Opinion
The Unexpected Bill on the Road to IPO: The 275-Fold Surge in Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Sarcos CFO Steve Hansen reviews his three IPO experiences, pointing out unexpected expenses such as a 275-fold surge in directors' and officers' liability insurance and soaring audit costs, and recommends hiring in advance, appointing a project manager, and setting aside a budget.
Workflow Integration Gives Virtual Cards New Life
Airbase founder Thejo Kote believes that virtual corporate cards, through deep integration with software workflows, address the pain points of manual reconciliation and lack of control in traditional corporate cards, and are expected to become the mainstream method of corporate payment in the future.
How CFOs Can Reshape Enterprise Sales Forecasting with Virtual Sales Forecasting (VSF)
Sales forecasting is key to enterprise strategic planning, but traditional processes rely on manual analysis, leading to low forecast frequency and lagging data. In this article, Michael Ballou, Senior Director at FTI Consulting, introduces the Virtual Sales Forecasting (VSF) method, which connects data sources and automates analysis to shorten the forecasting cycle from months to daily, providing more granular insights to help enterprises enhance forecast accuracy and decision quality.
Financial Digitalization in 2022: Strategic Priorities for Chief Financial Officers
Among many business functions, finance should be the first to embrace digitalization. Nick Rose, CFO of Enable, points out that outdated technology, unreliable data processes, and old habits relying on manual spreadsheets are hindering finance teams from improving performance and competitiveness. In 2022, financial leaders are placing digitalization at the core of their agenda, but successful transformation depends not only on technology adoption but also on supporting cultural and organizational adjustments. This article cites research data from Ventana Research, Gartner, PwC, and McKinsey, combined with practical cases from Enable's partners, to illustrate the key role of financial digitalization in process optimization, talent reshaping, and forward-looking decision-making.
Adopting Insights to Help CFOs Maximize ROI on Digital Transformation
Investment in digital transformation continues to rise, but many projects fail due to insufficient adoption. WalkMe CFO Andrew Casey writes that CFOs need to leverage real-time analytics tools and clear adoption KPIs (such as proficiency speed and user retention rate) to identify inefficient software, optimize training, and streamline the technology stack, thereby ensuring that technology investments truly translate into business value.
Intangible Assets Remain Key to Valuation Amid Tightening Capital
As investors may intensify scrutiny in 2022, startup executives need to more effectively justify their valuations. This article points out that through rigorous evaluation of intangible assets (such as data, brands, patents, etc.), companies can strongly defend high valuations and distinguish reality from hype. It cites that intangible assets as a share of S&P 500 companies have risen from 17% in 1975 to 90% today, and provides a checklist for identification, valuation, and risk management.
Treasury Departments Need Not Yield to FP&A in Forecasting
In recent years, CFOs have placed greater emphasis on strategic cash forecasting, yet in practice many companies allocate long-term forecasting and corporate modeling to FP&A, with treasury handling only short-term cash forecasts. During the early pandemic, FP&A gained more influence due to responding to investor demands, but treasury holds unique advantages in accuracy and future orientation. Experts suggest that treasury should proactively seek involvement in strategic forecasting, use tools like AI and APIs to extend forecast horizons, and collaborate with FP&A on division of labor to jointly enhance forecasting value.
Net Recovery Rate: A Key Performance Indicator That May Be Overlooked
In credit card chargeback handling, merchants typically focus on the win rate, but the net recovery rate better reflects overall recovery capability. Data shows that the average merchant win rate is 32%, while the net recovery rate is only 12%. Monica Eaton-Cardone, co-founder of Chargebacks911, points out that time and data limitations are the main reasons for the low net recovery rate, and suggests optimizing strategies by analyzing historical transaction patterns.
The Strategic Value of Third-Party Valuations: A CFO's Decision Guide Amid FASB Rule Changes
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is studying replacing annual goodwill impairment tests with a straight-line amortization model, presenting CFOs at financial institutions and other companies with two pressing choices: whether to continue regularly performing reporting unit valuations (even if no longer mandatory for impairment testing), and if so, whether they should be conducted by a third party. An EY Americas survey shows that 53% of CFOs plan to continue annual valuations, but only 25% use valuations to judge whether stocks are overvalued or undervalued. This article suggests that third-party valuations can bridge internal skill gaps, provide unbiased performance assessments, and help CFOs navigate capital allocation challenges amid digital transformation.