CFOs know not all prospects are what they claim to be. Potential clients will stretch the truth to get a line of credit that's bigger than what they're worth. The risks of fraud are surging: 44% of credit managers say…
Fraud
Accounting firms face tougher fiduciary duties as the result of three new federal rules. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) approved guidelines written by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the commission's Sarbanes-Oxley compliance arm. Employees of accounting firms…
Twenty-six financial firms are on the hook for $392.75 million in fines for securities recordkeeping violations. Several of the brokers, dealers and investment advisers made themselves a target by not keeping records of their communications. "Off-channel" communication enforcement efforts are…
The list of fraudulent brokerages, securities firms and even financial regulators just keeps getting longer. Hundreds, potentially thousands, of scam artists are on the prowl, looking to pick the pockets of investors who don't double check a company's on the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can no longer deny a party charged with securities fraud to a jury trial in a federal court. The Supreme Court just curtailed SEC internal enforcement established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Critics allege…
Did you hear about the Snowflake hack? Snowflake is a cloud computing company that got blasted by a series of attacks earlier this spring. Snowflake clients ended up taking most of the shrapnel. Snowflake client Ticketmaster estimates 560 million customer…
Any business owner who paid employee salaries or health benefits during COVID-19 restrictions will be waiting a while longer for a tax credit. The IRS is wading through tens of thousands of what it believes are "suspect" claims. The Service…
Extortion attempts such as ransomware attacks are on the rise again. Companies may want to consider cyber insurance policies to protect themselves. Client companies insured by Marsh reported a record number of cyber extortion attempts in 2023, roughly 65% more…
Is there a single business in the U.S. that's resisted raising prices since early 2020? Good luck finding one. But there's a fine line between passing along higher costs of doing business to the customer, and "fixing" prices. Case in…
Non-bank financial institutions are facing a double whammy, courtesy of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). A new federal registry -- liable to be accessible on the Internet after its launch -- will list "corporate offenders that have broken consumer…
Ever-growing postage rates are driving companies to digitize as much as possible. A record-high rate hike set for July 14 is going to impact companies that rely on the mail to do business. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced it…
Believe it or not, more than 80% of workers like their employers' Paid Time Off (PTO) packages. But that doesn't stop a surprising percentage of workers from abusing it. Thirty-seven percent of Millennials (workers in their late 20s, 30s and…