Data quality at risk as federal workforce shrinks, says top economist

s·CFO DailyData quality at risk as federal workforce shrinks, says top economistBy Sheryl EstradaBy Sheryl EstradaSenior Writer and author of CFO DailySheryl EstradaSenior Writer and author of CFO DailySheryl Estrada is a senior writer at Fortune, where she covers the corporate finance industry, Wall Street, and corporate leadership

She also CFO Daily.SEE FULL BIO Getty ImagesGood morning

Accurate, timely data is essential for strong decision-making and growth

When data quality suffers, organizations risk losing their strategic edge, and recent changes to U.S. statistical agencies have raised red flags among top economists

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may have much of its cost-cutting agenda, but its ripple effects are still being felt

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, flags deeper risks stemming from DOGE’s workforce reductions: slashing jobs at federal statistical agencies is already eroding the quality of government data—a sign of more far-reaching consequences for public services. “Government workers have important jobs that are critical to viding important services to taxpayers,” Zandi told me. “If jobs are cut and those services aren’t vided or aren’t vided in a timely and competent way, there can be significant negative fallout.” Regarding the quality of data, the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics'(BLS) report last week resulted in intense scrutiny

President Trump on Aug. 1 ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS

However, Zandi points to DOGE’s cuts as a key driver of these revisions: Workforce reductions mean payroll data from agencies often arrives late, leading to large, after-the-fact corrections. “This didn’t matter much when government employment was stable, but now that government jobs are declining, the cuts are being picked up in the revisions,” Zandi said

The impact extends to the statistical agencies themselves; understaffed teams struggle to cess employment data mptly, which in turn causes even bigger subsequent revisions, he said. in reliable data and the people who collect it is a foundation for smart decisions and economic resilience, according to Zandi

In times of uncertainty, the value of good data cannot be overstated: It is an indispensable compass for leaders

Sheryl Estradasheryl.estrada@fortune.comLeaderboardVaibhav Agarwal was moted to CFO of RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), an AI-powered communications vider, effective immediately

Agarwal had a nine-year tenure in prior roles as deputy CFO, chief transformation officer, and chief accounting officer

Jennifer Fall Jung was appointed CFO and secretary of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWH), effective Aug. 18

Fall Jung will succeed Jeff White, who will serve in a consulting role to assist with the transition until Sept. 9

Fall Jung has over 25 years of experience, previously serving as EVP and CFO of The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. and CFO of Funko, Inc., a publicly traded consumer goods company

Before that role, he held a variety of roles at The Gap, Inc., including CFO and SVP of Old Navy Global Stores and Online

Big DealDigital upskilling is no longer just for teams. “We’re All ies Now: Digital Skill Building for the Future,” a report by McKinsey, examines how collectively increasing nology skills can make companies more competitive. “Now more than ever, for organizations to perform at their best, all employees need to be ies,” according to McKinsey

This includes executives, who must become more -savvy as leaders are increasingly responsible for dering -enabled ducts

Doing so requires a broader and stronger nical foundation across the organization

McKinsey outlines new apaches for enhancing employees’ nical skills to imve ductivity and performance, as well as retaining top talent.Going deeper"How Aravind Srinivas turned Perplexity AI into an $18 billion would-be Google killer" is a Fortune feature article by Jeremy Kahn

Kahn writes: "Google’s of traffic dropped below 90% at the end of 2024, according to data from Statcounter, the first time it dipped below that threshold in 15 years

While the threat from ChatGPT has been the primary driver of these traffic changes, Perplexity pioneered many of the AI features that both Google and OpenAI have more recently rolled out. "Now Google may have to dance to Perplexity’s tune once again

The startup just launched an AI-native web browser called Comet that could represent the biggest shift in how we interact with the internet since Netscape ized the graphical web browser in the mid-1990s." OverheardOur bullish view is that investors are still not fully appreciating the tidal wave of growth on the horizon from the $2 trillion of spending over the next 3 years coming from enterprise and government spending around AI nology and use cases."—Wedbush Securities analysts wrote in an industry note on Tuesday.This is the web version of CFO Daily, a on the trends and individuals shaping corporate finance. for free.