Strategy & operations
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Private capital targeting 5G, AI next year in M&A
Private equity and venture capital firms have declining M&A interest in real estate, media, retail and biotech, a BDO survey shows.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 12, 2019 -
CFO keeps tight reins on biopharma structure
Avoiding complexity in capital structure, organization helps company keep a handle on costs while it conducts clinical trials.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 11, 2019 -
Transformation of GE's closing process aims to improve finance jobs, CFO says
The company created a data lake to help organize a system that includes thousands of legal entities, many of which use their own ERP software.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 09, 2019 -
How CFOs can lead digitization efforts in 4 steps
Ash Noah has spent his career helping CFOs adopt new technology and restructure their businesses. He told CFO Dive the four integral steps to spearhead those initiatives.
By Jane Thier • Dec. 09, 2019 -
Strategic CFO: Data crunching alone won't cut it
To put data in context, you have to understand sales and other operations firsthand.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 09, 2019 -
Only 22% of CFOs personally effective, Gartner study finds
The key to sustained personal success is forging relationships with non-finance workers, but some relationships are much more important than others.
By Jane Thier • Dec. 08, 2019 -
OpinionHow diversity and inclusion improve your finance function
Rethink your approach to recruitment by conducting talent outreach beyond your historical recruiting channels, SAP North America CFO Anthony Coletta says.
By Anthony Coletta • Dec. 05, 2019 -
CEOs make more money when they hire their CFOs
CFOs might feel pressured to run their operations in a way that promotes short-term earnings, such as cutting research, a study finds.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 05, 2019 -
90% of CFOs say procurement leaders should sit at executive table — A.T. Kearney
Firms that embrace strategic alignment with their procurement functions see two to three times greater supply chain ROI than average companies.
By Morgan Forde • Dec. 05, 2019 -
How to transition from a static to a rolling forecast
Tools available today to help you sharpen your insights can't work if you're still using a static forecasting process, a consultant says.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 04, 2019 -
MineralTree CFO: Segmented reporting revealed value to investors
Traditional reports left too many blanks for investors to have a clear picture of a technology company's health, so Chris Sands devised a better way to tell the company's story.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 03, 2019 -
CFO leads down-market push to boost B2B software sales
Druva CFO Mahesh Patel's collaborative leadership across the C-suite enabled the company's SaaS data protection offering to provide value whether the customer is Fortune 50 or mid-market.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 03, 2019 -
CFOs urged to put people first as they transform accounting function
Your finance operation will certainly be automated; it's just a matter of when. Identifying solid opportunities for your talent ahead of time is imperative.
By Robert Freedman • Dec. 02, 2019 -
CFO taps energy of young finance pros to boost productivity
Advanced Computer Software Group develops candidates through tests and training, and they "are tremendously motivated by opportunities they're perhaps not getting elsewhere," CFO Andrew Hicks said.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 26, 2019 -
Managing a smooth transition to ASC 606 revenue recognition
Decisions made by legal, sales, and other teams can affect how you recognize money coming in and going out. Collaboration is key to staying on the right side of the 700 pages of guidelines.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 25, 2019 -
Scenario planning: Green means look, not go
Plan for bad times when times are good, executives at the MIT Sloan CFO Summit said last week.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 24, 2019 -
Twitter CFO: Communication health comes first
Ned Segal told finance professionals at the MIT Sloan CFO Summit Thursday the health of their communication model comes before everything, including getting more people on the service.
By Jane Thier • Nov. 22, 2019 -
Slower economy presents an opportunity for M&A
Whether you focus your acquisitions on on roll ups or growth depends on your long-term business strategy, executives said at the MIT Sloan CFO Summit in Boston last week.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 21, 2019 -
How to better align business travel costs to revenue
A travel startup tries to increase CFOs' visibility into the third highest cost category they face.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 20, 2019 -
Deep DiveBankrupt biopharmas are rare. 2019 has some worried that's changing.
Eleven biopharmas declared bankruptcy in 2019, more than any other year since at least 2011. Rising market pressures, coupled with legal liabilities, risk more companies falling to zero, experts warn.
By Andrew Dunn • Nov. 19, 2019 -
Druva CFO: Move to bundled services led to growth spurt
A big menu of add-ons didn't do much for long-term revenue growth at a SaaS company, so Mahesh Patel led an effort to change that.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 18, 2019 -
FP&A team: Hire lifelong learners, not the technically proficient
Skills become obsolete; outside-the-box thinking doesn't, an accounting professor says.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 17, 2019 -
CFOs sitting pretty in today's job market
The COO role is becoming obsolete, as companies try to create efficiencies by handing off much of the COO duties to CFOs, a Korn Ferry placement leader said during CFO Live.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 14, 2019 -
How to add predictive economic intelligence to budget planning
Over-reliance on backward-looking internal data can blind CFOs to risky external factors.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 13, 2019 -
Stay away from masters of the universe, biotech CFO says
CFOs need competent accounting and finance professionals on their team so they can focus on broader issues affecting the organization.
By Robert Freedman • Nov. 12, 2019
