TECH COMPANIES to WATCH 2018 20 Vendors Making the Digital Enterprise a Reality
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APRIL/MAY 2018 | CFO.COM CFO TECH COMPANIES TO WATCH 2018 20 vendors making the digital enterprise a reality SPECIAL REPORT: CYBER RISKS HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CFOs CFO WEBCASTS Topics: What’s top-of-mind for CFOs Experts: Sharing leading-edge thinking Viewing: Live or on-demand CFO Publishing’s finance- driven webcasts bring together industry and academic experts to discuss the most pressing issues facing senior finance executives today. Explore the latest developments in accounting, technology, performance management, financial reporting, tax, human capital, and more! Don’t miss the opportunity to stay current on issues that are important to you, while also earning CPE credits. Visit www.cfo.com/webcasts to register today. IN THIS ISSUE April/May 2018 Volume 34, No. 2 29 COVER STORY Tech Companies to Watch 2018 Digital Remedies These 20 vendors offer compelling products that address longstanding points of pain for enterprises. By Keith Button, Bob Violino, and the Editors of CFO • Pymetrics • Catalant • Prattle Technologies • Tipalti • Signifyd • UiPath • Host Analytics • Exabeam • Spoke • x.ai • FloQast • Emagia • RapidMiner • Adaptive • Nextiva Insights • Acumatica • Duo Security • Paycor 29 • Symbiont • Medallia 40 40 Special Report: Cyber Risk Thunder In The Cloud Migration to the cloud is causing a buildup of cyber risks that could leave customers financially exposed. By David M. Katz Cover: Colin Anderson/Getty Images; this page: Thinkstock (2) April/May 2018 | CFO 1 IN THIS ISSUE April/May 2018 Volume 34, No. 2 14 22 Up Front By the Numbers 4 | FROM THE EDITOR 44 | BUSINESS OUTLOOK 6 | INBOX Duke University/CFO Survey Results 8 | TOPLINE: AI business risks | Trade LOOKING UP finance disclosure flaws | Tax windfall Buoyed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, omits workers | Tech CFOs forecast U.S. CFOs project sizable increases revenue jump | Zero-based budgeting in earnings, capital spending, 8 boom | Digital transformation on and technology outlays this year. a budget | And more | By Chris Schmidt 14 | HUMAN CAPITAL 46 | FIELD NOTES 10 Habits of Highly Effective CFOs Perspectives from CFO Research By David McCann THE REVOLUTION WILL BE DIGITIZED Driven by intense competition and 18 | STRATEGY heightened customer expectations, Searching for the Right Price CFOs are making a serious long-term By David McCann committment to digital transforma- tion. | By Josh Hyatt 22 | CAPITAL MARKETS The Seven Deadly Sins For 26 Private Equity CFOs By Nick Leopard, Rishi Jain, 48 | THE QUIZ and Neel Bhatia Hire Learning Sustained low employment means 24 | TECHNOLOGY the fight for talent will dominate RPA Still “Scratching the Surface” 2018. How much do you know about By David McCann the latest job search and hiring trends? Take our quiz. 26 | ACCOUNTING Justifying Judgment When Recognizing Revenue By Eric Knachel Help with Non-GAAP By David McCann 2 CFO | April/May 2018 Thinkstock (4) ARRIVE AN ELITE EXECUTIVE. EMERGE A VISIONARY LEADER. The Advanced Management Program is designed to help accomplished ADVANCED senior executives navigate the complex global challenges facing businesses today. Along with an elite group of peers and the renowned MANAGEMENT HBS faculty, you will explore best management practices and bold PROGRAM new strategies that will disrupt your way of thinking, challenge your assumptions, and improve your ability to lead with vision and purpose. ADVANCED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 09 SEP–25 OCT 2018 | 31 MAR–16 MAY 2019 LEARN MORE AT WWW.EXED.HBS.EDU FROM THE EDITOR EDITOR’S PICKS ◗ FINANCE Embrace The CFOs on the West coast, and others, will want to check out the 2018 Fi- Whistleblower nancial Leadership Fo- rum on May 22 in Los Angeles. The speaker Providing ethical leadership is among the lineup includes execu- most important characteristics of a highly tives from 20th Century effective CFO, according to Deputy Editor Fox, Northrop Grum- man, MGM Resorts, and David McCann’s story on page 14, “10 Habits of Highly Effective Brightstar. See the Ar- CFOs.” And, unfortunately, organizations sorely need that lead- gyle Executive Forum ership. ¶ A recent report by the Ethics and Compliance Initiative website for more details. found that “more employees than ever be- “The way society treats whistleblowers ◗ STRATEGY fore feel pressure to cut corners.” What’s is schizophrenic at best … When they’re While C-suite execu- more, 40% of employees believe that their revealed along with the secrets they un- tives often talk “strat- company has a weak or weak-leaning eth- cover, they often end up marginalized, egy,” they’re typically ical culture, the ECI found. And the most shamed, or, worse, threatened. People confused about what it common ethical violations whistleblow- love the betrayal, not the betrayer.” means, writes consultant ers are reporting to authorities are seri- To help combat this