Month: June 2020

From Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF): Going into the 2020s, it appeared that the crest-trough cycle (see the chart below) of material weakness disclosures would continue throughout the decade. Then a black-swan level event occurred. As a result, financial statement preparers are now left with the unenviable task of meeting the high-quality, high-velocity informational …

State of ICFR Going Into the 2020s Read More »

From FEI: When we launched the first edition of Financial Executive International’s (FEI) Quarterly Priorities Survey in early March, we could not have anticipated the degree to which the outbreak of COVID-19 would impact every facet of American business. The aftermath of the pandemic and resulting recession should permeate every industry, resulting in a massive …

Quarterly Priorities Survey: Q1 2020 – Covid has changed everything Read More »

By Victor Hugo Vazquez Aguilar, VP of the National Technical Committee of Financial Information of the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives (IMEF) What is the functional currency of my company? This is a genuine question to be asked on more than one occasion in the lifetime of a business. The different stakeholders trust that it …

IAFEI News: Determination of the function currency: not a one time analysis Read More »

Dr Tobias Ohler, CFO of Wacker Chemie AG in Germany explains how the company holds its own against China in polysilicon, used in solar panels. From The International Association of Financial Executives Institutes (IAFEI) latest quarterly newsletter: Dr Ohler, has the business with polysilicon for solar panels still got a future in the Wacker Chemical Group? …

IAFEI News: Wacker Chemie CFO Tobias Ohler explains how Germany holds its own against China in polysilicon production Read More »

From Wsj.com: Hiring for finance chiefs and other executive jobs slowed significantly in March when millions of employees began working from home. Now, recruiters are closing executive searches again as companies and candidates get more comfortable with recruiting through video and phone calls. A combination of easy-to-use technology and a lack of business travel may be …

Zoom Teams and other online tools speed up the search for new CFOs Read More »

From Cfo.com: Businesses around the country are preparing to reopen as local stay-at-home orders are lifted. But the world looks a lot different than it did a mere three months ago, and many companies must now adjust to a yet-evolving new normal. While companies now understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their operations, the dust …

Five Accounting and Reporting Considerations Before Reopening Read More »

From CFO.com: Growth in chief financial officer’s total pay slowed for the second consecutive year in 2019, according to new data from Compensation Advisory Partners (CAP). The consulting firm said the slower growth was mostly due to decreases in bonus payouts, which were in turn driven by a slowdown in companies’ financial performances A little …

CFOs’ Lower Bonuses Cut Into Compensation Growth Read More »

The European Commission has opened antitrust investigations of two Apple services, citing concerns that the App Store and Apple Pay stifle competition, reports CFO.com. The App Store probe will focus on music streaming and e-books/audiobooks, following complaints by Spotify and e-reader company Kobo over the commissions — 30% in the first year and 15% thereafter …

Apple facing EU investigations over anti-competitive behaviour Read More »

From Expertise.com: While nearly every aspect of life in the U.S. has been disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak, small businesses are one of the groups most severely affected by the pandemic and subsequent containment measures. Partnering with YouGov, a recognized authority in public opinion data, we surveyed 510 small businesses with 100 employees or less …

2 Out of 3 Business Owners Worry About Permanently Closing Due to Coronavirus Read More »

Companies are locking in current low interest rates for future bond sales, hoping to benefit from cheap refinancing costs when their debt comes due, says Wsj.com. As finance chiefs and treasurers struggle to project an outlook for the coming quarter in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, being able to quantify the cost of borrowing …

Companies Lock In Low Rates for Future Debt Read More »