How can you reconcile concern for shareholders with concern for stakeholders? If you were CEO, what would be your chief focus?
If you were on the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, would you avoid hiring a diligent auditor, one that had a history of discovering internal control weaknesses in other auditees?
Why do you think increased competition for the rating agencies does not seem to have worked to control what some consider to be inflated ratings for structured securities?
Why do you think there is an increased concern about the quality of audits in the UK? What steps should be taken to address the concern?
How would you determine willful intent to mislead shareholders with respect to revenue recognition, if you were the lead prosecutor investigating Power Solutions International?
Do you think that linking pay to ESG/CSR goals “greenwashes” exec comp or will it have a measurable impact? How would you measure the impact? How would you design an exec comp package in an increasingly ESG conscious world?
For the stock buybacks, where did firms’ excess cash come from to buy back the stock? Does it matter if it was from internally generated cash flows, or if it was borrowed? What are the future implications?
Say you buy 5,000 Libras. What’s the journal entry? How to you account for the Libras after you buy them?
Do you agree that the risk associated with climate change needs to have a “bigger priority” in a firm’s overall risk assessment? If you were CFO, what would you/should you do?
How do you decide (as CFO) what to do with the all the cash? How would you describe the effects of governmental fiscal policy in making capital allocation decisions?
AZZ dismissed one accounting firm for another. What kind of questions would you have as an investor about the reasons for the dismissal?
How would you determine whether executive compensation is excessive? How would you design an optimal compensation package?
So AstraZeneca decided to raise capital with “expensive equity” rather than “cheap debt”? Why would the firm decide to go this route? Do you agree with the decision?
Zero based budgeting and cost cutting, some have argued, led to Kraft’s problems, including writedowns (and subsequently, lawsuits). When is it time to cut and when is it not? Under what circumstances? Which types of industries?
In what way is the hiring of an outsider CFO at Intel underscore the importance of strategic thinking ability for CFOs in general? How might this affect your career?
Roadrunner Transportation is accused of willful misconduct in creating a cookie jar reserve to boost earnings. Not that you should practice this, but how is that done exactly? Should firms be allowed to reverse split just to stay on an exchange?
KPMG’s “governance, controls, and culture” is being reviewed in the UK, after a 2018 report that found that about 50% of its audits in the UK were not up to standard. A mention is made of potential conflicts of interest. What do you suppose these may be, and what role may such play, if any, not only in this firm, but perhaps others?
Do you consider litigation risk when deciding whether to invest in VW bonds? How much of a premium do you think you would need to entice you to invest? How would you measure the premium?
