Latest news
ADM announced on Wednesday the appointment of 45-year-old Carrie Nichols as chief accounting officer, effective March 1. Nichols has over 20 years of financial experience and previously served as CAO at Cargill. She will report to CFO Monish Patolawala, who has been working to address the company's accounting control deficiencies since taking office last year. The company still faces regulatory investigations, and investors are dissatisfied with the slow progress.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady at Wednesday's meeting, with policymakers unanimously agreeing that the current monetary policy stance is appropriate amid concerns that the Trump administration's tariffs, deregulation, mass deportations of immigrants, and tax cuts could push inflation higher in the coming months. Fed Chair Powell stated that the committee sees no need to rush adjustments to its policy stance and will prudently assess the impact of the new administration's policies on the economy based on data.
FASB's proposed amendments to internal-use software (ASC 350-40) received 32 comment letters during the public feedback period that ended Monday, with participation from Apple, Salesforce, American Express, Bank of America, and the Big Four accounting firms. Most respondents supported updating this decades-old GAAP guidance, while also offering some suggested changes.
As 2025 approaches, chief financial officers face multiple challenges including global economic policy shifts, tariffs, persistent inflation, and labor shortages. CFO.com consolidates its annual outlook, focusing on finance function transformation and technology impact, to help financial leaders clarify their direction.
The quarterly survey released by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) on Monday showed that the salary growth indicator has fallen to its lowest level since April 2021, with only 41% of economists reporting salary increases over the past three months.
After Trump did not immediately implement tariffs in his first week in office, businesses still face policy uncertainty. KPMG expert Andrew Siciliano advises CFOs to start from the worst-case scenario, analyze rules of origin, consider advance imports and tariff recovery strategies, and continuously track policy developments to address potential tariffs on Canada and Mexico that may take effect on February 1.
A latest report from the Tax Foundation shows that the import tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China announced by President Trump will reduce U.S. economic output by 0.4% in the long term and result in the loss of 344,000 jobs. This estimate does not account for retaliatory measures by trading partners. The tariffs are expected to take effect as early as February 1 and could generate $1.2 trillion in federal revenue between 2024 and 2034.
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday prohibiting federal agencies from issuing, establishing, or promoting a central bank digital currency (CBDC) unless otherwise required by law. The order also establishes a presidential working group led by David Sacks to explore a regulatory framework for digital assets and the possibility of a national digital asset reserve, and revokes a Biden-era executive order on digital assets.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and all Republican lawmakers introduced the Defending American Jobs and Investment Act (H.R. 591) on January 22 to strengthen President Trump's executive order signed on January 20, which revoked U.S. participation in the OECD global tax agreement. The bill aims to authorize countermeasures against discriminatory foreign taxes and directs the Treasury Secretary to investigate foreign non-compliance with U.S. tax rules. Experts believe this marks a significant shift in U.S. international tax policy, potentially having far-reaching implications for CFOs of multinational corporations.
Deloitte's latest survey shows that 200 CFOs surveyed after the U.S. election expect salary and wage costs to rise by 7.3% over the next 12 months, nearly doubling the previous quarter's expectation of 3.65%. The financial services sector expects the highest increase at 8.65%. CFO confidence in the economy and business environment has reached its highest level in 10 quarters.