|
The Morning Ledger: CFOs Turn to AI to Help Propel Digital Transformation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, speaks on artificial intelligence at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. PHOTO: REUTERS
|
|
|
Hello. More finance chiefs are looking to technological advances to reduce costs and add strategic value to existing processes as the digital transformation of the finance function gathers urgency, CFO Journal’s Ezequiel Minaya reports for WSJ Pro AI.
AI by the numbers. Grant Thornton LLP polled 378 senior finance executives and found that 25% of respondents were using artificial intelligence, up from 7% in a similar survey the firm did last year. In addition, 41% plan to dedicate additional resources to AI in the next two years. Forty-two percent reported making use of advanced and automation technologies in corporate development and strategic planning, up from 18% a year earlier.
[Continued below…]
|
|
|
|
More to come. Within the next 12 months, respondents said they expected to increase the deployment of technology in key areas, with 30% projecting greater use in financial planning and analysis, 28% in financial reporting and control and 29% in treasury and working capital management.
Crystal ball 2.0. CFOs are moving beyond improving transactional processes and are now looking to apply technologies to forward-looking, strategic procedures such as budgeting, forecasting and treasury, said Mike Ward, national managing principal of business consulting at Grant Thornton. The surveyed executives also increasingly forecast the greater use of advanced technologies and automation in risk management, tax and compliance, and budgeting.
|
|
|
The U.S. Commerce Department is scheduled to publish housing starts data for February at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect construction starts to fall 1.6% to 1.21 million in February.
The Conference Board is scheduled to release its index of U.S. consumer confidence at 10 a.m. ET. Economists expect the March reading to tick up to 133.0 from 131.4 a month earlier.
McCormick & Co., Carnival Corp. and KB Home are among the companies scheduled to release earnings today.
|
|
|
|
|
Actresses Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston speak during Apple’s launch of TV+, a service for its first original TV shows, in Cupertino, Calif., on Monday. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
Apple Inc. on Monday announced new products that extend its reach in entertainment, financial services, news and videogames, a suite of services that mark a major strategic shift by the tech giant as it seeks fresh growth amid softening sales in its core iPhone business.
Uber Technologies Inc. on Tuesday said it is acquiring Middle Eastern rival Careem Networks FZ for $3.1 billion, a deal that ends another cutthroat ride-hailing battle ahead of an expected initial public offering.
McDonald’s Corp. is buying Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield Ltd., in a bid to improve in-store ordering and online marketing at the burger giant.
WeWork Cos. on Monday said its loss last year doubled to nearly $2 billion, as the nine-year-old company spent heavily in an effort to rapidly expand its network of shared offices around the world.
With its initial public offering expected this week, Lyft Inc. will serve as one of the biggest tests of the public market’s appetite for money-losing companies since the dot-com era.
A trio of activist investors thinks Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has gotten sleepy and plans to give the big-box retailer a wake-up call.
The lack of clarity around Britain's exit from the European Union is leaving corporate treasurers wary of hedging their currency risks, the Financial Times reports.
|
|
|
|
Citigroup said it took the accusation seriously and would make it a priority to enhance governance and internal control to comply with financial regulations. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
-
Japan’s financial watchdog recommended a fine of $1.2 million for a unit of Citigroup Inc. for alleged manipulation of the futures market for Japanese government bonds.
-
Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay $775 million to resolve claims that the blood thinner Xarelto causes excessive bleeding, according to the companies.
-
U.S. banks will be able to more easily hedge against the risks of the loans they originate without triggering stricter regulatory requirements, under rule changes made Monday by a federal markets regulator.
-
The U.S. Department of Transportation is creating a special committee of experts to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety approval process for Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX aircraft, the latest sign of stepped-up scrutiny of the grounded jets.
-
The Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for first-time home buyers, is tightening its standards, concerned it is allowing too many risky loans to be extended.
-
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority suggested changes on Tuesday to allow banks to offer improved conditions for 30,000 mortgage holders stuck in unfavorable contracts, Reuters reports.
|
|
|
|
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, seen last week in Ottawa, said Monday that U.S. metals tariffs may hold up her government’s ratification of the revised North American free-trade deal. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
|
|
|
-
Canada’s foreign minister Chrystia Freeland indicated Monday the government might delay ratification of the revised North American free-trade deal until the Trump administration lifts its tariffs against Canadian steel and aluminum.
-
Former Trump campaign adviser Stephen Moore, the president’s latest pick for a Federal Reserve Board seat, said the central bank’s recent policy pivot shows that he was right to criticize its December interest-rate increase.
-
Some of the world’s biggest insurers plan to work together on an assessment of the best cybersecurity defenses available to businesses, an unusual collaboration that highlights the rising dangers posed by digital hackers.
-
Burgeoning use of U.S. dollars in Venezuela is feeding inequality, with holders of the U.S. currency able to weather hyperinflation and a disastrous economy, even as the rest of the population drifts deeper into poverty.
|
|
|
Lexington Realty Trust, a New York-based real estate investment trust, named Beth Boulerice its chief financial officer and treasurer. She succeeds Patrick Carroll, who was appointed as the company’s chief risk officer.
|
|
|
Ms. Boulerice joined the company in January 2007 and has served as its chief accounting officer since January 2011, according to the company’s filings with U.S. securities regulators. Compensation details weren’t immediately available.
Apple Hospitality REIT Inc., the Richmond, Va.-based real estate investment trust, said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Peery plans to retire in the first quarter of 2020. The company is working with an executive search firm to identify a successor. Mr. Peery intends to remain with the company over the next year to ensure a smooth transition.
|
|
|
|