FEI Weekly

December 13, 2017

SEC names new PCAOB chairman, how sexual misconduct costs companies millions, and the tech that will change SMB accounting.

SEC Makes Big Changes at PCAOB

Accounting Today

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed William D. Duhnke III as the new chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and named four new members to replace the PCAOB’s current board. Duhnke is expected to push the board in the anti-regulatory direction of the Trump administration.

Executive Scandals Hurt Businesses' Bottom Lines

Fox Business

Sexual misconduct has proven to be very costly for individuals’ reputations and careers in 2017, from Matt Lauer to Harvey Weinstein to Sen. Al Franken. But individuals aren’t the only ones who feel the fallout. Executive scandals can also severely hit businesses’ bottom lines. A recent study found that CEO missteps, including substance abuse, violence, dishonesty and sexual indiscretions can result in hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of financial repercussions.

The Tech That Will Change SMB Accounting

PYMNTS.com

Corporate payment processes for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)- paper checks for domestic suppliers, wire transfers for international ones - are inefficient, costly, and prone to fraud. A recent survey found that 74% of companies said they were hit with a business email compromise scam in 2016, which typically involves scammers requesting payment via wire transfer for a fraudulent invoice. Technologies like machine learning and AI can be particularly effective for more accurate cash flow forecasting.

A Solution to the CFO Big Data Challenge

CFO

The more access we have to data, the better we can mak informed, rapid decisions. But as data volume continually expands, the cost to extract value from this storehouse of business intelligence expands with it. This is a challenge for executives who must balance the company’s investments in innovation, growth, risk management, and cost reduction when allocating resources. The solution may be found in Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing (HTAP), or Hybrid Memory A architecture (HMA), which involves the use of a relatively simple, scalable data architecture composed of a real-time database and a historical database (hence the use of the word “hybrid”).

2 Ways to Handle a Narcissistic Boss

Business Insider

Dr. Craig Malkin, a clinical psychologist and the author shares that, when dealing with a self-involved boss, there are two effective techniques. One is that any time they show any capacity for caring or concern, say to your boss something like, "I really appreciated the encouragement you gave me yesterday." The other is that you'll want to frame whatever plan you're bringing to them to appeal to what's in it for them.