Puerto Rico’s Governor Calls For Debt Restructuring Under U.S. Bankruptcy Code

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla wants the commonwealth’s $73 billion debt to be restructured under Chapter 9 the U.S. bankruptcy code.Padilla spoke in a televised address Monday, the day after a group of former International Monetary Fund officials released a report concluding that ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 30, 2015

Sony To Raise $3.6 billion in Equity and Debt

Sony plans to raise about 440 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in a sale of shares and convertible bonds in Japan and overseas, the company said Tuesday. Stock will make up 321.5 billion yen of the transaction while convertible bonds account for 120 billion yen.Sony will use the funds to develop and pr...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 30, 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

Finance Software Firm Adaptive Raises $75M

Adaptive Insights, a 12-year-old Silicon Valley firm that provides a cloud-based alternative to finance management software such as Microsoft Excel, announced Tuesday that it had raised $75 million in new funding.The Series G investment brings the total raised by the company to $176 million. Adap...

By Matthew Heller • June 30, 2015

From Algebra to Calculus: Financial Planning in the XaaS Economy

When it comes to cloud-based anything-as-a-service (XaaS) businesses, the types of planning, budgeting, and forecasting (PBF) strategies that have worked for more traditional product-focused enterprises just don’t fit. From long-term strategic plans to annual budgets, the reality of recurring rev...

By Hyoun Park and Scott Pezza • June 30, 2015

Congress Faces Transport Funding Deadline

Highway programs could be shut down in August if Congress doesn’t agree on a multi-year transportation bill by the end of next month, The Hill reports.Many Republicans want another short-term extension of highway funds, while many Democrats favor President Barack Obama’s six-year, $478 billion tr...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 29, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending June 26

Aflac has appointed Frederick Crawford to the top finance spot, effective June 30. Previously, he headed finance at CNO Financial Group, a post he had held since 2012.Frank Calderoni Frank Calderoni has been named to lead the finance function at Red Hat, effective July 13. He takes over for Charl...

By Joan Urdang • June 26, 2015

Sloppy Benefit Plan Audits Putting Employers at Risk

Up until recently, employee benefit plan audits were a routine matter for CFOs — something you had to have done each year to comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, but nothing to worry about overmuch. Well, not anymore.Adam S. Lilling With the quality of those audits reportedly ...

By David Katz • June 25, 2015

Walmart to Hit Suppliers with Hefty Fees

Walmart is trying to compensate for higher labor costs with plans to charge stocking and warehousing fees to nearly all of its suppliers, Reuters said Tuesday.The changes, which also include amended payment terms, will affect 10,000 suppliers to the company’s U.S. stores, according to a letter Wa...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 25, 2015

Five Working Capital Management Strategies

The 2015 REL Working Capital Survey reveals that the availability of cheap debt has reduced companies’ incentive to improve working capital management. The survey also reveals what separates top working capital performers from the rest. Want more on how to make working capital more efficient? Rea...

By 10Rule • June 25, 2015

Toshiba Chief Apologizes for Accounting Crisis

Toshiba president Hideo Tanaka vowed Thursday to “create a new Toshiba” in response to an accounting scandal that he called the worst crisis in the company’s history.In April, Toshiba launched an internal investigation of accounting irregularities that involve nearly 55 billion yen ($445 million)...

By Matthew Heller • June 25, 2015

Small Exporters Could Lose Big if Export-Import Bank Shuts

Small exporters contend they would lose business to foreign competitors if the U.S. Export-Import Bank loses its operating authority next week, Reuters reported Wednesday.Conservative Republican critics contend that big companies like Boeing and General Electric are on “corporate welfare” courtes...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 24, 2015

Metric of the Month: Accounts Payable Process Cost

(A previously published version of this article included three paragraphs containing data that has since been questioned. Those three paragraphs have been removed from this version.)  Benchmarking surveys help CFOs to understand how their various finance processes compare to other organizations i...

By Mary Driscoll • June 24, 2015

Doubts Over Software Growth Hit BlackBerry

BlackBerry shares fell more than 4% on Tuesday amid uncertainty over whether its first-quarter results really showed that its mobile-device-management software business is picking up.The company reported that software and licensing revenues increased more than 150% in the first quarter to $137 mi...

