CFOs have good reason to keep a close eye on the US-Israel-Iran war.

Though only a few days old, the war has already sent oil prices surging—with knock-on effects that could prove material to many businesses further down the line. Though the size of any impacts will be determined by the length of the conflict and the way it develops, it’s likely to cause at least some short-term wobbles.

Where we’re at: One-fifth of the world’s oil supply travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which, as of March 3, had been all but closed for four days, according to Reuters. Hundreds of oil tankers are stuck at ports, Reuters reported, and attacks on energy facilities have interfered with gas and oil production.

Oil prices have risen in consequence. The price of Brent crude oil opened at $85.41 per barrel on March 6, its highest level since July 2024, and 18% higher than its price of $72.48 prior to the conflict.

Keep reading.—CV

CFO Lucas Zettle has learned a lot since he rejoined the CPA, accounting, and consulting firm Aldrich that was his first job out of business school.

Aldrich’s client work centers on relationships, Zettle told CFO Brew, and continuing to invest in Aldrich relationships after leaving is what helped him “get a foot in the door and ultimately helped in building trust” that facilitated his return to the Lake Oswego, Oregon-based firm as CFO.

Zettle said he knew it was a risk, but that his time away from the firm was fruitful at software company Webtrends, where he worked his way up from a revenue accountant to VP of finance and sales ops in less than five years.

Now, eight years into the CFO role at Aldrich, Zettle told CFO Brew about his priorities for the company, why he believes process comes before technology, how he measures progress on his teams, and why the biggest challenge this year is imagining “the art of the possible.”

Why did you return to Aldrich? Was it always in the back of your head?

I’ve always been fairly people-first, and good at building relationships—or I like to think that I am. So in my first couple of years that I was [at Aldrich], I did meet some really great people and even after I left, I made every effort to stay connected with them…I think that played a big part.

Are you tracking any KPIs within the accounting and finance team?

The first KPI that I would hone in on is: What’s our days to close, and our time to report out to business? That’s sort of a silly KPI, because you’re like, “Yeah, that should happen in any accounting and finance organization.” I think the underlying sentiment behind that is really, how quickly are we going out and engaging with our stakeholders, and talking to them about the information that we see, to help influence better decisions in that month, or in that quarter, or in that year?

Keep reading.—DL

After slowly closing for decades, the gender pay gap started to expand again in 2024. A new report from Glassdoor highlights where the gap widened the most, and what role employers can play in creating fair workplaces for women.

Women’s wages often level off after 35, largely due to structural issues they disproportionately face, including caregiver responsibilities, according to the report. As such, the pay gap grows the longer women are in the workforce, from roughly 12% at the start of their careers, to 19% a decade in, the report found. The gap is much smaller (4%) for men and women in similar roles.

However, women frequently “plateau” in their careers by their mid-30s, suggesting that fewer promotion and advancement opportunities are available or taken. Overall, this contributes to the 25% pay gap many experience after three decades in the workforce. Men tend to assume more responsibilities and higher positions, leading to even bigger pay disparities.

“For whatever reason, men are getting paid more for the same role as women. And so this is not legal,” Chris Martin, lead researcher at Glassdoor told HR Brew, noting that employers are responsible for complying with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—KP