One thing’s for certain: These are uncertain times. And if there’s any CFO who knows how to navigate through a crisis, it’s Greg Mrva.

As CFO for GoFundMe, the crowdfunding platform used by more than 72 million people last year that’s raised $30 billion for individuals and nonprofits since its inception, Mrva’s bread-and-butter is moments of difficulty: emergency medical expenses, school fundraisers, disaster relief. Put bluntly: “The constant of GoFundMe is uncertainty,” Mrva told CFO Brew.

“Our business is intense every day,” he continued. “Every day people have issues that they come to GoFundMe to raise money for. Crisis is definitely a part of our business.”

But crisis is “by no means” the biggest or only part of GoFundMe’s business, Mrva stresses; it’s just that the company is especially adept at navigating through difficult moments. While everyone else flocks to GoFundMe in emergencies, as happened amidst the devastating LA wildfires in January, the company spends its time year-round improving its core functioning so it can get money to those who need it when it matters most.

That’s the benefit of dealing with uncertainty constantly: You’re always ready to go. In 2025, all CFOs will have to develop the same crisis mode skills Mrva has spent his tenure cultivating. Probably time to take notes.

For more on how GoFundMe’s CFO navigates uncertainty, click here.—NP

Retailers and Big Four accounting firms aren’t the only ones rolling back their DEI programs this year: Some of the nation’s largest banks are doing so as well. In February, Citi said it would reverse a policy of requiring a diverse slate of job candidates and removed DEI from the name of its DEI and talent function, rebranding it the “Talent Management and Engagement” team. And Goldman Sachs discontinued a policy of only working with public companies that had two or more diverse board members.

JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest bank, has now joined its peers in revamping its DEI programs. In a memo to employees seen by Reuters, COO Jenn Piepszak said the bank would change the name of its DEI program to DOI, or “diversity, opportunity, and inclusion.” Some functions that once fell under the DEI team would now be relegated to the HR or corporate responsibility teams, she wrote.

“This means some activities, councils or chapters may be consolidated to streamline our process and engagement strategy,” she noted.

Responses to the EOs? The Trump administration’s anti-DEI executive orders (EO) are likely behind the banks’ walking back of DEI. In a January 21 EO, the administration argued that DEI “diminish[es] the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination.”

Click here to keep reading about JPM’s DEI rollback.—CV

The PCAOB’s seeing more than its share of deficiencies on Form AP, the board noted in a recent staff publication. And while many of these deficiencies involve somewhat fiddly matters, such as calculating how many hours a given firm worked on an audit, others are pretty straightforward.

All audit firms need to file a Form AP for each audit they perform. The form includes information like which firms worked on the audit and what percentage of the work they completed. Auditors must provide contact information for each firm that completed 5% or more of hours worked on an audit. They must also list the firms that contributed less than 5% of hours worked, as well as the percentage of the audit each one completed.

On Form AP, PCAOB staff have seen auditors incorrectly calculate the number of hours each firm completes, or inaccurately state the number of firms contributing less than 5% of the work.

Other deficiencies seem more like typos or oversights: getting an issuer’s name or state wrong; failing to provide an issuer’s Central Index Key number or listing an incorrect one; failing to state whether an issuer is an employee benefit plan, an investment company, or another type of entity; or giving the wrong date for an audit.

Keep reading here.—CV

From the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) to the rise of cloud accounting and AI-driven analytics, CFOs have evolved into strategic leaders. The Quarter Century Project explores the pivotal events that reshaped finance, regulation, and the CFO role. See how the past has forged the future of financial leadership.