By Matthew Heller • June 23, 2015

Tax Reform Top Priority for Voters: Poll

Tax reform is on the minds of voters on both sides of the aisle, according to a Morning Consult poll published Monday – and corporate tax reform will likely be a key issue in the 2016 presidential election.Seventy-seven percent of the 2, 039 voters responding to the poll last week said that tax r...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 23, 2015

May Durable Goods Report Shows Manufacturing Is Stabilizing

Manufacturing is stabilizing, although the lingering effects of lower oil prices and the strong dollar will continue to put a slight damper on activity, according to a new report.New orders for manufactured durable goods in May fell 1.8%, to $228.9 billion, following a 1.5% drop in April, the Com...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 23, 2015

British Accounting Watchdog Investigating KPMG

Britain’s Financial Reporting Council Tuesday said that it had launched an investigation into the conduct of KPMG, auditors for The Bank of New York Mellon London branch and The Bank of New York Mellon International.The investigation is in relation to KPMG’s reporting to the U.K. Financial Servic...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 23, 2015

EC Stands Behind IASB Accounting Rules

The European Commission has concluded that the International Accounting Standards Board’s accounting rules did not make the 2007-2009 banking crisis worse, saying their benefits outweighed the costs.The International Financial Reporting Standards replaced a patchwork of national regulations for p...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 22, 2015

Big Four Lead 9% Growth in Consulting Market

The U.S. market for consulting services grew by 9% to over $50 billion last year, with the Big Four accounting firms being the principal beneficiaries, a new report has found.Big Four firms posted growth of 12.8% to $17.5 billion, largely as a result of their acquisition strategies, according to ...

By Matthew Heller • June 22, 2015

Fitbit CFO’s Heart Is Pumping

At one point on Thursday morning, as his company was proceeding through its initial public offering, Bill Zerella’s heart rate was up to 128, or about the rate he scores when he’s on the treadmill.Bill Zerella Zerella, the 58-year-old CFO of Fitbit, knew that because he had checked the activity t...

By David Katz • June 19, 2015

SEC Accuses Microcap CEO, Stock Picker of Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Texas oil company Norstra Energy, its CEO, and the author of a stock-picking newsletter with misleading investors about the firm’s oil reserves and business prospects.Stock-picker Eric Dany was allegedly hired to help promote Norstra shortly...

By Matthew Heller • June 19, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending June 19

LendingTree has appointed Gabe Dalporto to lead the finance function. Dalporto, who has been the company’s chief marketing officer since 2011 and president of mortgage since 2013, replaces Alex Mandel.J.D. Carlson has been promoted to finance chief at Penske Automotive Group. He succeeds David Jo...

By Joan Urdang • June 19, 2015

Gasoline Leads Rise in Consumer Prices

The deflationary trend led by low energy prices appears to have run its course, as U.S. consumer prices rose at a pace not seen in more than two years, boosted by a rebound in gasoline prices.The Labor Dept.’s Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the gas...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 18, 2015

Walmart Has $76B of Assets in Tax Havens: Report

Walmart has $76 billion of assets in overseas tax havens, according to the report, “The Walmart Web: How the World’s Biggest Corporation Secretly Uses Tax Havens to Dodge Taxes,” researched by the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union and published Wednesday by Americans for Ta...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 17, 2015

Sales Tax Bill Seeks to Ease Online Retailer Burdens

A new House bill giving U.S. states the power to require out-of-state retailers to collect taxes from consumers would ease the compliance burdens of CFOs and tax managers of such firms, according to a staffer for Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who is the lead sponsor of the the bill.Rep...

By David Katz • June 17, 2015

CBO Sees U.S. Debt Reaching 107% of GDP in 2040

Driven by growing budget deficits, U.S. government debt held by the public will exceed 100% of GDP in 2040, up from the current 74%, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.To keep the federal debt-to-GDP ratio at its current level, Congress would have to increase revenues by 6% or ...

By Matthew Heller • June 17, 2015