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Forbes
22-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What CFOs Need To Know (And Often Don't) About Company Workers
There aren't many good things to have come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, but a new study of finance professionals from accounts payable software maker AvidXchange pinpoints one of them: Businesses increased their readiness for the unexpected. As businesses navigate an uncertain financial future, two-thirds say they are more prepared to handle it now than five years ago, when many normal flows of global commerce were disrupted by the virus. Since the pandemic, companies have been investing more in strategic financial technology, including for automation, operational effectiveness, forecasting and productivity. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said technology implemented during the pandemic is helping them now, with seven in 10 reporting that technology is at least very important to their ability to continue to respond to market changes. Just having the technology available doesn't mean that finance professionals are confident in what is coming next, however. The vast majority—86%—are concerned about the state of the economy, and half have deeper concerns about a potential recession. President Donald Trump's unpredictable financial policy, punctuated by threats of high tariffs that are often delayed and revised, has made planning difficult. Nearly half of all companies are reevaluating their budgets and discretionary spending. Three in 10 are using scenario planning and financial modeling to prepare for a range of outcomes. So far, just over half have made moderate changes to their forecasts because of impending tariffs, but about a quarter that have been minimally impacted so far are monitoring them closely. Close to a fifth—17%—said the tariff threat has significantly disrupted planning and required major adjustments. This survey was taken in late spring—April to May—and many of the proposed tariffs seemed to loom much more in the immediate future. That effective date has shifted through the months, and is now set for August 1. However, one thing that hasn't changed since this survey was conducted is the unknown nature of the immediate financial picture, which has been a consistent fog over finance departments since January. When companies are being prudent about their finances, one area where they often make cuts is personnel. However, many companies fail to share relevant people data between managers, HR and the finance department, leading companies to cut employees based on salaries alone—a strategy that sometimes will lead to vital knowledge and capabilities being cut, and ultimately losing more money in the long run. I spoke with Andrea Derler, principal in Research and Customer Value at AI workforce analytics platform Visier, about why companies need to share data to make better informed staffing cuts in difficult times. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter. This is the published version of Forbes' CFO newsletter, which offers the latest news for chief finance officers and other leaders focused on the budget. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Tuesday. ECONOMIC INDICATORS Stocks climbed to fresh all-time highs on Monday. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg What uncertain economy? Looking at the stock market, the U.S. economy appears to be making fast progress with nothing in its way. The S&P 500 shattered records with two all-time highs in the last week—Monday and Thursday—while the Nasdaq also set a daily record on Monday. Optimism in technology, especially AI, is buoying the markets, with Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Verizon, Qualcomm and Broadcom leading Monday's rally. Analysts are mixed on whether the rally will continue, with strategists at Goldman Sachs, Wells and Fargo projecting more growth this year. Analysts at JP Morgan Chase and Evercore ISI are projecting a decrease. Positive economic data has helped boost the markets. Unemployment claims hit 221,000 last week, down 7,000 from the week before, and June's retail sales were up 0.6% over May, writes Forbes senior contributor Pamela Danziger. Additionally, 83% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings so far this quarter exceeded expectations. Alphabet and Tesla, two of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech companies, will report their earnings later this week. Despite all of these positive numbers, however, tariffs are still waiting in the wings, writes Forbes senior contributor Erik Sherman. According to President Donald Trump's latest deadlines, many of them will start on August 1, and could begin to impact the prices companies and consumers pay soon thereafter. Countries and companies are working to figure out how to mitigate the majority of the impact when it comes, the Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, Forbes senior contributor Jim Osman writes that a distressing sign is emerging from consumers: 5.1% of all car loans are delinquent, marking a 15-year high in subprime loan delinquencies. Osman writes car loans tend to be the last payment Americans skip. When times are tight, they may miss a credit card, utility, mortgage or rent payment, but vehicles tend to be the last thing they will risk losing. Osman writes that credit stress is spreading as household debt increases, while credit card and buy-now, pay-later companies tighten their standards. POLICY + REGULATIONS President Donald Trump holds up the just-signed GENIUS Act with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) applauding next to U.S. has regulations in place to govern some types of cryptocurrency. Last week, President Trump signed legislation to regulate stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies tethered to the value of assets like the U.S. dollar. The new laws put guidelines in place for banks and other entities to issue stablecoins. The new law has been hailed as a landmark moment for the crypto industry, writes Forbes senior contributor Charles Lloyd Bovaird II. Analysts told him that with regulations in place, there will be more momentum to establish and invest in cryptocurrency, both for individual investors and corporate entities. And several companies are looking into the issue. