Strategy & Operations
Services sector expands faster than forecast: ISM survey
Data released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Thursday showed that the services PMI rose to 55.4% in July, up 1.3 percentage points from June, exceeding market expectations. Despite tariffs and the Middle East conflict putting pressure on supply chains, 12 service industries reported growth. Federal Reserve Governor Waller said the same day that the strong services sector supports economic expansion, but inflation remains the focus of policy attention.
Finance is ‘leaning in’ to manage healthcare costs, WTW exec says
Tim Stawicki, senior managing director at global insurance brokerage and consulting firm WTW, says that in response to an expected 11.1% increase in employee healthcare benefit costs in 2027, corporate finance departments are engaging in cost control to an unprecedented degree. He advises CFOs to work with HR departments to manage spending through optimizing vendors and adjusting plan design, while staying compliant and balancing employee needs with talent competition.
How AI has entered one CFO’s budget season
AI is reshaping BeSmartee CFO Mina Samaan's budget season in multiple ways, including one aspect that contradicts technology's promise of saving time. To assess the impact and costs of AI tools, he moved budget planning to start in May. For the first time, his finance team used Anthropic's Claude AI plugin to assist in Excel budget preparation, but he remains cautious, requiring the team to triple-check AI outputs as they would a junior analyst.
CFO Dive Trendline on Modern accounting and the CFO
On Monday, at the AICPA Engage 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Costco's retired CFO Richard Galanti and 'Deadpool' actor Ryan Reynolds delivered a joint keynote. The two touched on topics from hot dog prices to film financing, showcasing a cross-industry collision between finance and entertainment.
Build vs. buy: The subscription billing decision CFOs keep getting wrong
The cost of building subscription billing in-house goes far beyond initial development; ongoing investments in maintenance, compliance, and payment logic are often underestimated. CFOs need to factor in opportunity costs and assess whether building truly provides flexibility. Recurly data shows that network-level data can improve payment recovery rates by 10-20 percentage points, and the usage of pause features has grown by 337%. Decisions should be based on long-term total cost of ownership, not short-term price.
Conference Board: U.S. Economic Growth Signal Turns Positive for First Time Since 2022
The Conference Board reported Thursday that its Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.2% in July, with the six-month growth rate turning positive for the first time since 2022. Improved credit markets, higher stock prices, and gains in new manufacturing orders drove the rebound, though consumer expectations remained a drag. The board forecasts GDP growth of 1.9% in 2026 and 2027, down from 2.1% in 2025, with AI investment supporting expansion while higher living costs may curb consumer spending.
Gallup Analyst: Managers Are the Best 'Lever' for AI Application
Gallup analyst Jim Hart says managers are the best 'lever' for AI application in the workplace, but expanded spans of control and insufficient training may pose challenges. The latest survey shows that half of CHROs lack confidence in managers' ability to guide AI use.
2026年车队战略：成本纪律如何重塑运营
财务领导者拥有前所未有的运营数据，但更多数据并不等于更清晰的财务洞察。本文聚焦车队管理中的成本、利用率和停机时间三大核心指标，说明为何单纯追踪绩效不等于理解绩效，并展示基准比较与自动化响应如何将数据转化为行动，最终提升资产回报与运营效率。
Vista CFO Champions Subscription Model: The Path to Asset-Light Business Aviation
Amid the wave of innovative pricing models in the business aviation industry, Charlotte Colhoun, CFO of Vista Global Holding, firmly supports the company's subscription-based contracts. She points out that 3-5 year long-term agreements offer clients financial predictability while converting aircraft usage costs into operating expenses; Vista's fleet averages over 1,000 flight hours annually, making capital cost allocation four times more efficient than owning aircraft. Contract pricing is influenced by aircraft type, route, and demand predictability, with hourly rates ranging from approximately $12,000 to $25,000, and includes built-in adjustment mechanisms for inflation and fuel prices.