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Business Wire
3 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
FinQuery Summit Empowers Accounting & Finance Teams to Turn Audit Findings Into Forward Momentum
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FinQuery, a leading provider of AI-powered accounting automation and financial contract management solutions for over 8,500 organizations, is reminding accounting and finance professionals to register now for its upcoming virtual event, The Post-Audit Playbook Summit: Turning Lessons Into Leverage, taking place June 17, 2025. Designed to help teams turn this year's audit insights into smarter systems and better outcomes, the event brings together real-world stories, expert guidance, and actionable playbooks. An audit reveals... broken processes, hidden inefficiencies, and untapped opportunities. This summit is about turning lessons learned into leverage to help you make smarter decisions about your business. Share This free, 3 CPE-eligible event will feature leaders from top accounting firms and finance teams who have lived through messy audits and come out stronger. Experts from FinQuery, Cherry Bekaert, Embark, and Cardlytics will share post-audit insights and discuss strategies for achieving faster financial closes, improving data quality by automating lease accounting, post-signature contract management, and prepaids and accrual accounting. 'An audit reveals a lot more than compliance gaps,' said Justin Smith, CFO & COO of FinQuery. 'It reveals broken processes, hidden inefficiencies, and untapped opportunities. This summit is about turning lessons learned into leverage to help you make smarter decisions about your business.' Topics will include: How to turn your audit list into a project plan Tips for building future-friendly processes Real examples of automation in lease accounting, prepaids, and accruals Attendees will receive exclusive content and practical resources to help controllers, CFOs, and accountants streamline next year's close and prepare their teams for smarter, more efficient audits. To learn more or register, visit: About FinQuery FinQuery is an AI-powered SaaS platform that automates prepaid and accrual accounting, simplifies lease accounting compliance (ASC 842, IFRS 16, GASB 87 & 96, SFFAS 54, and FRS 102), and centralizes financial contract management. Built for accounting and finance teams, FinQuery empowers more than 36,000 professionals to accelerate their close, streamline budgeting and forecasting, simplify complex accounting, and comply confidently. Learn more at
Global News
29-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
The bread-fixing settlement money could soon roll out. How to get yours
Canadians could soon get a piece of two class-action settlements accusing Loblaw and its parent company of engaging in an industrywide scheme to fix the price of bread, but there are still some steps left before the money rolls out. Before anyone can claim money, both class-action settlements against Loblaw and parent company George Weston Ltd. must be approved in court. Earlier this month, the settlement that was filed in Ontario was approved by Judge Ed Morgan, who said the $500-million settlement was excellent, fair and in the best interest of class members. The second was filed in Quebec and is expected to be heard by a judge for potential approval June 16. 'If the settlement is approved, it will resolve all claims against Loblaw and Weston related to this matter,' a press release from Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP and Orr Taylor LLP said in March when announcing the proposed settlement. Story continues below advertisement Should both class-action settlements be approved, a settlement agreement posted online says 78 per cent of the funds will be allocated to the Ontario suit to be distributed to people in both that province and the rest of the country. The other 22 per cent will go towards the Quebec lawsuit and those in that province. Who will get a slice of the money? Individuals and businesses that are eligible are automatically included in the Ontario class action, with the same for Quebec residents under the lawsuit in that province. A total of $404 million of the $500-million total will be paid by Loblaw and George Weston Ltd. to those eligible, with the other $96 million having already been distributed through the company's Loblaw Card Program that ran from 2018 to 2019. That program was conducted in hopes of making amends with customers who paid about $1.50 more per loaf of bread. Story continues below advertisement According to the law firm's notice from March, individuals and businesses living or operating in Canada outside of Quebec who purchased packaged bread between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2021, are automatically included in the Ontario class action. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Quebec residents are eligible if they purchased at least one package of bread between Jan. 1, 2001 and Dec. 19, 2019. 