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Walmart and Amazon are considering launching their own stablecoins as a way to circumvent traditional payment systems. With the ink barely dry on the new law, the earliest impacts have come in the form of runaway valuations on Bitcoin and Ethereum stablecoins. Prices for these tokens have skyrocketed over the last week. Two other Republican-backed bills that would provide more regulation on the industry are currently before the Senate. They would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency and divide regulatory jurisdiction for digital assets between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. NOTABLE NEWS Illustration by Samantha Lee for Forbes; Images;; Devonyu-Getty Images; Ali Çobanoğlu-Getty Images; Joe_Potato/Getty Images; lavsketch/Getty images;It may be about time to take another look at office perks. In Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill—dubbed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act—the 50% tax deduction on food and drinks in the office expires on January 1, writes Forbes' Kelly Phillips Erb. Office coffee, snacks and employee meals got a 50% tax break under Trump's signature 2017 financial policy bill, but the perk did not get renewed in the latest policy bill. (Unless you work on a fishing vessel in Alaska or a restaurant, that is.) The end of the deduction will raise $32.5 billion over the next decade, Erb writes—a relatively small increase in revenue, considering the bill includes tax cuts adding up to $4.475 trillion in the next decade. The question now facing companies is whether to continue stocking the office kitchen with goodies. A 2023 survey found that eight in 10 employees said catered meals encouraged them to come into the office, and 98% said free meals at work make them feel appreciated. But considering the other internal cost issues that may be at play in 2026, it may be challenging for companies to preserve a non-deductible employee perk. OFF THE LEDGER Why Data Blind Spots For CFOs Lead To Ineffective Layoffs Andrea Derler, Visier Principal, Research and Customer Value. Visier When it's time to cut costs, financial leaders typically begin by looking at a company's largest cost center: personnel. But the CFO's office and the personnel department don't always have the same data—down to agreeing on total employee counts—and the information the CFO has is usually based on numbers and location, missing important context like job functions and company plans for further growth. I spoke with Andrea Derler, principal in Research and Customer Value at AI workforce analytics platform Visier, about how everyone in the company can align on its workforce. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. In an ideal business situation, what kind of access would the CFO have of personnel data? Derler: To begin with, what type of data does the organization have? How is it currently processed and integrated? I'm exaggerating here, but she's probably not going to be interested in seeing a spreadsheet with 300,000 employees. Ideally, it's in a system where it's easily accessible to the C-suite. The better it is integrated and actually prepared for results and insights, the easier it becomes. These people don't have time to play around with the system for half an hour to get to one insight. What's our headcount? Where's the diversity in terms of women in leadership positions? How does our projected headcount actually affect our ability to meet our targets next quarter? That needs to be really easily integrated. In terms of the detail and what they see, hopefully they'll work with the relevant IT and CHRO teams to understand: Can I have access to this and that because I need it for this and that? The collaborative aspect of all of these decisions is increasingly high nowadays because it's technically possible: Understanding and negotiating access to certain data points and certain business units is really a collaborative effort. There's a basic set of metrics that are always relevant. We need to know who is going, who is coming in the organization, particularly for workforce planning. You always need to know who is where. Engagement may not be the most important one for the CFO because it's further away from proof to say it really affects the bottom line. Closer to that would be how many people do we have? Do we have the right skills, and how is it going to affect our projected revenue next year? What are some of the bigger things that go wrong in companies because the CFO doesn't necessarily have access to good data from HR? We have a massive data set of [about] more 30 million employee records of global industry data. We look at that