Compliance
The Pennsylvania and Delaware legislatures each passed CPA licensure pathway bills on Thursday, becoming the latest states to ease requirements for obtaining a certified public accountant license and alleviate the industry's talent shortage. The Pennsylvania bill has been sent to the governor for signature, and the Delaware bill also passed the Senate unanimously. At least 22 states nationwide have now passed similar legislation.
The North Carolina House of Representatives passed the Accounting Workforce Development Act by a vote of 109 to 0, and the Senate by 45 to 0, allowing candidates with a bachelor's degree and accounting background, two years of work experience, and who have passed the CPA exam to obtain licensure without completing 150 credit hours. The bill still requires the signature of Governor Josh Stein and is expected to take effect on January 1, 2026.
Vince Tejada, the new head of finance and strategic finance at stablecoin infrastructure provider Bastion, said stablecoins are expected to serve as a bridge connecting traditional finance and digital assets, unlocking potential in treasury and cross-border payments.
The PCAOB announced fines totaling $8.5 million against Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers' Dutch member firms for improperly sharing answers on internal training exams by hundreds of professionals, including partners, between 2018 and 2022. The penalty amount was lower than expected due to firm cooperation and far below the record $25 million fine imposed on KPMG Netherlands last year.
In congressional testimony, Fed Chair Powell stated that the central bank is in no hurry to adjust the benchmark interest rate, emphasized the inflationary impact of tariffs, and acknowledged that if inflationary pressures remain under control, a rate cut could come 'sooner rather than later.'
Last week, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) received key support from a Senate parliamentarian, who ruled that a provision to abolish the board and merge its functions into the SEC violates budget reconciliation rules. However, accounting experts note that the fight over the PCAOB's future is far from over, with supporters and opponents still contending on multiple fronts.
The U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act with a vote of 68 to 30, aiming to provide regulatory certainty for stablecoin issuance. Paul Brody, EY's Global Blockchain Leader, noted that a clear legal framework is key for conservative institutions, such as banks and chief financial officers, to participate in this sector. If the bill ultimately becomes law, it will clarify that stablecoins are not securities and impose reserve and disclosure requirements on issuers.
The PCAOB announced on Tuesday that it has censured and fined nine member firms of KPMG's global network a combined $3.37 million, involving issues such as failure to disclose other audit participants and quality control deficiencies. Among them, the Brazilian and Canadian member firms were each fined $700,000, while member firms in Australia, the UK, Switzerland, and others were also penalized. A KPMG spokesperson stated that the relevant errors have been corrected and the penalties have been accepted.
Companies lose billions of dollars each year by failing to claim tax credits and deductions. This article, aimed at CFOs, systematically reviews key tools including R&D tax credits, cost segregation, the 179D energy-efficient building deduction, bonus depreciation and Section 179 expensing, and the 45L residential energy-efficient credit. It also interprets new IRS compliance rules, the Section 174 amortization controversy, and the TCJA expiration outlook, and proposes three actionable recommendations.
Orthofix Medical fired its CEO, CFO, and Chief Legal Officer for 'cause' in 2023 without detailing the violations. Recently, in a lawsuit filed by the dismissed executives in California court, documents submitted by the defense revealed private text messages among the three containing inappropriate content such as gender discrimination and racism, becoming the focus of the case.