ACCOUNTING

Crib notes

It’s getting hard to open the news without seeing disruptive headlines: geopolitical tensions, natural disasters, economic instability. Steering businesses through this uncertainty towards stability and finding opportunities for growth is becoming a central part of the finance professional’s role. It’s not an easy task, but don’t worry, we got you.

To help you navigate through the challenges of finance and accounting work—and the current climate of uncertainty—we’ve gathered LinkedIn cheat sheets on leading your team through difficult times, establishing finance controls for small businesses, and transformative finance skills.

• MIT Sloan Management Review’s “How to support your team when uncertainty is high” is an eight-page slide deck based on an article written by Liz Fosslien that outlines “seven ways that managers can help support their teams during turbulent times without making promises they can’t keep.” Each of the seven methods is headlined with a short explanation of how to accomplish the advice.
  
  For example, the advice to “Help each employee work toward their dream job” is supported by the argument that career growth within their current position might not always be possible, giving them opportunities will benefit their career. Other advice includes creating quick wins, offering clarity and context, and letting them say no. 

Click here to see more finance and accounting cheat sheets.—DA

PRESENTED BY PLAID

ID, please 🪪

When it comes to the identity verification landscape, we’ve all got questions. These might include: What strategies should my business adopt? Where is identity verification headed? How do I know I’m not a robot? (Just us?)

All big q’s—and you’re in luck, because Plaid’s giving away the answers.

Check out the trusty Gartner® Market Guide for Identity Verification report. With it, you’ll:

• Discover today’s biggest trends and use cases.
• Prep for the rise of new digital identity solutions.
• Keep up with the latest threats from AI and deepfakes.

This in-depth report can help you push beyond basic protection, future-proof your biz, and get the most from your investment.

Grab your free copy.

ECONOMY

Keep climbing

No Olivia Rodrigo, but it’s brutal out there.

Bankruptcy filings jumped across all major US categories in the first quarter of 2024, per a new report from Epiq Bankruptcy, which provides bankruptcy filing data.

According to Epiq, March marked the 20th consecutive month that total, individual, and commercial bankruptcy filings posted year over year increases.

The biggest jump: commercial Chapter 11 filings. Those increased 43% YoY in Q1, with 1,894 filings. Last year, businesses filed 1,325 commercial chapter 11s in Q1, according to Epiq.

“As we expected, the upward trajectory in both commercial and individual related bankruptcy filing volumes continue,” Michael Hunter, VP of Epiq AACER, said in a statement.

Click here for more on the increase in bankruptcy filings.—NP

JOBS REPORT

Hotter than expected

We’ll never turn down good news. So, let’s take it all in with open eyes and ears: The March jobs report came in hotter than expected.

Employers added 303,000 jobs this March, seasonally adjusted, according to the Labor Department. That handily beats the 200,000 or so economists anticipated, per FactSet estimates.

March’s figures also show that the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%, the slightest of slight dips from 3.9% in February. “It’s been 26 months in a row with unemployment below 4%,” Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin said at a Maryland event last week. “That’s the first time that’s happened since the late ’60s. So the job market is very strong.”

It’s good news—though it could delay the Fed’s timing for future interest rate cuts, potentially pushing them later to avoid doing so in an inflationary environment.

“Today’s jobs report raises the possibility that rather than slowing down, job growth might be holding steady,” Nick Bunker, Indeed Hiring Lab’s North American economic research director, told CFO Brew via email. “But this strength is coming from sources that are more sustainable than those that fueled the burst of gains in 2021. March’s jobs numbers were uniformly strong, and upticks in the employment-population ratio and labor force participation in particular suggest that demand for workers is not outstripping supply, like it was a few years back.”

For more on what March’s strong job numbers mean, click here.—NP

TOGETHER WITH ALTERYX

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MARKET FORCES

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