data constantly. Two years ago, we studied layoffs—reduction in force, turnover, resignation. Most companies have some type of a number we can see in our data. Then I interviewed six CHROs to understand what the decision making process around layoff positions look like? If there's a very short term calculation: I'm going to save this much if I let 10% go in the next three months, what's sometimes missing? Sure, you have the cost savings in the short term, but what's sometimes neglected is what the actual long-term cost is. I'm going to let go 10% now because I think we don't need them anymore, and currently I'm going to have to save some costs. Sometimes, what's not happening is thinking ahead 12 months. We want to grow again after the difficult economic times. Now, I'm going to have to rehire individuals or find new replacement employees. We know that hiring new employees is generally much more expensive than keeping existing employees and helping them either internally to find different roles or reskill them. There's a lot of academic research and also industry research that found that layoffs most of the time are not really financially making sense because the planning capabilities don't always exist. If the CFO knew how much it's going to cost their company to rehire, knowing it may cost a lot more, giving us another headache in two years time, [they may advise against it]. They had only the financial data and said, 'Oh man, we are spending way too much on wages. We're going to have to make some cost savings.' That's for lack of data integration. That's for lack of the ability to collaborate and look at the same data set and do thorough scenario planning, very much to the detriment, not only of the employees who are being let go, but even financially, it doesn't make sense most of the time. What advice would you give to a CFO who wants to make the best financial decisions in the long run for their company when it comes to personnel, and feels like they need to have more access to information? The first thing, very practically, I would recommend that they would go to their counterparts— CHRO or IT—and find out how solidly set up they are from a technology and analytics perspective in terms of what do we have? How are we set up? Are we still working on spreadsheets? What questions can you answer for me here and now—not tomorrow, next week, not in two months, because we still have to do all the calculations manually. That would be an expectation that the CFO can reasonably have, to say, 'Well, if we want to make good decisions, that's what we need.' Secondly, gauge the appetite. If it's not in place, make a business case for it and say, 'I will be able to make more solid financial decisions if I have the solid HR data behind me. I can make a decision faster and be more agile. That's a big selling point. Currently, with all that's happening in the economy, it's very hard to plan ahead. You need agility and the ability to look something up today. Find out what's in place. If nothing's in place, what's the appetite, and who are the stakeholders that I need to engage with within the company? The third important task that they could do by themselves is list what's missing for me right now in terms of people data. These are the table stakes five questions that I need to be able to answer so I can, as a CFO, make meaningful decisions, or help at least advise the board or others on those decisions. COMINGS + GOINGS Energy services provider Halliburton tapped Stephanie Holzhauser as its new senior vice president and chief accounting officer, effective July 16. Holzhauser was an intern with Halliburton before joining the firm in 2004, and she succeeds Charles Geer Jr. who is leaving the company. tapped as its new senior vice president and chief accounting officer, effective July 16. Holzhauser was an intern with Halliburton before joining the firm in 2004, and she succeeds Charles Geer Jr. who is leaving the company. Utilities provider Southern Company promoted David P. Poroch to its executive vice president and chief financial officer role, effective July 31. Poroch currently works as senior vice president, comptroller and chief accounting officer, and he will succeed Daniel S. Tucker, who is retiring after more than 25 years with the firm. promoted to its executive vice president and chief financial officer role, effective July 31. Poroch currently works as senior vice president, comptroller and chief accounting officer, and he will succeed Daniel S. Tucker, who is retiring after more than 25 years with the firm. Luxury retail group Saks Global appointed Brandy Richardson as chief financial officer, effective August 18. Richardson joins the company from Tailored Brands, Inc., and will succeed interim chief financial officer Mark Weinsten. STRATEGIES + ADVICE Businesses do want to make money, but your success and longevity may depend on your ability to do something else: create value for your customers. Here are some ways to make a shift away from pure profit, but possibly a better market position. If you want to add some leadership insight to your summer reading list, here are six books to help you reflect on your shortcomings and learn how to lead your team more effectively. QUIZ Last week, a TV network canceled a top-rated show because it said it was losing money—though critics have wondered if the cancellation had more to do with President Trump's dislike of it. Which show is it? A. 60 Minutes B. The Daily Show C. The View D. The Late Show See if you got the right answer here.