2:26 Loblaw's $500M settlement: Did the national boycott impact their bottom-line profit? Those eligible for the Ontario settlement must also have lived in Canada, excluding Quebec, as of Dec. 31, 2021, and also must not be a defendant in the suit or a related party. Justin Smith, a lawyer with Strosberg Wingfield Sasso LLP, told Global News that those who received one of the Loblaw gift cards between 2018 and 2019 are also still eligible. If they do join, he said that $25, the amount of the gift card, will be deducted from any potential money a person would receive. Story continues below advertisement The amount that will be paid out, however, is not known at this time. The Ontario settlement website says it's 'not possible to accurately estimate the amount of compensation an individual will receive at this time,' as it will depend on the number of approved claims and net amount available. What is known is that 99.5 per cent of the distribution will go to individuals, with 0.5 per cent set aside for businesses and 'other entities' that purchased bread for resale. The opt-out period for the Ontario class action has passed, with the period closing for Quebec residents on Friday. Once both lawsuits have been approved, an online claims process will be established through the Ontario and Quebec settlement websites for people to make a claim for compensation. Jim Orr, partner at Orr Taylor LLP, said in the March 11 news release that the settlement would also provide access to information that would be used in continuing the case against remaining defendants, including Canada Bread, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger. What happens now? While the Ontario class action has been approved, the Quebec one could still be rejected. Story continues below advertisement Should this happen and it remains rejected after any appeals are made, both the Ontario and Quebec settlements would become 'null and void' and the $404 million would go back to the companies involved. The gift cards that were distributed in 2018 and 2019, which made up $96 million of the overall settlement, would not be returned. He said all parties involved in the two settlements would then return to 'litigation positions.' 0:46 Canada Bread denies price fixing scheme, points finger at Maple Leaf Foods The offer Loblaw and George Weston made garnered four objections and 475 opt-outs, which Morgan said 'are very small numbers in view of the estimated 20 million-plus class members.' No one who objected to the settlement appeared in court to explain their views, but a review of their written submissions showed they were fighting the settlement because they would like more money, Morgan said. Story continues below advertisement — with files from The Canadian Press
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jefferson Parish deputies searching for man wanted in connection with fatal Harvey shooting
HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — Deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office are searching for a man who is wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Harvey. On April 23, the JPSO reported that an unresponsive man with a gunshot wound was found outside a home in the 1100 block of St. Michael Drive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Folsom man, mother arrested after discovery of alleged dog fight training operation On Tuesday, May 13, JPSO officials identified 19-year-old Justin Smith, Jr. as a suspect in the investigation. Smith is wanted on charges of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Anyone with information about Smith's location can call JPSO Homicide Section Detective Darvelle Carter at 504-364-5300 or Crimestoppers.5 takeaways from Trump's day in Saudi Arabia BMW iX 2025: Eco-Friendly, High-Performance SUV These are the 50 best donut shops in the US, Yelp says SALT Republicans, Johnson to meet as impasse hardens Slidell man arrested following house search, drug bust Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Staff exodus at US farm agency leaves fewer experts to battle bird flu
Washington: Hundreds of veterinarians, support staff and lab workers at the animal health arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have left under the Trump administration's push for resignations, according to three sources familiar with the situation, leaving fewer specialists to respond to animal disease outbreaks. The departures come as the country battles its longest-ever outbreak of bird flu and faces the encroachment of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating pest detected among cattle in Mexico. "With the decrease in USDA veterinary positions, there is concern that fewer veterinarians will be able to perform ongoing regulatory requirements, disease investigations, and response planning and preparation," Kansas animal health commissioner Justin Smith said. "This could result in slower response times and less responsiveness to local veterinary needs," he added. Egg prices set records this year after bird flu wiped out millions of laying hens. Cases have slowed in recent weeks, though experts warn outbreaks could flare up again during the spring and fall migratory seasons for wild birds that spread the virus. More than 15,000 USDA employees have taken President Donald Trump's financial incentive to quit, about 15% of agency staff, as part of administration efforts spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk to shrink the federal workforce. In that exodus, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the agency that fights livestock diseases and pests