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Former Audit Regulator Helps Set Up New Accounting Firm
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Christina Ho, who left the PCAOB in January, will be an owner of Oath’s audit operation. SHURAN HUANG FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Christina Ho, the former audit regulator who made a name for herself as one of the most prominent dissenting voices on the PCAOB in recent years, has a new gig.
The WSJ Leadership Institute’s Mark Maurer profiled Ho back in June 2024, examining her reputation as a vocal critic of some of the board’s actions. Ho voted against more potential rules than anyone in the two-decade history of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates the auditing of U.S. public companies, Mark reported at the time.
Now, she’s making an interesting new move, helping to form a new venture-backed accounting firm called Oath that has an ambitious automation goal—which is to automate 80% of its work by 2029 or 2030 as it integrates AI tools.
Ho serves as chief assurance officer at the firm, which will provide auditing and advisory services, but not tax.
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“The audit approach is still built around human limitation and so in order to truly realize the benefit of technology, you have to build an audit methodology that is not human-centric but machine-centric,” Ho said in an interview.
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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Motorola Solutions’ CFO: Business Depth Matters in Finance
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Jason Winkler, Executive Vice President & CFO of Motorola Solutions, shares lessons on finance leadership, acquisitions, tech investment, and communicating with clarity at the board level. Read More
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📆 Earnings
American Eagle Outfitters, Autodesk, Best Buy, Burlington Stores, Costco Wholesale, Dell Technologies, Dollar Tree, Gap, Hormel Foods, MongoDB, NetApp, Okta, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and UiPath
📈 Economic Indicators
The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases the personal-consumption expenditures price index for April.
The BEA releases its second estimate of first-quarter gross-domestic-product growth.
The Census Bureau releases the durable-goods report for April.
The Census Bureau reports new-home sales for April.
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What Else Matters to CFOs
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Artificial-intelligence signage at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China. QILAI SHEN/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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When it comes to AI, China is taking a contrarian approach.
As a backlash against AI builds in the U.S. and elsewhere, China wants its companies to embrace the technology but without firing workers, as has been the wider trend.
China’s action is a bold response to fears that are mounting worldwide over the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, our colleagues Hannah Miao and Raffaele Huang report.
Background and context: China in recent years has struggled with youth disillusionment, with millions of college graduates competing for a limited number of desirable white-collar jobs. The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds in urban areas, excluding students, stood at 16% in April, according to government data.
Key quote: “China is trying to balance between two major priorities: social stability and productivity growth. AI as a potentially transformative technology might force Beijing to make hard trade-offs,” said Kyle Chan, a fellow with the Brookings Institution who studies China’s technology development and industrial policy.
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📰 Other headlines
📈 Earnings wrapup
For more earnings news, click here.
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“There are always little lies that are told by the incumbents in an industry. If I can create a better mousetrap, because I’m observing something that has just been accepted, and I can do it better, then I will go into that industry. We have done it, you know, 17 different times.”
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—Billionaire Fernando De Leon, on how he gained his edge in business. He got his start in real estate, then expanded into insurance, dental and beyond.
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The WSJ CFO Council convenes the world’s top financial leaders so they can gain perspective on navigating market uncertainty, aligning priorities and making decisions that deliver measurable results. Join this trusted community where CFOs exchange approaches, access strategic insights and continuously sharpen their influence across the enterprise.
Request Information.
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Cencora, the Conshohocken, Pa.-based pharmaceutical distributor, has hired Eva Boratto as the company's new executive vice president and CFO, plucking the executive from retailer Bath & Body Works. Boratto will join the company on June 29 to succeed James Cleary, who in March announced plans to retire after serving as finance chief since November 2018. Bath & Body Works said Boratto, who joined the retailer as chief financial officer in August 2023, will depart on June 12. Cleary, who joined Cencora in February 2015 following its acquisition of MWI
Veterinary Supply, will serve in an advisory capacity through the end of 2026 to assist with the transition. Bath & Body Works said Tom Javitch, who has been with the Columbus, Ohio, company for 16 years, will step in as interim CFO.
—Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.
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The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy. Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew. You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.
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