The Age
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Being busy doesn't make you special, so lay off the drama
We all know the type. The colleague that hurries past your desk with a furrowed brow. The person who's always late to the meeting. The one who audibly signs when allocated a new task. If asked how they are going, no matter what the situation, they will always have the same reply: 'Oh! I'm just so busy!' Being 'busy' is a common refrain in the workplace, with some people clutching so hard to the descriptor that it's basically part of their personality. But – and here's the harsh reality – everyone is busy. Every single one of us has too many items on our to-do list, we've all got places to go and there are dozens of open tabs in our brains that are clamouring for our attention. Yet, some people still fall willingly into the trap of 'busyness', wearing it like a badge that sets them apart from everyone else. Every workplace has this strain of colleague who thrives on the perception they are always working too hard and are under the pump. There's a name for this too: 'productivity theatre', which means performing actions that make you seem like you're doing things, even if it doesn't contribute meaningfully to any business outcomes. Examples of this include attending unnecessary meetings when you don't really need to be there or spending way too much time on admin tasks instead of prioritising the important ones. Recent research of US-based workers by software company Visier found that more than 40 per cent of employees spent more than 10 hours a week on things that could be called productivity theatre. You're not special just because you don't know how to effectively manage your workload. It's only too easy to get caught in the whir of being constantly busy, as it makes you feel important when everything's urgent, and you believe you're the only one who can solve it. It's also incredibly draining to feel busy all the time, and is one of the contributing factors to burnout. So how can you escape from this cult of busyness if you find yourself getting sucked into its vortex?
Sydney Morning Herald
03-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Being busy doesn't make you special, so lay off the drama
We all know the type. The colleague that hurries past your desk with a furrowed brow. The person who's always late to the meeting. The one who audibly signs when allocated a new task. If asked how they are going, no matter what the situation, they will always have the same reply: 'Oh! I'm just so busy!' Being 'busy' is a common refrain in the workplace, with some people clutching so hard to the descriptor that it's basically part of their personality. But – and here's the harsh reality – everyone is busy. Every single one of us has too many items on our to-do list, we've all got places to go and there are dozens of open tabs in our brains that are clamouring for our attention. Yet, some people still fall willingly into the trap of 'busyness', wearing it like a badge that sets them apart from everyone else. Every workplace has this strain of colleague who thrives on the perception they are always working too hard and are under the pump. There's a name for this too: 'productivity theatre', which means performing actions that make you seem like you're doing things, even if it doesn't contribute meaningfully to any business outcomes. Examples of this include attending unnecessary meetings when you don't really need to be there or spending way too much time on admin tasks instead of prioritising the important ones. Recent research of US-based workers by software company Visier found that more than 40 per cent of employees spent more than 10 hours a week on things that could be called productivity theatre. You're not special just because you don't know how to effectively manage your workload. It's only too easy to get caught in the whir of being constantly busy, as it makes you feel important when everything's urgent, and you believe you're the only one who can solve it. It's also incredibly draining to feel busy all the time, and is one of the contributing factors to burnout. So how can you escape from this cult of busyness if you find yourself getting sucked into its vortex?
Fast Company
28-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
AI is here—can we finally rethink our tired beliefs about work?