that hurt crops, lost 1,377 staff. That represents about 16% of APHIS employees, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the federal Office of Personnel Management. About 400 of those leaving worked in the agency's Veterinary Services arm, representing more than 20% of its 1,850 staff, one source said. That branch works across the U.S. and globally with farmers to test animals for disease and control its spread. The tally includes 13 of the agency's 23 area veterinarians who oversee veterinary work across the country, according to a chart of staff departures seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the situation. Also leaving are 20 per cent-30 per cent of staff at one USDA lab that tests for animal disease like bird flu, a second source said. Those remaining must have all purchases above $10,000 approved by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, potentially adding up to four weeks of delay, the source said. The USDA did not respond to a request for comment. 'A BIG DEAL' The staff losses threaten APHIS' ability to respond to bird flu, which continues to infect dairy herds and poultry, said three state veterinarians and three other sources. Seventy people, mostly farm workers, have contracted the virus since 2024, and further spread raises the risk that bird flu could become more transmissible to humans, experts say. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to people from bird flu remains low. Among other responsibilities, area veterinarians can support culling of infected poultry flocks and receiving of payments for their losses, said Beth Thompson, South Dakota's state veterinarian. "The federal government, they won't have the number of people to be able to help out the states," said Thompson, who had seen the chart of staff losses. "It's a big deal." Thompson said USDA's chief veterinarian, Rosemary Sifford, told her the agency will determine how to organize the remaining area veterinarians after seeing whether there are further departures. Other APHIS departures include about half of its 69-person legislative and public affairs office, which handles correspondence with members of Congress, external groups and the press, including on issues like bird flu, according to another source. In New Mexico, state workers are assuming additional duties after USDA support staff resigned, state veterinarian Samantha Holeck said. "We won't know the full impacts of these changes immediately," she said. "The important thing is that we work together as a team through all of these challenges."
New York Times
08-05-2025
- New York Times
In Tyre Nichols Case, an Out-of-Town Jury Heard a Familiar Police Defense
Even before the state trial began last month for the former police officers charged with fatally beating Tyre Nichols in Memphis, the defense notched an important victory. The officers' lawyers persuaded the judge to seat a jury from the area around Chattanooga, Tenn., hundreds of miles from where surveillance and body cameras captured the officers brutalizing Mr. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, in January 2023. Given how the videos had horrified Memphis, the lawyers said, they questioned whether local jurors could consider the facts impartially when the former officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith — went on trial. Once the trial started, the defense lawyers took turns deflecting blame for the violence onto two other officers who were involved that night but were not on trial after pleading guilty. They also frequently reminded the jury of how dangerous policing can be, and of how their training allows for certain types of force at times. 'These cops serve in the most dangerous unit in the most dangerous city in the United States,' said Martin Zummach, a lawyer for Mr. Smith, noting the high crime rate in Memphis. He later described the officers as 'doing a job that none of us in here have the guts to do, to keep us safe.' All of those tactics are part of the playbook for defending police officers charged with excessive force and, some experts said, likely factored into the unanimous acquittal on all charges for all three defendants on Wednesday. 'The reason they're fairly standard, the reason that we have that playbook, is because it works,' said Seth Stoughton, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, though he added that the verdict 'surprised the hell out of me' because of the violence captured on video. Mr. Stoughton also noted that 'there's a huge difference between society saying, 'We endorse the officers' actions in this case,' and society saying, 'We don't have sufficient proof of guilt here.'' The killing of Mr. Nichols is one the highest profile cases that prosecutors have brought against police officers in the five years since the murder of George Floyd. All of the charged officers are Black. All three officers were found guilty of witness tampering in a separate federal trial last fall, and Mr. Haley was found guilty on a lesser charge of violating Mr. Nichols's civil rights by causing bodily injury. They were all acquitted, however, on the most serious civil rights charge of violating his civil rights by causing his death. But the acquittal on Wednesday on an array of state charges, including second-degree murder, adds to a mixed record of convictions, acquittals and at least one mistrial for police officers and emergency workers since Mr. Floyd's death. For many in Memphis, a city of more than 600,000 where more than a third of Tennessee's Black residents live, the acquittal was a wrenching outcome that contradicted what they saw on video. 