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aramco CFO Ziad Al-Murshed’s talk Thursday at the MIT Sloan CFO Summit ended abruptly after climate protesters took the stage, according to Lieutenant Amanda Henrickson of the Newton, Massachusetts Police Department. Al-Murshed was only a few minutes into the half hour talk when the protesters interrupted him, Beth Kurth, the conference’s executive producer told CFO Dive. This is the first time that the event has drawn protesters in its 22-year history, Kurth said. #climatechange #oilandgasindustry #oilandgas https://lnkd.in/eqvexysV

The cost of U.S. health care benefits will likely rise 10.2% in 2025, compared with a 9.3% gain this year, according to a study by WTW. The gain will be fueled by inflation, shortages of health care workers and the demand from providers for higher prices on the renewal of multi-year contracts, according to the study. Facing spiraling costs, employers “may be more willing to implement plan designs and solutions that limit cost increases through more efficient and quality-based networks, centers of excellence and alternate funding mechanisms,” WTW's Tim Stawicki, FSA MAAA said in an email response to questions. #healthcare #pharmacy #inflation https://lnkd.in/eX2VTkbx

Evolv Technology CFO Mark Donohue?resigned from his position?effective Nov. 21, a move that comes as an investigation by the company into certain sales practices wraps up, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In an agreement with AlixPartners, the company has engaged director Dave Rawden, to serve as interim CFO. Evolv will pay AlixPartners a weekly fee of $50,000 for Rawden's services. #interimleadership #leadership #revenuerecognition https://lnkd.in/ge8FZfk8

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commission Chair Gary Gensler will leave the agency on Jan. 20 after nearly three years advancing aggressive enforcement and robust rulemaking in fields ranging from corporate disclosure and Treasury markets to audits and private equity. “The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor,” Gensler said Thursday in a statement included in an agency?announcement of his planned departure. “The staff and the commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike.” #SEC #regulation https://lnkd.in/eNWk5HKz

KPMG plans to make a new?$100 million investment?toward enhancing generative artificial intelligence, data analytics and cybersecurity services that it provides through an existing partnership with Google Cloud. The expanded alliance, which is expected to drive $1 billion in incremental growth for the Big Four accounting and consulting firm, will include a focus on bringing Google’s Vertex AI and Gemini models to financial services clients,?with the goal of helping automate “cumbersome” processes like fraud detection and commercial lending, according to a press release.?The $100 million investment will be made over the next four years, a KPMG spokesperson said. #cloud #DigitalTransformation https://lnkd.in/gCDCSamJ

AI has become a top strategic focus for executive teams as they approach the upcoming year, with businesses examining exactly where and how the technology will provide the best benefit. But just picking a tool out of a lineup of vendors is only the first step. From a legal and a finance standpoint, “you need to be able to say, ‘how did you do this and have it be auditable’, which is not always [something] that you can [say with] AI,” said Amie Durr, chief product officer at lease optimization provider Visual Lease.??When it comes to how finance chiefs are thinking about finding and implementing new AI tools, “they’re going to need to be looking for ones that have some good bit of traceability, auditability,” Durr said. #Accounting https://lnkd.in/g8Fi7NDU

Spend management company?Coupa Software has tapped Michael Agresta, most recently CFO of online education company Pluralsight and a veteran of event management and ticketing company Eventbrite. The appointment comes comes on the heels of the San Mateo, California-based company’s acquisition last year by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in?an $8 billion take-private deal, and a C-suite shake-up with CEO Leagh Turner taking the CEO post and?tech industry veteran Kevin Burns?taking the finance reins,?CFO Dive previously reported. #CFO #leadership https://lnkd.in/g_vvpkBX

Merger-and-acquisition activity could pick up next year thanks to pent-up demand and interest rate cuts, as well as deregulation efforts expected in the incoming Trump administration, according to a recent EY report. Interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve will likely serve as a strong tailwind for M&A in the coming year by lowering the cost of capital for private equity firms and making it easier to underwrite investments, according to the analysis. Meanwhile, the prospect of regulatory relief under President-elect Donald Trump has also boosted deal-makers’ hopes, EY said.?“Determining the deal momentum in the longer term will likely depend on how much of Trump’s tax, energy, trade and regulatory agenda is enacted.” #mergersandacquisitions #rates https://lnkd.in/eAphzRj3

Walmart is focused on ensuring it can hit the right mix between pricing and value as higher-income consumers contribute a “larger percentage” of its market gains, executives said Tuesday during the company’s earnings call for Q3 of fiscal year 2025. In categories such as grocery, “price obviously matters and so does quality,” CFO John David Rainey said. As the company continues to attract higher-income consumers, it’s also seeing its share in pickup and delivery for categories such as gluten free products or organic produce rise, he said in response to analyst questions. That speaks to the company’s ability to provide “a great opening price point” as well as to sell high quality products, Rainey said. #retail #pricing #inflation https://lnkd.in/e9K5SmTQ