For decades, we've been caught in the busyness trap, confusing being overscheduled and highly in demand with creating value. A recent report by technology company Visier coined the term ' productivity theater' to describe the performative tasks that employees engage in to look busy. They report that 43% of workers spend over 10 hours a week trying to look productive rather than engaging in value-creating work. This isn't occurring because employees are lazy or trying to cheat the system. They are acting rationally in response to the signals that are all around them. They see colleagues proudly wearing their busyness badge of honor. They receive emails at all hours of the day and night, contributing to a sense of needing to be 'always on.' They get a text five minutes after someone sends an email asking, 'Did you get my email?' They hear co-workers boasting that 'multitasking is a survival strategy' for keeping up with their work. It is utter madness. Meanwhile, AI tools are rapidly taking on the administrative tasks—drafting and filtering email, quickly summarizing lengthy or complex reports, sending meeting recaps, scheduling—that easily consume hours a week. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's quickly to come. Unfortunately, the temptation will be to fill this growing blank space with more noise. What if, instead, organizations prepared to take full advantage of the extra time and capacity afforded by these new tools? The key is providing knowledge workers with the direction and empowerment to make good choices about how to invest their time. Start by clarifying how each function creates value for the enterprise overall, and which performance attributes are most important in delivering it. For example, in a professional services firm, the client-facing roles need to be proactive as well as expert in the issues that impact clients. Marketing teams need to serve as a knowledgeable bridge between customer needs and product design teams. Procurement and supply chain teams need to be well-informed negotiators. In each case, the best use of worker time varies based on role. Once the team has clarity on what it's optimizing for, they can engage in an exercise to design the ideal allocation of work each week. What percentage of time should be optimally spent engaging with customers, reading up on industry reports, or collaborating with other functions? Comparing that ideal versus members' actual calendars usually produces some abashed insights into how big the gap is. From here, the team can be relentless about eliminating low-value work. In their book, The Friction Project, Stanford professors Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao suggest creating a RidicuList—a ledger of everything ridiculous that workers have to deal with in service of getting their job done—and be merciless in eliminating the items on the list. An easy place to look is recurring meetings. In our experience, they often start out valuable and lose momentum over time. If your calendar is full of them, it's time for a trim. You can also invest in establishing collaborative norms for the team—shared expectations for how to use each collaboration medium, expected response times to communication, and where and how documents are stored. This eliminates frequent guesswork and dramatically cuts down the effort required to even get started on the work. The goal is to claw back a meaningful amount of time each week that can be reinvested in things that improve the human performance of the system. Things such as building relationships with clients and colleagues, learning a new skill or experimenting with an AI tool, or taking the time to think through strategy or generate innovative solutions. Make a list of the things you should be doing with your thinking time specific to your role so that when you have it, you put it to good use. Believe it or not, sitting still and thinking is real work. That's the block we must overcome: our beliefs about what constitutes work. It's not looking busy. It's engaging with the tough questions, leaning into the future, and challenging ourselves to rise above the status quo.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Reclaim Your Power: How To Deal With A Toxic Manager
Toxic managers create fear and uncertainty getty Toxic managers are a common feature of toxic workplaces. These are leaders who undermine their teams' performance by damaging their confidence, productivity and wellbeing. Examples of toxic manager behavior include setting unrealistic expectations, micromanaging, picking favorites, public criticism, taking credit for other people's ideas and blaming others for their mistakes. Their actions can be hard to predict and they specialize in creating fear and uncertainty. Unfortunately, toxic managers cause people to leave jobs in their droves. In fact, a study of U.K. employees by people analytics provider Visier found that 43% of workers have left a job at some point in their career as a result of their manager. So, what are your options if your own manager is toxic, but you don't want to quit? 'Toxic managers erode confidence, damage morale and cultivate a stressful work environment,' notes Dorothy Herson, a mental health activist and author of The Rag Doll Contract. 