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The Morning Ledger: Controllers Shine as CFOs Delegate More |
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Heather Dixon, controller and chief accounting officer of Aetna Inc., also oversees the company’s tax and finance shared-services group. PHOTO: FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES INTERNATIONAL
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Hello. As finance chiefs take on more responsibility outside of the finance function, more of their traditional finance leadership work is trickling down to the corporate controller—elevating that position’s importance and reach within the organization. Still, the evolution is stressful for some corporate controllers who are stretching beyond their historic focus on process and efficiency, CFO Journal reports.
Strategic partner. Ninety percent of controllers said they spend more time on strategic planning than in the past decade, according to a survey of 306 accounting and finance professionals conducted by Dimensional Research and accounting software maker FloQast Inc.
[Continued below…]
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Digital leaders. Controllers are often the ones overhauling financial-reporting infrastructure and automating process, which puts them in closer proximity to operations. And when they can provide operational feedback, they become more valuable to the company, said Sharon Virag, CFO of NeoGenomics Inc. and former controller of Aetna Inc. “That’s how we end up in this leadership role,” Ms. Virag said.
Evolving roles. As more duties are delegated to controllers, they are required to change how they approach their own role and learn to think and manage differently, which may better prepare them for the C-suite, according to Gail Meneley, co-founder and principal at Shields Meneley Partners LLC, a Chicago career-transition firm.
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“Controllers used to have all their staff within eyeball distance, and they could see and track what’s going on. They are having to find a new way to manage people effectively.”
| — Gail Meneley, co-founder and principal at Shields Meneley Partners LLC |
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U.S. durable goods orders for December are due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by the WSJ predict that orders for long-lasting goods rose 1.5%, compared with a 0.7% increase in November.
Data provider Markit will release a preliminary reading of its manufacturing and services purchasing managers indexes at 9:45 a.m. ET. Manufacturing activity across the nation is expected to remain near unchanged at 54.2 in February, compared with an end-of-January reading of 54.9. Service-sector activity is also seen steady at 54.3 in February, versus 54.2 at the end of last month.
Domino’s Pizza Inc., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., Kraft Heinz Co., Caesars Entertainment Corp., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Roku Inc. and Wendy’s Co. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
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Lyft is said to be planning to launch its roadshow pitch to investors in mid-March, with the expectation of pricing shares later in the month. PHOTO: PATRICK T. FALLON/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Lyft Inc. is preparing to list its shares on Nasdaq around the end of March, according to people familiar with the matter, as the ride-sharing firm’s hotly anticipated plan to join the public markets comes into focus.
Tesla Inc. is losing its general counsel two months after hiring him, replacing the veteran trial lawyer with a longtime insider who helped the electric-car company navigate some of its biggest legal issues.
Apple Inc., hoping to revitalize sales in China, has paired up with the world’s largest financial-technology company to give iPhone buyers an affordable purchase option: up to two years of interest-free financing.
Warren Buffett is always on the hunt for “elephants,” as he calls large acquisitions. But three years have passed since the Omaha, Neb., billionaire bagged a new one.
Activist investor Starboard Value LP is unhappy with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s deal to buy rival Celgene Corp., and it has moved to install its own set of directors at Bristol-Myers.
Deutsche Bank AG racked up a loss of $1.6 billion over nearly a decade on a complex municipal-bond investment that it bought in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis, and failed to confront head-on even as markets were upended and regulations tightened.
Silicon Valley startups are often eager to tout their soaring values. But they are far more pessimistic when they hand out stock before going public—a sleight of hand that creates a hidden future windfall for employees while potentially lowering their taxes.
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Wolters Kluwer Is Scouting for Potential Tuck-In-Acquisition Targets |
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Dutch information-services and software company Wolters Kluwer NV is looking for potential bolt-on acquisitions, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Entricken told CFO Journal on Wednesday.
“We are always looking to strengthen the portfolio with bolt-on acquisitions,” Mr. Entricken said. He didn't specify what kind of target Wolters Kluwer would pursue, but said the company pursues a disciplined approach to acquisitions. “We don’t buy loss-making businesses,” Mr. Entricken said.
The Alphen aan den Rijn-based company on Wednesday reported 4% organic growth for last year, a widened operating profit margin of 23% and a €250 million ($284.2 million) share buyback. That followed a €550 million stock repurchase program completed in 2018. “We are feeling good about 2019, as we are entering the year with good momentum,” Mr. Entricken said.
The company is looking to move more of its software to the cloud, Mr. Entricken said. “We will continue to invest in cloud-based software,” he said. The company reinvests around 8% to 10% of annual revenue, according to the CFO.
Wolters Kluwer booked revenue of €4.26 billion in 2018, slightly lower than the €4.37 billion reported for 2017, as foreign exchange rates had a negative impact. Mr. Entricken added that Wolters Kluwer, which generates around 60% of its revenue in North America, has benefited from higher demand for its tax software following the U.S. corporate tax overhaul.
—Nina Trentmann
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Judges in Paris found UBS guilty of illegally recruiting clients in France and helping them to launder money. PHOTO: FABRICE COFFRINI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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French judges ordered UBS Group AG on Wednesday to pay a record €3.7 billion ($4.2 billion) fine for helping wealthy clients in France evade taxes, as Switzerland’s largest bank struggles to turn the page on legal entanglements stemming from its core wealth-management business.
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Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it received subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking documents related to the safety of its signature baby powder and other talc-containing products.
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U.S. pressure on Huawei Technologies Co. is echoing in the Philippines, where lawmakers worry that a $400 million video surveillance project using the Chinese company’s gear poses national security risks.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference on Jan. 30 after the U.S. central bank held its benchmark rate steady. PHOTO: ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The U.S.-China trade conflict has nearly wiped out American soy exports to the bean’s biggest market, China, giving Russian farmers a chance to extend their already soaring exports to their neighbor.
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Companies have rushed to sell new bonds in China this year, as Beijing loosens financial conditions to shore up businesses in a weakening economy.
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The growth in U.S. health-care spending is expected to accelerate over the coming eight years as baby boomers age and the prices for medical services grow, the Trump administration said Wednesday.
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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro unveiled his long-awaited proposal for overhauling the country’s insolvent pension system, setting up a major political test as he attempts to avert a financial crisis in Latin America’s biggest economy.
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