'Those people were allowed to come here, look at the evidence and deny the evidence,' said RowVaughn Wells, Ms. Nichols's mother, flanked by an emotional crowd gathered Thursday outside the Memphis museum that stands where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. She added, 'they failed my son.' Some policing experts said it demonstrated how likely a jury is to give leeway to law enforcement figures and the split-second calculations they must sometimes make in a job with high risks. To prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, prosecutors had to show not only that the violence occurred, but that it was unlawful, Mr. Stoughton said. Jurors also had to grapple with the familiar question of how much lethal force is justifiable when framed as a matter of an officer's safety. Michael Sierra-Arévalo, a sociologist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said that while it is not unconstitutional for police officers to assume someone is going to hurt them, it can lead to behaviors and justification of certain actions that are. The defense lawyers framed Mr. Nichols as a strong person who could hold his own against the officers, noting that he ran from them at one point after he was stopped for speeding. They also pointed to stolen cards and small amounts of marijuana and psilocybin mushroom they said were found in his car after the beating. Another factor that helped the defense was that the two other former officers involved in the beating, Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III, were not on trial. Both pleaded guilty in the federal case; Mr. Mills also pleaded guilty in the state case and testified as part of his deal with the state. It is unclear how Mr. Martin's state case will be handled; his lawyer did not respond to multiple requests for comment and state prosecutors said they would wait for federal sentencing to decide their next move. Prosecutors acknowledged that the absence of Mr. Mills and Mr. Martin from the row of defendants offered an opportunity for defense lawyers to more easily absolve their clients of legal culpability. On the video footage of the incident, Mr. Martin yanked Mr. Nichols out of his car and then, after Mr. Nichols broke away and was caught by officers, repeatedly kicked and punched him in the head. Mr. Mills, who appeared after Mr. Nichols was caught near his mother's house, hit him multiple times with a baton. 'Because two of the most culpable of the five defendants pled over in federal court and were not present in the state court trial, I think there was a structural challenge going in,' Steven J. Mulroy, the district attorney for Shelby County, said in an interview Thursday. 'I still think there was more than enough evidence to convict.' He added, 'I think we have a long way to go in understanding the nature of the duty to intervene.' In Memphis, it also did not go unnoticed that the state jury was predominantly white. 'One of the new experiences I have had, sitting in that courtroom, is watching an all-white jury attempt to humanize three Black men in a murder trial who were defendants,' said Dr. Earle Fisher, the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis. 'And they only did it because they were police officers.' The response in Memphis was swift when Mr. Nichols died three days after the beating, from blunt force injuries to his head. The elite policing unit that the officers belonged to was disbanded less than a month after the beating. Last year, a Justice Department civil rights investigation found a pattern of inequitable treatment toward Black people by the police force. Chief Cerelyn Davis of the Memphis Police Department said in a video statement on Wednesday that 'we believe in improved policing, in training and in progress we are seeing daily.' But the Republican-dominated Tennessee Legislature overturned some of the changes that the Memphis City Council approved in the aftermath. President Trump late last month signed an executive order instructing his administration to provide legal aid to officers accused of wrongdoing. And already in his second term, there has been an exodus from the civil rights division of the Justice Department, which prosecuted the federal case against the officers. The department ordered an immediate halt to all new civil rights investigations shortly after Mr. Trump took office, as well as a pause on negotiating so-called consent decrees, which serve as legally binding improvement plans for police departments. Before Mr. Trump took office, Memphis city officials had declined to enter such an agreement with the government, saying it would be labor intensive and costly. Some Memphis residents saw the verdict as evidence of a shift in the country's attitudes toward policing and racial inequality. 'The justice system doesn't seem to be working very well right now,' said DeMarcus Gatlin, 48, a disabled Army National Guard veteran. 'This has been going on a long time,' Mr. Gatlin said, adding, 'sooner or later, by the numbers, this will happen again.'
