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IRS

Alarm bells

Sakchai Vongsasiripat/Getty Images

Accounting and tax interest groups are scrambling to make sense of what’s actually going on inside the IRS, and are worried that the chaos could mean poor levels of service just in time for the agency’s busy season.

To summarize: Recent media reports indicate the IRS plans to shed up to half its 90,000-person workforce. The tax collector already fired 7,000 people just last month. Trump administration officials also want some IRS agents to assist in its immigration crackdown efforts. Looming over all this is the specter that lawmakers may claw back more IRS funding or even make more wholesale changes to the agency.

An official with the AICPA, which represents 597,000 finance and accounting professionals globally, said the group is monitoring what’s going on with the IRS to determine both short- and long-term consequences. The group is also talking with the IRS “to clarify” what are sometimes conflicting reports.

“With the volatility of the present environment and rapidly changing events, it is important to reconcile fact from fiction for taxpayers and their advisors,” Mark Koziel, president and CEO of the AICPA, said in a statement emailed to CFO Brew. “Despite inconsistent reports, we know that the IRS is making every effort to maintain this tax season’s service levels comparable with that of recent years.”

“A modern, functioning IRS is essential for Americans to meet their tax obligations and to our country’s financial health,” Koziel added.

For more on the confusion around the IRS, click here.—AZ

Presented By Paystand

Take a tax lunch break

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TALENT MANAGEMENT

Guiding force

Dev Images/Getty Images

Navan, a corporate travel management platform, hired its new CFO, Amy Butte, with a specific goal in mind: Get the company ready to go public.

But before she accepted, she had to ask herself two questions: Did she have it in her to take her third company public? And would she regret not accepting? The answer to both was obviously a yes.

“I truly believe—as a believer in public markets—we will be able to benefit for all the reasons that you would go public,” Butte, who has experience taking other companies public, including the NYSE as its CFO, said. Those benefits? “It’s brand, it’s lower cost of capital, it’s an acquisition currency, and it’s also an acceleration of the maturation of a company.”

But to pull off this potential IPO, Butte knew she’d need a crack team.

Assemble. Butte outlined the guiding principles she followed to build out her team. She needed people who could fill “job descriptions that maybe weren’t there before” at Navan, due to the strategic path down which the company was headed. She also needed to find people who’d work well as part of a team. “I like to say that finance is a team sport, particularly if you’re going through an IPO process,” she said.

Click here to keep reading how Butte built her finance team.—AZ

CFOS

Financial jitters

John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images

Finance leaders’ optimism toward the US economy plunged 20 percentage points since last quarter, according to a new survey by AICPA and CIMA. The survey polled 305 “decision-makers” with CPA licenses, most of them CFOs, controllers, or CEOs. Only 47% of respondents said they thought the US economy was headed in a positive direction, down sharply from 67% last quarter.

Uncertainty around tariffs, interest rates, and inflation drove the decline in sentiment, the Journal of Accountancy reported. “There are a lot of warning signs right now for business executives, particularly around inflation, payroll costs, and consumer confidence, with tariffs adding another layer of uncertainty,” Tom Hood, EVP of business growth and engagement at the AIPCA and CIMA, told the news outlet. Nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) said tariffs would be detrimental to their businesses.

Finance leaders were also downbeat about the state of the global economy. Just 29% expressed optimism about how the world economy would fare in the next 12 months, down from 41% last quarter.

And they also foresaw slightly worse outcomes for their own companies. Their forecasts for revenue dipped to 3%, from 3.3% in Q4, and they anticipated 1.7% profit growth over the next 12 months, down from 2.2% last quarter.

How sour are finance professionals on the economy? Click here to find out.—CV

Together With Klarity

Efficiency is the zeitgeist, but hard to achieve. Klarity Architect helps CFOs build exponential organizations by giving visibility into how their company operates. Through AI-driven interviews, video analysis, and existing artifacts, Klarity Architect turns your data into detailed documentation. It uncovers opportunities for quick efficiency gains like process fixes, de-duplications, and automations. Book a demo.

