What’s your opinion on the insider stock sales? Should it be changed at this company (e.g., with blackout periods)? Why or why not? Are there legal issues?
What’s the calculation? What level of margin would you need to make up for reduced volume? Is it sustainable? What are some externalities?
Do you agree that (post M&A) integration risk is higher in the COVID era? Are there effective ways to mitigate it?
What is the downside of zero-based budgeting? Would you implement it at your firm when you become CFO? Why or why not?
“Professional skepticism” always, if you become an auditor, right? How is it operationalized on the job?
Do you think pressure to disclose more ESG-related data will force companies to adopt formal accounting standards that measure such data?
Microsoft pledges $1 billion on climate-related efforts, namely to become carbon “negative” by 2050. What do you think is the main catalyst for this, and do you think other firms will be able to follow their lead? Why or why not? What is meant by the phrase “regulators will react and capital will react”?
Why are goodwill impairments down? What causes impairments? Should we still consider going back to an amortization model of accounting for goodwill?
Do you agree that the risk associated with climate change needs to have a “bigger priority” in a firm’s overall risk assessment? If you were CFO, what would you/should you do?
How do you decide (as CFO) what to do with the all the cash? How would you describe the effects of governmental fiscal policy in making capital allocation decisions?
Does the prediction that labor (human capital) in finance departments will be increasingly replaced in the next business downturn have any implications for you in your career goals?
If you were in the C-suite, what would you recommend be done about the “problem” of so much cash? How would you spend it? How would you decide? Do you believe it is true that European “finance chiefs . . . are often more fiscally conservative than American counterparts”? If so, why do you think that is?
Do you think BlackRock is “right” to require firms to discuss these societal issues, in addition to financial metrics? Why or why not? What is BlackRock hoping to achieve? Is this the best way for BlackRock to achieve its goals?