Month: October 2020

From Accounting Today: CFOs and senior finance executives are dealing with a growing number of responsibilities and demands as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report. The report, from consulting firm Protiviti, found that the pandemic has been a wake-up call to finance departments that weren’t already investing, or wasn’t investing enough, …

CFOS FACE GROWING DEMANDS AMID CORONAVIRUS Read More »

By Pascal Ballayer, Portugal’s CFOs Association President, and Pascal Adriao, CEO K1 Digital and past MD Accenture From IAFEI October 2020 Quarterly report The prestigious technology innovators magazine have just published the list of the top 50 CEOs worldwide in the field of artificial intelligence. How is AI useful for finance and administration executives? AI is fueling …

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PLATFORMS FOR FINANCE AND ADMIN Read More »

From CFODive: CFO Sachin Patel helped healthcare data analytics company Apixio drive a strategy focused on lifetime customer value. AI-assisted healthcare technology company Apixio has shifted from pursuing margin improvement to pursuing revenue growth because of the qualities of its customer base, CFO Sachin Patel said this week in a CFO Thought Leader podcast. The company markets …

SHIFTING TO REVENUE GROWTH FROM MARGIN IMPROVEMENT Read More »

From WSJ: In its annual review, the Financial Reporting Council found information wanting for 96 companies of the 216 it looked into. The Financial Reporting Council on Wednesday released its annual review on corporate reporting, finding that many UK businesses need to improve their disclosures on accounting issues such as revenue recognition and liquidity risks. The regulator …

UK REGULATOR EXHORTS COMPANIES TO STRENGTHEN DISCLOSURE ON LIQUIDITY RISK, REVENUE Read More »

By Mark Anderson and Dongning Yu, Haskayne School  Business, University of Calgary From the IAFEI 3rd Quarter 2020 report: This paper studies several factors to consider in cost management in a downturn: sticky costs , agency costs, adjustment costs, and future expectations. China’s economy is growing at its slowest pace since the financial crisis, according to …

MANAGING COSTS IN A DOWNTURN Read More »

Siemens CFO Dr Ralf Thomas spoke to IAFEI Quarterly about the impact of the recent Wirecard scandal on Germany’s reputation as a financial centre. What does the Wirecard scandal mean for Germany as a financial centre? We are all shaken. Wirecard Is a shot for the financial centre. Then comes the question: how could it happen? At …

SIEMENS CFO RALF THOMAS SAYS GERMANY MUST FIGHT FOR ITS REPUTATION AFTER WIRECARD SCANDAL Read More »

From Moneyweb: Accountants have tried for years to find a common language that would allow users of financial statements to make comparisons between companies operating in different parts of the world. In an ideal world, an investor in London would be able to compare the financials of a company in New York with the same surety …

THE WORLD’S PROFITS ARE DETERMINED BY A SINGLE ORGANISATION – AND THE LOBBYISTS ARE CRAWLING ALL OVER IT Read More »

From CFO.com: CFOs have to balance unforeseen COVID-driven capital issues with the need for investment that drives long-term value creation. COVID-19 has turned many industries upside down. Suddenly, high-performing companies have become cash-constrained during the pandemic while historically low-growth companies are selling out product and are flush with cash. For CFOs on both sides of this spectrum, making quick and effective capital allocation decisions may be more difficult than anticipated. Cash-constrained companies have likely had to decide how to quickly and effectively re-prioritize current and planned uses of capital. This is so that companies can redeploy cash to continue operations, maintain …

Capital Allocation: How to Emerge From the Pandemic In a Stronger Position Read More »

From WSJ: Many companies in recent months raised billions of dollars in new debt in the bond market, taking advantage of low funding costs and high investor demand. Finance chiefs used the additional capital to bolster their companies’ balance sheet, pay down credit lines or replace older debt following interventions by the Federal Reserve to stabilize financial markets. Most …

CFOS USING BOND PROCEEDS TO PAY DOWN CREDIT LINES, DEBT Read More »