CFO Dive

New technology can help CFOs boost profits and productivity, but for finance leaders, knowing how, when and why they should splurge on AI, the cloud or other emerging tools is critical. Sign up for CFO Dive’s Tech Weekly for news about what innovations should be foremost on CFOs’ minds. #technology #finance https://dive.pub/3l6SUwP

The annual pace of economic growth will likely sink below 1% during the second and third quarters, according to the The Conference Board. With y high inflation, rising household debt, depleted pandemic-period savings and other factors, the economy faces "serious headwinds to growth," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager of business cycle indicators at the Conference Board. #inflation #recession #interestrates https://lnkd.in/eRy4BhJa

Cybercriminals utilized AI deepfakes to falsely pose as Arup’s CFO and other employees, leading a staff member to transfer $25 million to Hong Kong bank accounts. For CFOs, ensuring awareness about such incidents in one's enterprise is a critical first step, Matthew Miller, principal, cybersecurity services at Big Four firm KPMG US told CFO Dive. Finance chiefs should also revisit "some of your business processes where you could be susceptible to deepfake social media type attacks,” he said. #socialengineering #deepfakes #generativeai #fraud https://lnkd.in/ejZyhqV4

CFO turnover among publicly traded companies surged in the first quarter to a three-year high, an analysis by executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates found. The "spike demonstrates that as economic uncertainty becomes the new normal for organizations, the trepidation to replace CFOs has dissipated,” the report said. #executiveturnover #cfoinsights #inflation https://lnkd.in/eW_huuh9

Kyriba CFO Adam Drew in March became the San Diego, California-based treasury and finance platform provider’s first permanent CFO in more than a year. His priorities include getting the company to use data more effectively and building out the company's FP&A function. Ultimately, better data analysis will be crucial to one of his biggest concerns as CFO: making sure the company is ready to seize opportunities. “We will file our taxes. We will pay our employees — we will pay whoever we need to pay, that’s a given really in any functioning finance team,” he said, in response to a question on what keeps him up at night. “But for me my biggest concern is missing an opportunity.” #treasury #cfos #FP&A https://lnkd.in/ggQzVnXv

Bloated tech stacks are a problem for many companies. But by putting a centralized, single platform in place Michael Kennedy, CFO and chief operating officer of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, was able to quickly adjust the nonprofit’s expenses, he said in an interview. In addition to allowing the organization to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology refresh has enabled MDA to save nearly $5 million in costs since 2018. Kennedy has a framed chart that displays the 65 systems he pared down to one over the course of several years. #cfo #techstacks #costcutting https://lnkd.in/g6wrkUKb

Defense industry giant Northrop Grumman said Tuesday that its space systems CFO, Kenneth B. Crews, is preparing to take charge of the company’s overall finance department. Effective Oct. 1, Crews will replace current Northrop Grumman CFO David Keffer, who is planning to retire early next year to spend more time with family, the Falls Church, Virginia-based company said. The leadership changes comes on the heels of some volatility in Northrop Grumman’s financial performance. #cfo #csuite #retirement https://lnkd.in/gPvaEt4t

The consumer price index excluding volatile food and energy prices rose last month at the slowest pace this year, giving Federal Reserve Board policymakers some relief from a barrage of first-quarter data that shook confidence inflation will steadily slow to their 2% goal. “Today’s data may be a relief relative to past months, and that should reduce any fears that the Fed might have to raise rates,” Eric Winograd, developed market research director at AllianceBernstein, said in an email. #inflation #consumerpriceindex #Fed https://lnkd.in/gK9xZERm

Companies are reluctant to raise prices on inflation-squeezed customers and instead are looking to optimize their cost structures, according to Paul Goydan, a managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) who specializes in cost-related issues. But organizations that don’t have a pricing strategy to address the current inflationary economic environment are at a competitive disadvantage, he argued. “The risk is that they do not keep their eye on the ball when it comes to pricing and lose the capability to manage price as a core competency in the long run,” he said. #price #costs #cfos https://lnkd.in/gsXaVJQw

The odds of another rate increase are "very small," Federal Reserve Board chair Jerome Powell. The Fed will likely hold interest rates higher for longer than expected, Powell said in remarks Tuesday. “We have the highest interest rates in some time,” Powell said Tuesday. “The question is, ‘is it sufficiently restrictive?’” #interestrates #inflation https://lnkd.in/ecXKh2Et