Latest news with #Kurtz
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK business arrears to HMRC hit £28bn per month
Business arrears to the UK's HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have averaged £28bn ($37.54bn) per month, as companies face increased national insurance (NI) costs and the economic impact of US tariff hikes. These figures, obtained by HMRC through the Freedom of Information Act, highlight the unpaid debts pursued by the tax authority in Q1 2025. Corporation Tax debt arrears have averaged £7bn monthly, with figures reaching £7.52bn in January, £7.14bn in February, and £6.79bn in March. Unpaid VAT liabilities have averaged £12bn per month, with £12.55bn in January, £12.58bn in February, and £11.97bn in March. Late PAYE payments, including NI contributions, have averaged £8bn monthly, with £8.71bn in January, £8.51bn in February, and £8.16bn in March. Basware CEO Jason Kurtz said: 'Our systems are detecting a substantial spike in invoice rejections as businesses scramble to renegotiate contracts, many shellshocked by tariff trauma of the last few weeks. Kurtz explained: 'In response to the economic turbulence, it is likely companies are stockpiling their reserves and putting off paying tax liabilities in an effort to preserve cashflows. 'What's concerning is that economic turbulence also creates fertile ground for fraud, with businesses falling victim to payment fraud schemes including vendor impersonation, duplicate invoices, and manipulated payment details.' Greg Watson, CEO of anti-money laundering platform Napier AI, believes that the surge in 'economic uncertainty and volatility' is fostering greater opportunities for financial crime. Watson noted that certain companies are established solely to perpetrate financial crimes, channelling illegal funds through vulnerabilities until detection is too late. He said: 'There needs to be increased scrutiny from institutions that are enabling businesses with financial services. Many of whom have passed rigorous due diligence checks at the time of onboarding. 'These institutions need to be doing ongoing monitoring for suspicious activity, using AI to detect anomalies. If we only catch it once the tax is overdue, we have already missed the opportunity to prevent financial crime in real-time, at its source.' An HMRC representative concluded: 'We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts, working with them to find the best possible solution based on their financial circumstances. "UK business arrears to HMRC hit £28bn per month" was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Invoice rejection spike suggests tactic's use as tariff buffer, study says
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Global businesses rejected 6.95% of the total of 272 million invoices received during the first quarter, compared to 1.86% during the year-earlier period, according to an analysis of invoices by Basware, a Helsinki, Finland-based financial automation company. The rise in rejections roughly coincides with the start of the U.S. trade war — initially kicked off about a third of the way through the quarter by President Donald Trump in February — which complicates the invoice process as rate fluctuations and changes in prices require additional administration that needs to be reflected in invoices, according to a release on the findings of the analysis reviewed by CFO Dive. 'The U.S. tariff situation is creating stress in an unintended place — finance operations and specifically invoice processing,' Jason Kurtz, CEO of Basware said in a statement included in the release. 'Similar to the supply chain disruption experienced during the pandemic, it suggests companies are using payment delays as a financial buffer against economic uncertainty.' Days sales outstanding, or the average number of days it takes a company to get paid for a sale, is a measure of cash flow health that is closely watched by CFOs and accounts receivable professionals. On the other side of the table are companies that are vetting invoices before paying them, sometimes declining for good reason to pay based on a variety of administrative or business concerns. These include incorrect purchase order numbers, missing tax information or regulatory discrepancies, disagreements over billed amounts, or suspicious vendor information, according to Basware. It's up to businesses to manage their deals and address any true problems driving genuine rejections to avoid long-term damage to relationships between the buyer and suppliers, Kurtz said in an emailed response to questions. 'While rejection can result in a delay, it doesn't mean the supplier won't eventually be paid,' Kurtz said. But the spike in rejections suggests that increased rejections are not driven by simple administrative mistakes but rather by some companies that are seeking to renegotiate agreements or blocking payments to stockpile cash, Basware asserts. 'It's a sign that businesses are under significant stress,' Kurtz said. The findings were included in Basware's Invoice Rejection Analysis, which examined volumes and rejection rates across 272 million invoices throughout 2024 and Q1 2025. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CrowdStrike CEO Kurtz said 'not riding off into sunset', remains large shareholder
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) CEO George Kurtz said reports that he sold virtually all of his stock are 'false.' Kurtz highlights that he moved stock into trusts for his family as well as causes he supports. He said he remains one of the largest individual shareholders. 'I am one of the largest individual shareholders of CrowdStrike,' Kurtz said on LinkedIn. 'We moved some stock into trusts for my family as well as to support causes we care about, like teenage mental health.' On the voting rights, he notes that since the IPO, he's always had less than a majority, and super-voting rights ended in December 2024. For people suggesting he is riding off into the sunset, Kurtz said, 'Not a chance.' 'As much as our competitors might wish I'd leave, or that I'm less in it, that's BS,' he stated. 'I'm all in. I'm not going anywhere.''I love CrowdStrike, I love what we're building, and I've never been more confident in our future - or more committed to our mission of stopping breaches.' Related articles CrowdStrike CEO Kurtz said 'not riding off into sunset', remains large shareholder DOJ probing Live Nation for possible collusion - Bloomberg Constellation Brands jumps as Berkshire raises stake
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kyle Stowers' solo homer (8)
Kurtz all smiles after first extra-base hit in Athletics' win over Marlins On "A's Cast", Dallas Braden and Jenny Cavnar speak with Athletics' rookie Nick Kurtz about his performance in the 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday at loanDepot all smiles after first extra-base hit in Athletics' win over Marlins originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area 0:56 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
NDTV
10-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Company Responsible For Global IT Outage Last Year To Cut Jobs For AI Use
CrowdStrike, the infamous cybersecurity company responsible for the massive global IT outage last year, has announced that it will slash five per cent of its workforce due to "AI efficiency". CrowdStrike had 10,118 full-time employees as of January 31, but after the axe, around 500 employees would be let go, according to a report in The Guardian. Based in Austin, Texas, CrowdStrike's chief executive, George Kurtz, said the cuts would be made globally, with AI taking some of the jobs. Other reasons for the cuts included market demand for sustained growth and expanding the product offering. "We're operating in a market and technology inflection point, with AI reshaping every industry, accelerating threats, and evolving customer needs," said Mr Kurtz, adding that AI "flattens the hiring curve" and "helps us innovate from idea to product faster". "AI is a force multiplier throughout the business," he said. CrowdStrike became a publicly traded company in 2019 and had a revenue of $1 billion in March for the fourth financial quarter of 2025, with a loss of $92 million. As per the regulatory filing, the company will incur about $36 million to $53 million in charges related to the layoffs. What did Crowdstrike do? In July last year, CrowdStrike pushed a faulty update to its software intended to detect cybersecurity threats that brought down 8.5 million Windows systems worldwide. Global banks, airlines, hospitals, TV networks and government offices were disrupted due to the outage, which lasted a long time. AI taking jobs CrowdStrike is not the only company to use AI to phase out its human workers. Last month, language-learning platform Duolingo announced it would "gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle". The company justified its switch in approach, stating that it had taken a similar call in 2012 by betting big on mobile. "I've said this in Q&As and many meetings, but I want to make it official: Duolingo is going to be Al-first. Al is already changing how work gets done. It's not a question of if or when. It's happening now," said Mr Von Ahn in the all-hands memo, posted on Duolingo's LinkedIn page. Apart from not using contractors anymore, Duolingo will use AI to evaluate performance reviews. Additionally, headcounts will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.