trend, organiza- Graham Kenny in “Your ous: misuse of confidential information, tions need to reinforce the importance Strategic Plans Prob- the acceptance of bribes or kickbacks, of employee reporting, says ECI. And, to ably Aren’t Strategic, stealing, and sexual harassment. attach an addendum, management has to or Even Plans.” Much of What may be most disconcerting is be clear that whistleblowers won’t face what passes for strategy that while more employees are blowing reprisals (and, if possible, have policies in are really actions, activi- the whistle on fellow employees, or their place to prevent it). ties, or objectives, says managers, or executive management, Embracing the whistleblower may Kenny. Read more on the instances of retaliation against whistle- sound like a tough task to some finance Harvard Business Review blowers are rising. Of employees who re- chiefs. Really, though, it just flows from website. ported misconduct last year, according to the CFO’s obligation to be always evaluat- ECI’s survey of 5,000 workers, 44% said ing the needs of all constituents. ◗ CAREERS they experienced retaliation by their com- Shareholders, investors, customers, Captain Fantastic is “the panies. And companies generally brought employees, suppliers—in the long run, guy with the sharp el- down the hammer on whistleblowers protecting whistleblowers is in the inter- bows who bruises you quickly: 72% of respondents said the re- est of all of them. on his quest for the Holy taliation occurred within three weeks of Grail of the corner of- their first report. Vincent Ryan fice.” You may recog- The retaliation numbers aren’t that Editor-in-Chief nize him and some of the surprising. As two German journalists other office archetypes recently wrote in The Los Angeles Times, described in “How to Stop Sabotaging Your Career,” a podcast Q&A with Northwestern Uni- CFO, Vol. 34, No. 2 (ISSN 8756-7113) is published six times a year and distributed to qualified chief financial officers by CFO Publishing LLC, 50 Broad St., 1st Floor, New York, NY 10004 (editorial office). Copyright ©2018, CFO Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. Neither this versty professor Carter publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of CFO Publishing LLC. Direct requests for reprints Cast. Access the pod- and permissions to (800) 428-3340 x149 or [email protected]. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing cast on the Knowledge@ offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CFO, 50 Broad Street, 1st Floor, New York, NY 10004. CFO is a registered trademark of CFO Publishing LLC. SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: To subscribe to CFO magazine, visit www.cfo.com/subscribe; to update your address or cancel Wharton website. a subscription, please email [email protected]. To order back issues, email [email protected]. Back issues are $15 per copy, prepaid, and VISA/MasterCard orders only. Mailing list: We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable firms. 4 CFO | April/May 2018 Mark Bennington JUST BECAUSE FINANCE IS COMPLICATED DOESN’T MEAN YOUR NETWORK HAS TO BE. Massive transactional traf c. Rising customer service expectations. Pressure from ntech start-ups. With changes in nance putting new demands on networks, traditional legacy networks aren’t up to speed anymore. Introducing SD-WAN from Comcast Business, Gig-ready and powered by an advanced IP network. A simpli ed software-driven network that minimizes capital expense by reducing hardware and dependence on T1s. According to industry research, SD-WAN can reduce branch WAN outages and troubleshooting costs by 90%.* It can also reduce labor expense by providing centralized control with point, click, and deploy scalability across all locations. That’s how nancial services companies outmaneuver. comcastbusiness.com/sdn Restrictions apply. May not be available in your area. Actual speeds vary. *Savings claim from “Faster, Better and Cheaper? Building the SD-WAN Business Case” (Winter 2016), Nemertes Research. © 2018 Comcast. All rights reserved. INBOX There was much consternation That reader wrapped up by suggesting that the rev- ◗ to be heard in the run-up to the enue recognition standard has swung too far to the effective date of the new revenue- principles-based side: “Rules should still be included as recognition rules, and the agitation well. Otherwise we would face another stream of cor- is continuing afterward. porate scandals like the ones that triggered the Sar- On CFO.com, contributor Eric banes-Oxley Act.” Knachel of Deloitte & Touche offered some sound advice for managing the new freedom to “Most Companies Have No CFO Succession Plan” also exercise judgment in making revenue-recognition de- ◗ struck a chord among readers. “This issue is much cisions. He also pointed out that “such judgments can deeper than just the CFO,” wrote one. “Most companies vary widely, raising the possibility that different com- do not have a comprehensive emergency continuation panies will report different accounting results when plan.