Compliance
A report jointly released by IANS Research and Artico Search indicates that, due to economic uncertainty, cybersecurity budget growth slowed in 2025 and its share of IT budgets declined. Although cyber risk is considered one of the top five enterprise risks, most CISOs have not secured budget increases commensurate with the expansion of their security scope.
FASB on Wednesday issued a GAAP accounting standards update that introduces a "practical expedient" for accounts receivable and contract assets under Topics 326 and 606, allowing entities to assume that current conditions remain unchanged over the remaining life of the assets, and permitting private entities to consider collection activities occurring after the balance sheet date in their estimates. This aims to reduce the time and effort entities spend estimating credit losses while maintaining decision-useful information for investors.
Deloitte's Q2 2025 North America Signal survey found that 23% of CFOs expect their finance departments to accept cryptocurrency payments or purchase such assets as investments within two years, with this proportion reaching 39% among companies with revenues over $10 billion. Stablecoins are seen as a practical entry point, with only 1% of CFOs not planning long-term use. On the regulatory front, the GENIUS Act has been signed, and the CLARITY Act and others are progressing.
The AI action plan released by the Trump administration on July 23 allows federal agencies to withhold funds from states on the grounds that state AI regulations are "burdensome," but it does not define what is "burdensome" or which funds are affected. Legal experts believe this move may face lawsuits and create compliance uncertainty.
US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at a joint briefing on Sunday that the two sides have reached a trade 'framework' agreement, planning to set a uniform tariff rate of 15% on most EU goods exported to the US, covering automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. The EU has committed to buying $750 billion in US energy over three years and investing $600 billion in the US. Details of the agreement are still to be finalized, and the final implementation timeline has not been specified.
The tax and spending bill signed by U.S. President Trump earlier this month makes several corporate-friendly provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, providing a more predictable policy environment for corporate tax planning. Adam Francis, head of EY's Washington Council, noted that this certainty is a key achievement of the bill, but tax law simplification remains insufficient. The bill also involves adjustments to individual income tax, changes to the tax system for multinational enterprises, and the eventual repeal of the once-controversial 'retaliatory tax' provision.
The latest Federal Reserve research indicates that the high tariffs implemented by the Trump administration will significantly increase U.S. businesses' trade compliance costs, with estimated new costs accounting for 1.4% to 2.5% of product value, and total annual costs for the manufacturing sector potentially ranging from $39 billion to $71 billion. The study emphasizes that complex rules of origin and administrative burdens are the main drivers of rising costs, and warns that actual costs could be even higher.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to continue hearing and rule on the consolidated lawsuit against its climate risk disclosure rule. In a status report filed on July 23, the agency stated it currently has no intention to review or reconsider the rule, but did not explicitly commit to maintaining and enforcing it if challengers lose.
FASB voted on Wednesday to advance over 30 technical amendments to the Accounting Standards Codification, based on feedback on dozens of topics from a prior proposal. The amendments aim to clarify several issues in corporate accounting, including earnings per share when there is a loss from continuing operations, retirement of excess treasury stock, and certain lease receivables. The final update draft will be prepared by staff and voted on at a subsequent meeting. The amendments are expected to be effective for annual reporting periods of public companies and other entities after December 15, 2026.
Gainesville, Florida Mayor Harvey Ward stated he will cooperate with the state government's new round of DOGE-style audit of the city's expenditures in accordance with the law. Ward emphasized that over the past two years, the city government has implemented a historic debt reduction plan and cut over 160 positions, demonstrating efficiency and resilience. The audit is driven by Governor DeSantis and State Chief Financial Officer Ingoglia, with Gainesville and Broward County being the first local governments to be reviewed.