CFO KPI Close-up: Customer retention

Retaining customers begins with not giving them an excuse to leave, especially during times of economic uncertainty, three customer retention experts say. 

By Jane Thier • Nov. 2, 2020

COVID-19 driving rise in loan portability

Between the pandemic, election, international trade and low interest rates, it’s a perfect storm for debt to carry with a company to a new owner as a way to speed sales.

By Ted Knutson • Nov. 2, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Compensation: solving the cost-talent puzzle

In today’s strong labor market, CFOs leery of raising wages find creative ways to find and retain key employees.

By CFO Dive staff

Finance leadership means owning blame, CFO says

Hire people smarter than you, give them credit and take responsibility when things go wrong, because you only succeed when they do, Bluecore CFO Michelle McComb says. 

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 1, 2020

Chart your exit right from the start

Waiting to start planning your team's exit strategy until you're showing year-on-year growth, or any benchmark, limits your options.

By Chris Shipferling • Oct. 29, 2020

xP&A: The logical evolution of FP&A

Champions of extended analysis say its planning looks at more — and more types — of data, leading to better-aligned organizational decisions.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 28, 2020

Matching loan type to business stage

Whether you take out a growth capital term loan, asset-based loan, revolving line of credit or traditional venture debt, extending your runway depends on where your company sits on its growth curve.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 27, 2020

Pool of big-company CFOs shrinking

Finance leaders with the right experience want to move into the CEO seat rather than make a lateral move to another company of comparable size.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 26, 2020

4 cost management mistakes for CFOs to avoid in 2021

Under pressure to digitize and capitalize on growth opportunities, while reducing expenses, CFOs are likely to make decisions that can jeopardize their organization’s recovery, Gartner Finance says.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 26, 2020

Shifting to revenue growth from margin improvement

CFO Sachin Patel helped healthcare data analytics company Apixio drive a strategy focused on lifetime customer value. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 22, 2020

Private credit coming off strong summer of dealmaking

Deals are mostly structured, loan portability is emerging as a trend, and competition is strong for syndicated junior loans, lenders say. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 21, 2020

Where CFOs might spend more time: How about strategy, automation and data analytics?

Survey results reveal a sharp decline – from 40 percent in February to 9 percent May – in the time CFOs spend handling transactional processes.

Oct. 19, 2020

Emergency government procurement opens opportunities — and risks

Agencies are bypassing procedures to get COVID-19-related goods and services faster. Ensure the solidity of your own processes before doing business with them, specialists advise.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 18, 2020

Pandemic increases need for specialists to aid accounting teams

The American Institute of CPAs, with partner groups, has released guidelines to help finance chiefs as they manage non-accounting experts to help with valuations, other disrupted work.  

By Ted Knutson • Oct. 15, 2020

The CFO's critical role in customer retention

In the midst of a widespread health and financial crisis, retaining customers is more important than ever, and the job often falls to the CFO, SurveyMonkey CFO Debbie Clifford writes.

By Debbie Clifford • Oct. 14, 2020

CFO: Public markets remain best for capital raises, business discipline

A three-time IPO finance leader says companies miss a lot if they opt for private capital after they've become big enough to go public.  

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 14, 2020

SaaS to generate $105B this year; new models taking root

The software-as-a-service model is expected to grow by 12% annually. Infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service models are expected to grow faster.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 13, 2020

CFO KPI Close-up

CFOs all rely on a standard set of financial metrics, but certain KPIs enable them to outperform the competition.

Oct. 13, 2020

CFO KPI Close-up: Cash flow

When the economic outlook is cloudy and grim, "cash is king" rings 10 times truer, CFOs say.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 13, 2020

How CFOs, supply chain leaders unlock value amid disruption

Building a resilient supply chain is less about cost reduction and more about cost optimization, Stefan Reidy, CEO of cargo monitoring service Arviem, says.

By Stefan Reidy • Oct. 10, 2020

The business case for outsourcing sales and use tax returns

Tax and finance staff are now responsible for helping to shift business operations and procedures. While this undertaking might seem overwhelming, there are solutions.

Oct. 9, 2020

Survey: 1 in 3 employers to lower 2021 pay raises

Despite pandemic-related concerns about profitability and budgeting, two-thirds of employers expect to fund annual short-term bonuses in 2021.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 7, 2020

How CFOs speak truth without alienating colleagues

Silicon Valley veteran Maynard Webb says good finance leaders find a way to protect integrity without unnecessary business disruption.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 7, 2020

More M&A, but also more nontraditional deals, survey shows

Executives are using alliances, partnerships, joint ventures and special purpose acquisition companies more than ever to help them hedge uncertainty.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 6, 2020

Mondelez CFO redirecting travel, real estate funds to marketing

After cutting marketing funding at the onset of the pandemic, the snack food giant is bolstering its advertising budget, Luca Zaramella said. 

By Jane Thier • Oct. 6, 2020

CFO KPI Close-up: Churn

"Really every SaaS company CFO should be tracking churn ... churn and retention are key," Ben Murray, CFO of Mobile Solutions, said.

By Jane Thier • Oct. 6, 2020