pohl has been at the company since 2009 and was named vice president of financial planning and analysis in 2012.Graham Baker Alvogen has appointed Graham B...

By Joan Urdang • Oct. 23, 2015

Finance and Accounting Roundup for Executives

Here’s What’s Going on in Finance Today… Have Starbucks and Fiat been benefiting from illegal tax breaks? Yes, according to the European Union, as they have ordered two European governments to collect back taxes from both companies. Although the amount is not damaging, and the decision can be app...

By Kerry Maruna • Oct. 22, 2015

FDIC Adopts Final Rule on Collateral for Swaps

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday approved a final rule requiring banks to collect more collateral for certain swaps trades, saying the new regulation would promote financial stability.The Dodd-Frank Act required regulators to impose margin requirements on swaps as part of the post-...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 22, 2015

Dow Chemical: More Restructuring to Come?

Dow Chemical on Thursday revealed it is considering additional restructuring actions, including the sale of its struggling farm chemicals and seeds unit and the winnowing or outright sale of its stakes in two Kuwaiti joint ventures, although Dow might buy Corning’s stake in a silicon JV.“Dow emba...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 22, 2015

China Business Travel Spend to Outpace U.S.

Business travel spending within China will soon outpace U.S. travel spending, and India’s growth is quickly accelerating, “a clear indication of the resiliency and strength of both economies,” the Global Business Travel Association said Wednesday.Despite recent economic turmoil, China business tr...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 21, 2015

Finance and Accounting Roundup for Executives

Here’s What’s Going on in Finance Today Google is making moves in the productivity suite game. Google applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides and others) are being made available free of cost to companies with current enterprise agreements with other providers. Until those enterprise agreements have e...

By Kerry Maruna • Oct. 21, 2015

EU Finds Tax Breaks for Starbucks, Fiat Illegal

In an unprecedented decision with implications for the tax strategies of multinational corporations, the European Union on Wednesday ordered two European governments to collect back taxes from Starbucks and a unit of Fiat Chrysler after finding that tax breaks they had given the companies were il...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 21, 2015

Google Offers Free Google Apps for Work

Google is taking on Microsoft and other competitors by offering a new promotion: access to Google Apps for Work for free while companies are still under an enterprise agreement with another provider.“We’re so confident that Docs has all the features you need, without the ones you don’t, that we’r...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 20, 2015

Applying Analytics to Real Estate Assets

For most companies, one of the biggest commitments they will make — both in regards to cost and flexibility — is in the form of corporate real estate. The purchase or lease of office space can represent not only a significant expense but also an ongoing legal and operational liability. As the glo...

By Nathan Brzozowski • Oct. 19, 2015

Fed Bans Former Regions Bank Official

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday took the rare step of banning a former banker from the industry — a move watchdog groups want to see more of.Thomas A. Neely, Jr., a former executive vice-president at Regions Bank in Birmingham, Ala., agreed to the ban as part of a settlement of charges that he...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 19, 2015