Most people know by now not to donate money to or click links in an unsolicited email from a Nigerian prince, but as in any business sector, fraudsters can pivot to a new approach when an old one stops working. And when it comes to anti-fraud technology, they’re often a step or two ahead; experts tell CFO Brew that criminals have started to adapt to new fraud-prevention methods and tech as fast as they’re being developed.

How and where to spend money on fraud prevention continues to be a thorny question for CFOs, but standing pat isn’t really an option.

“It’s always a cat and mouse game, no matter what,” said Ben Ashworth, VP of marketing at Pi by Paytm, a digital fraud and risk platform. “It’s always, there’s a new technology that comes out and then the fraudsters…always figure out a way to take that new technology, dissect it, and figure out something new.”

Most companies will likely need to spend more on anti-fraud and compliance technology in the coming years. Companies that don’t invest in technology to protect their data and assets are not only vulnerable to hackers, but are likely to be eclipsed by their competition. Continue reading here.—DA

During our virtual launch event, reporter Kristen Talman spoke to Andrew E. Page, CFO of Foot Locker, about the challenges of being a CFO in 2022, and what advice he has for the aspiring CFOs of the future. Here are three takeaways from their conversation:

Does a CFO need to be an accountant?

I would say from an accounting perspective—just my personal belief—is it affords you a wide array of opportunities. I know many accountants that have gotten into consulting, have gotten into finance, have gotten into econ, and have gotten into marketing, so it is a foundation of discipline that opens many doors for you.

But going on the vertical path from accountant, a CPA to auditor to CFO you know, that isn’t the only path.

I’ve seen a number of CFOs that came the engineering route, but having that high finance acumen and being fluid and comfortable all across finance as a foundation is key. But that is just that, I think the thing that you need on top of that broad-based business experience across all disciplines, whether it be marketing, whether it be IT, whether it be finance, whether it be HR.

What would you say is the biggest challenge facing corporate finance today and how, as a CFO, are you approaching that?

I think maybe this has always been the case, but I just think there are so many moving parts with regard to optimizing business operations. I mean, obviously, it’s capital allocation, which is a big deal and to grow a company’s revenue base, there’s investment involved in that. If you are a quarter-to-quarter or a month-to-month CFO thinker, you will never survive. You have to be able to look around the corner and think two years ahead as a CFO because today’s investments relate to tomorrow’s growth. Continue reading here.—KL

Coworking is a weekly segment where we talk to CFOs and others in the finance space about their experiences, their companies, and the larger economy. Let us know if you are—or you know—a CFO we should interview.

Pascal Desroches is the senior EVP and CFO of AT&T.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

In AT&T’s Q2 earnings, the company projected it would feel a $1 billion inflationary impact. How do you plan to offset that?

We have a major transformation program that’s trying to drive $6 billion in cumulative savings by the end of 2023. We are $4 billion into it currently. Also, earlier this year, we did increase prices for some of our older plans. The goal was to engage with those consumers in order to provide them with access to some of our newer plans which would probably fit their needs a little bit better. Yeah, you may have to pay a little bit more, but you’re getting a lot more value in terms of hotspot minutes and content with your offering.

Hitting the customer [with a price increase] is really hard and something that we really try not to do. And we think it’s important during this time that we work with customers—consumers are getting pinched.

As a CFO entering a high inflationary period, what is top of mind for you?

I think we have to be very surgical in terms of, “What are the things that are most important to us?”

But at the same time, we have to be judicious. Are there things that we really need? That we can forego in the short term? Sure. What are the real-estate needs now since the pandemic? That’s an area that we’re narrowing down on: real estate, travel, entertainment. How much of it do you really need to do? Continue reading here.—KT

Today's top CFO reads:

Stat: ~$20 billion. That’s what Adobe has agreed to pay to acquire rival software company Figma. Wall Street wasn’t thrilled with the deal—Adobe's stock fell sharply  after the deal was announced. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “It’s the most dramatic situation we have ever encountered.”—Nicholas Hodler, chief executive of Arc International glass factory in France, on the energy crisis in Europe (the New York Times)

Read: The future of AI may not be what we expect. (The Atlantic)

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