MARKET FORCES

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat: $23.7 billion. That’s the potential value of a deal to take drugstore chain Walgreens private. The company’s shares have lost 80% of their value since 2020. (CNN Business)

Quote: “As we parse the incoming information, we are focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves. We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well positioned to wait for greater clarity.”—Fed Chair Jerome Powell, on waiting to sort out the impact of Trump administration policies on the economy before making any interest rate decisions (New York Times)

Read: Is your boss spying on you? 🥸 (Washington Post)

Soup’s on: Book a quick Paystand demo + get a $150 Uber Eats or DoorDash* gift card to cover your next few lunches. You’ll learn about automating AR processes, boosting time to cash, and zero-fee payments. Chow down.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

JOBS

Elevate your job search beyond the traditional channels. CollabWORK is where employers seek qualified candidates through trusted community-based referrals. Let the power of community work for you, and click here to browse jobs curated especially for CFO Brew readers.

Director of Finance and Accounting at an insurance company (hybrid)
Chief Financial Officer at an undisclosed organization (in person)
Chief Financial Officer at an undisclosed organization (in person)

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✢ A Note From Paystand

*Participants who attend a discovery meeting with a Paystand representative (collectively referred to as a "Demo") US Participants are eligible to receive a $150 USD Doordash or Uber Eats Gift Card as part of this promotion, Canadian Participants are eligible to receive a $150 CAD Doordash, Skip, or UberEats Gift Card as part of this promotion (the "Promotion").

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Campaign Period: The Campaign begins at 11:59 PM PST on February 1, 2025, and ends at 11:59 PM PDT on March 31, 2025.

Eligibility: This Campaign is open to customers (current or in implementation) of Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, and Sage, who schedule and attend a discovery call with a Paystand representative. Existing Paystand customers, partners, and competitors are not eligible for this Campaign.

Participants must be based in the US or Canada, be 18 years or older, and attend a Demo by March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PDT. Only one entry per person and company is allowed. Participants must also be verifiable business decision-makers or influencers, such as an executive or senior member of the finance team at a company with at least 50 full-time employees. They must provide a verifiable business email and demonstrate an interest in exploring an AR solution for their company. Eligibility will be verified by the Organizer. No purchase is necessary to participate.

How to Enter: Participants must schedule a discovery meeting with a Paystand representative. The meeting must be booked during the Campaign Period and take place before March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PDT.

Promotion: The Promotion consists of a $150 USD or $150 CAD Gift Card provided by Paystand for Uber Eats, Skip, or Doordash. Participants are responsible for submitting correct contact details to ensure proper delivery of the gift card via email. Incorrect or invalid email information may result in disqualification.

Claiming the Promotion: The gift card will be sent within two to four weeks after the completion of the meeting. Only one promotion will be awarded per eligible participant, and only one individual per organization can receive the promotion. Previous incentive participants are not eligible. Paystand reserves the right to determine which participant qualifies from each organization based on who completes the Demo first.

This promotion is void where prohibited by law and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. Paystand reserves the right to request additional information to verify eligibility and prevent fraud.

No substitutions or transfers of the promotion are allowed, except at Paystand’s discretion. If the promotion becomes unavailable, Paystand may substitute it with another of equal or greater value. This offer is valid only during the Campaign Period and while supplies last. Gift cards may have limited redemption periods, the registrant is responsible for redeeming the promotion during the communicated time.

Recipients are responsible for any taxes, fees, or expenses associated with receiving or using the promotion, including applicable federal, state, or local taxes. The promotion is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Paystand’s decisions regarding the Campaign and promotion distribution are final. Unclaimed promotions may be forfeited at Paystand's discretion.

If a participant has previously attended a demo and received a promotion, they are not eligible to receive another during this Campaign.

Information Submitted: By participating in the Campaign, you agree to provide accurate information on the Form. By attending the Demo, you grant Paystand and its affiliates a worldwide, perpetual, and irrevocable license to use your name and responses for promotional purposes without additional compensation, including listing promotion recipients where required by law. Paystand may disclose recipient information to regulatory authorities. By entering, you agree to receive marketing communications from Paystand.

Additional Terms: This offer is void where prohibited or restricted by law. Paystand is not liable for lost, stolen, or destroyed promotions. Paystand reserves the right to amend the Terms & Conditions or terminate the Campaign at any time without notice. Use of the Gift Card is subject to providers Terms & Conditions. Doordash, Uber, Uber Eats and Skip are not affiliated with or sponsoring this promotion.

Disputes: Any disputes arising from this Campaign will be governed by the laws of California.

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