'They often employ divide-and-conquer tactics, creating false alliances where they pit colleagues against each other, making you feel isolated and undermining team trust.' According to Herson, the first step toward dealing with a toxic manager is acknowledging that your manager's toxicity isn't about you. 'Many people internalize criticism, doubting their own competence,' she says. 'Detach emotionally from their behavior and remind yourself that their issues are not a reflection of your worth. It can help to mentally reframe them as someone whose approval is neither necessary nor valuable.' Don't try to navigate the challenge alone, either. 'Speak to trusted colleagues, mentors or HR for guidance,' Herson advises. 'Toxic managers thrive in isolation, so building a strong support network ensures you're not gaslit into believing the problem is you.' 'Dealing with a toxic manager can be challenging, but there are ways to navigate the situation while protecting your wellbeing and career,' argues Lord Mark Price, author of Happy Economics and founder of workplace happiness platform WorkL. Document everything, he advises. 'Keep records of interactions, unreasonable demands or inappropriate behavior. This can serve as evidence if you need to escalate the issue.' Price emphasizes the importance of remaining professional as you deal with your toxic manager. 'Avoid emotional reactions and maintain calm and composed,' he suggests. 'Respond with facts and logic rather than frustration. Toxic workplaces can be mentally exhausting, so engage in activities that help you relax and recharge.' 'Toxic managers hold their teams hostage,' says George Kohlrieser, co-author of Hostage at the Table. 'Not with physical restraints, but through fear, control, and psychological pressure. Many employees feel trapped, believing they have no choice but to endure abusive leadership. No one has to remain a hostage to toxicity, however. The key lies in reclaiming personal power, fostering emotional resilience and engaging in effective dialogue.' Recognize that you are not powerless, Kohlrieser advises. 'Toxic leaders thrive on emotional hijacking, triggering fear and compliance,' he says. 'Instead of reacting with hostility or avoidance, use confident, non-confrontational dialogue. Frame your concerns in a way that speaks to the leader's goals. Say 'I want to improve team efficiency; how can we align expectations?' rather than 'You're micromanaging me.'' If your manager's toxicity involves appropriate behavior such as being abusive, then you should report them to HR, says Nik Kinley, a leadership consultant and author of Rewriting Your Leadership Code. But the situation may not necessarily be that extreme or clear-cut. 'A common challenge is that you may think they're toxic, but others might not, and the leader themselves certainly won't,' Kinley observes. 'So, a critical step forward is establishing that there is a problem – something you can both agree isn't right and can work on together. The most effective approach here is often to focus on how they can help you to be at your best or achieve some objective. They're more likely to respond positively to a request for support than a complaint.' Kinley recommends planning out what you want to say before you speak to your manager. Then keep the conversation focused on practical issues – for example, you'll be able to do X if they can do Y – and be sure to keep emotion out of it. 'You're trying to solve a problem together and your objective is to get them to change their behavior, not tell them how you feel,' he emphasizes. 'Dealing with a toxic manager can be difficult, but there are strategies to protect your own wellbeing while navigating the position you are in,' says Lee Chambers, a psychologist and author of Momentum: 13 Ways to Unlock Your Potential. Firstly, advises Chambers, it is essential to establish clear boundaries, define acceptable behavior and communicate your limits. Then find a trusted person to give an objective opinion on your manager's behavior. This can help you to build your support network and manage the stress of the situation. Finally, don't forget to take create space for yourself. Chambers says: 'Whether it's through small wellbeing moments like mindfulness, activities that bring you joy and energy, or professional support, be kind to yourself during this period to reduce your stressors.' Unfortunately, dealing with a toxic manager can suck all the joy out of your working life. If you reach that point, moving on might be the best option – no matter how reluctant you are to leave your role. As Herson says: 'Above all, remember you deserve to work in a healthy environment. If the situation becomes unbearable, exploring exit strategies – whether an internal transfer or a new role – can be the ultimate act of self-preservation.' If dialogue and boundary-setting fail, Kohlrieser also recommends considering your exit strategy. 'Staying in a toxic environment can damage mental health and limit professional growth,' he says. 'The most successful professionals are those who refuse to be hostages, either by transforming the situation or stepping away to regain control of their career. Toxicity persists when it is tolerated. Choose leadership over victimhood. Choose freedom over fear.' Enjoyed this article? Follow me by clicking the blue 'Follow' button beneath the headline above.
