FEI Weekly

September 15, 2020

GM CEO denies 'intricate fraud' and how to start a digital detox.

GM CEO Denies 'Intricate Fraud'

Fox Business

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said GM performed the “appropriate diligence” prior to closing its $2 billion transaction with Nikola. Now the SEC has opened a probe into the allegations against Nikola, after short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the upstart electric vehicle firm of conducting an “intricate fraud.”

The New CFO: Cloud Financial Officer

Information Week

Like it or not, cloud fees aren’t predictable capital costs. Anyone even slightly familiar with cloud providers knows service options change rapidly and regularly. Nothing about cloud management is set it and forget it. It’s a full-time job, which is why we need a new role, a new kind of CFO. The other CFO -- a cloud financial officer (or if it’s not C-level, a cloud economist).

Reopening Timelines: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Inc.

Large companies are making timeline calls based on a host of factors, including observations about competitors, customer surveys, analysis of behavioral trends, and social media activity. They're even tracking people's movements via aggregated cell phone data. While weighing broader national trends, small and midsize companies should monitor public-health data at the hyper-local level.

U.K.'s New Accounting Board Names Chairman

WSJ - Paywall

Pauline Wallace, a former partner at PwC who also served in several regulatory roles, will head the newly created U.K. Accounting Standards Endorsement Board, which is expected to be operational once the country’s transition period with the European Union is over. The country will have its own procedures on how to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

How to Start a Digital Detox

Gizmodo

Diana Winston, Director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, suggests focusing 'on the moments when we turn to technology to fill up time because we’re uncomfortable without stimulation.' For instance, many of us, in the moments we are bored, waiting for something, and in all the “in between” times, turn to our phones. With mindfulness we can notice those moments of discomfort, feel the impulse to pick up the phone, read the news, scroll through our social media feed, etc., and take a pause, take a breath, notice the impulse, but not act on it.