Strategy & Operations
Employee benefits are often viewed as a necessary business expense, but rising healthcare costs are squeezing profits. By shifting their perspective, CFOs can turn benefit plans into a key lever influencing workforce structure, productivity, and risk. This article poses three critical questions: How to assess the impact of risks such as retirement and health on the P&L? How to reduce administrative complexity and free up resources? How to measure the ROI of each benefit and optimize capital allocation? Through examples and expert insights, it demonstrates how to achieve cost savings and value creation.
Capital allocation has shifted from static reporting of the annual budget to a management function where the board reviews performance and risk in real time. This article distills the five capital allocation questions the board is most likely to ask in 2026, covering project justification, prioritization criteria, AI investment returns, scenario response, and real-time FP&A involvement, along with a financial preparation checklist required for each question.
EY is increasing its CPA exam pass bonus for early-career employees from $5,000 to $10,000, applicable to those hired on or after June 1. This move is part of the firm's three-year, $1 billion talent investment, aimed at tackling talent shortages and changing licensure requirements in the accounting industry. Experts believe other firms may soon follow suit or risk falling behind in recruitment.
According to a survey released by the University of Michigan on Friday, consumer confidence improved this month, but worries about high prices and employment prospects remain. One-year inflation expectations declined but are still higher than in January 2025, and most consumers expect the unemployment rate to rise.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) $362 million budget for fiscal year 2026, a 9.4% cut from the previous year; it also reduced the accounting support fee by 18.4% to $306 million and slashed the chair's and board members' compensation by 52% and 42%, respectively. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the move aims to align compensation more closely with the spirit of public service, but observers expect enforcement activities to be squeezed.
In the first episode of the Santander US Prosperity Exchange Podcast, Mike Lee, Head of Santander Commercial Banking, speaks with John Howley, Vice Chairman of Newmark, revealing how Santander won the role of servicer for a $9 billion real estate portfolio.
As AI rapidly permeates core insurance business processes, the talent gap is replacing technology itself as the primary obstacle to large-scale deployment. In this podcast episode, experts from PwC and Workday are invited to systematically deconstruct the logic of building human-machine collaborative organizations across dimensions such as job restructuring, skills reskilling, data governance, and platform support, offering insurance industry leaders an action guide for progressing from pilot projects to lasting competitiveness.
According to a survey released by Grant Thornton on Thursday, 51% of CFOs in the fourth quarter expect their companies' operating expenditures to increase in the coming year, a significant rise from 35% three months ago and the highest level in 20 quarters. This shift indicates that financial leaders are ready for strategic spending after a period of prolonged cost control. The survey also shows that 44% of CFOs anticipate tax benefits from a certain big and beautiful bill, while 52% of CFOs are optimistic about the U.S. economy.
Newmark executives say companies are planning office space based on attendance needs on 'peak days' like Tuesday and Wednesday, rather than simply reducing square footage. Data shows that leased space per office position has only declined about 11% from 2019 to 122 square feet, far below the previously predicted 40% drop. Despite some leases not yet expiring, the market is expected to continue stabilizing in 2026.
The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that labor productivity grew at the fastest pace in two years in the third quarter, with nonfarm business sector productivity rising at an annualized rate of 4.9% quarter-over-quarter, up from 4.1% in the second quarter. Unit labor costs fell by 1.9%, and economists believe this trend could ease wage pressures and inflation, providing greater flexibility for Federal Reserve policy adjustments.