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Hello, and welcome to Tuesday. It looks like spring, it feels like spring, and—oh, would you look at that—it finally is spring. Unless, of course, you are in the Midwest, in which case, welcome back, winter.  
In this issue:
 CFOs boosted
 Sticker shock
 Inflated
—Natasha Piñon, Courtney Vien, Alex Zank
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Naotake/Getty Images
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In the US’s largest companies, more CFOs are being tapped for CEO roles. According to the latest Crist Kolder Volatility Report, in 2023, among Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies, 8.4% of CEOs were promoted directly from CFO positions, up from just 5.8% in 2013.
Turns out, the trend toward hiring former CFOs as CEOs exists at US companies of all sizes. New data from Live Data Technologies shows that in 2023, 4.56% of CEOs across companies of all sizes were former CFOs. That’s up from 3.58% in 2018. Early data from the first two months of 2024 suggests it might be an even better year for CFO-to-CEO promotions: 4.93% of new CEOs had held CFO roles.
The percentage of CEOs who are former CFOs has increased modestly every year from 2020 (3.49%) to 2024, Live Data found. That may be a sign that more companies are looking for CEOs with financial acumen to steer them through chaotic macroeconomic times and periods of high inflation, as Rich Brady, CEO of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and global chair of the Institute of Management Accountants, suggested to CFO Brew during a recent interview.
Click here for more on the rise of CFO to CEO.—CV
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FP&A is an essential business function—but it can also feel like herding cats.
Long nights spent gathering and reconciling data from multiple sources. Meetings upon meetings to get stakeholders to agree on assumptions. Decision-making blocked by tedious manual data entry and inaccuracies.
It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. Thankfully, there’s Cube.
With Cube, you can automate data entry, fast-track insights, make decisions that guide future business performance, and keep collaborators in lockstep—all from the comfort of your spreadsheets.
If you’re ready to get out of the weeds and into the strategy, try Cube. Bonus alert: Get a $100 gift card when you hop on a quick call to talk FP&A.
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Aitor Diago/Getty Images
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Consumers aren’t the only ones left reeling by inflation. CFOs and finance personnel might also experience sticker shock when they open employee expense reports.
Expenses rose in all but one category between 2019 and 2023, new employee expense report data from SAP Concur shows. And 12 out of 14 categories increased by double-digit percentages.
Gas was the category with the most dramatic change, rising 37%. The average cost per transaction went from $43 in 2019 to $59 in 2023.
Meals saw the second-largest growth, rising 30% from $43 to $56 per meal. Car rentals and entertainment each grew 28%, while lodging rose 21%.
In terms of total spend, though, the largest category was airfare. Though flight costs increased by only 10% over the four-year period, the impact on companies was likely greater because airfare is a bigger-ticket item. Flight costs jumped from an average of $698 pre-pandemic to $770 in 2023.
How much are expenses going up? Click here to find out.—CV
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Eoneren/Getty Images
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Wholesale inflation blew past economists’ expectations in February.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.6% for the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—double the Dow Jones estimate, CNBC reported. February’s larger-than-expected PPI uptick follows a more modest 0.3% increase in January and a 0.1% decline in December.
On an annual basis, the PPI increased 1.6%, “the largest rise since moving up 1.8% for the 12 months ended September 2023,” according to the BLS.
A 1.2% increase in goods prices accounted for nearly two-thirds of the February uptick in wholesale inflation, BLS reported. The rise primarily came from pricier energy costs, particularly a 6.8% jump in the price for gasoline. Prices for services, which include transportation and warehousing, ticked up 0.3% for the month.
Why PPI matters. Many consider PPI to be an early indicator of inflation because it measures costs early on in the supply chain. The BLS also reported last week that the Consumer Price Index in February increased 0.4% for the month and 3.2% year over year, which was slightly higher than economists’ expectations and still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
To read the story on our website, click here.—AZ
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Francis Scialabba
Today's top finance reads.
Stat: $1.50. That’s how much Costco’s iconic hot dog and soda combo is going to stay—despite inflation, shrinkflation, skimpflation, and greedflation. In a recent Bloomberg interview, longtime Costco CFO Richard Galanti, who just exited the company, said the inflation-proof combo would “probably be safe for a while” even now that he’s gone. (Bloomberg)
Quote: “Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety. While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus.”—United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement to customers following a string of incidents on its Boeing jets. (ABC News)
Read: The iconic duo that never was. Last year, FedEx and Amazon discussed a potential collaboration wherein FedEx would accept Amazon returns at its retail locations, an insider source told the Wall Street Journal. That deal fizzled, but won’t be the last time we hear about it as return shipping sizzles. (the Wall Street Journal)
Health  wealth: Some benefits just go together. Marsh McLennan Agency dug into the positive impact that an integrated health and wealth benefit offering can have on your org. Read about it in their new report.* *A message from our sponsor.
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