Strategy & operations

Shifting to revenue growth from margin improvement

CFO Sachin Patel helped healthcare data analytics company Apixio drive a strategy focused on lifetime customer value. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 22, 2020

Private credit coming off strong summer of dealmaking

Deals are mostly structured, loan portability is emerging as a trend, and competition is strong for syndicated junior loans, lenders say. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 21, 2020

Sponsored by AvidXchange

Where CFOs might spend more time: How about strategy, automation and data analytics?

Survey results reveal a sharp decline – from 40 percent in February to 9 percent May – in the time CFOs spend handling transactional processes.

Emergency government procurement opens opportunities — and risks

Agencies are bypassing procedures to get COVID-19-related goods and services faster. Ensure the solidity of your own processes before doing business with them, specialists advise.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 18, 2020

Pandemic increases need for specialists to aid accounting teams

The American Institute of CPAs, with partner groups, has released guidelines to help finance chiefs as they manage non-accounting experts to help with valuations, other disrupted work.  

By Ted Knutson • Oct. 15, 2020

Opinion

The CFO's critical role in customer retention

In the midst of a widespread health and financial crisis, retaining customers is more important than ever, and the job often falls to the CFO, SurveyMonkey CFO Debbie Clifford writes.

By Debbie Clifford • Oct. 14, 2020

CFO: Public markets remain best for capital raises, business discipline

A three-time IPO finance leader says companies miss a lot if they opt for private capital after they've become big enough to go public.  

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 14, 2020

SaaS to generate $105B this year; new models taking root

The software-as-a-service model is expected to grow by 12% annually. Infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service models are expected to grow faster.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 13, 2020

CFO KPI Close-up

CFOs all rely on a standard set of financial metrics, but certain KPIs enable them to outperform the competition.

Column

CFO KPI Close-up: Cash flow

When the economic outlook is cloudy and grim, "cash is king" rings 10 times truer, CFOs say.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 13, 2020

Opinion

How CFOs, supply chain leaders unlock value amid disruption

Building a resilient supply chain is less about cost reduction and more about cost optimization, Stefan Reidy, CEO of cargo monitoring service Arviem, says.

By Stefan Reidy • Oct. 10, 2020

Sponsored by Vertex Inc.

The business case for outsourcing sales and use tax returns

Tax and finance staff are now responsible for helping to shift business operations and procedures. While this undertaking might seem overwhelming, there are solutions.

Survey: 1 in 3 employers to lower 2021 pay raises

Despite pandemic-related concerns about profitability and budgeting, two-thirds of employers expect to fund annual short-term bonuses in 2021.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 07, 2020

How CFOs speak truth without alienating colleagues

Silicon Valley veteran Maynard Webb says good finance leaders find a way to protect integrity without unnecessary business disruption.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 07, 2020

More M&A, but also more nontraditional deals, survey shows

Executives are using alliances, partnerships, joint ventures and special purpose acquisition companies more than ever to help them hedge uncertainty.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 06, 2020

Mondelez CFO redirecting travel, real estate funds to marketing

After cutting marketing funding at the onset of the pandemic, the snack food giant is bolstering its advertising budget, Luca Zaramella said. 

By Jane Thier • Oct. 06, 2020

Column

CFO KPI Close-up: Churn

"Really every SaaS company CFO should be tracking churn ... churn and retention are key," Ben Murray, CFO of Mobile Solutions, said.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 06, 2020

As regulators step up data analytics, companies must do the same

Complying with government document requests is becoming too difficult and risky without predictive analytics tools, an e-discovery specialist says.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 06, 2020

Siemens USA CFO: Outward-focused finance team essential

Computation skills must be the starting point, not the limiting factor, for staff to realize full potential, Marsha Smith says.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 03, 2020

Costco CFO keeps close eye on working capital, inventory

Same-store sales for the members-only retail store rose more than 14% year-over-year in its most recent quarter, which Richard Galanti credits to consistent communication with merchants and suppliers.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 01, 2020

Companies lagging on LIBOR transition; lawsuits expected

There's little chance regulators will delay the December 2021 transition because of the pandemic, specialists say. 

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 29, 2020

Harvard CFO: 'We cannot do everything everyone wants'

Thomas Hollister said the perception of Harvard University as having unlimited resources is false, and it can't "continue to deficit spend on an operating basis."

By Jane Thier • Sept. 24, 2020

CFO 'filled gas tank' at COVID-19 start to keep company growing

CMS software platform Contentful had a good cash position, but a quickly executed fundraise helped it stay focused on its North Star.

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 24, 2020

Companies see 'fresh-start' accounting as way to improve post-bankruptcy odds

As the pandemic sends companies into bankruptcy, CFOs consider a reorganizational approach that creates a new entity with a new set of books.

By Ted Knutson • Sept. 23, 2020

Survey: Digital transformation in finance a key agility indicator

Almost a third of CFOs said several financial digital transformation initiatives have stalled or stagnated amid the pandemic, at great cost to their organizations, a Workday survey found.

By Jane Thier • Sept. 23, 2020