Regulation & Compliance
After cutting nearly 28,000 staff, the IRS has limited enforcement resources. According to analysis by former IRS executive Kathy Enstrom at the Illinois CPA Society's 2026 Summit, the agency will focus on cracking down on nonprofit fraud, employment tax evasion, cross-border tax abuses (such as Puerto Rico's Act 60), and cryptocurrency-related crimes.
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Slaughter grants the president the power to dismiss heads of independent agencies at will, potentially leading to frequent regulatory policy shifts and increasing compliance risks and costs for businesses. Legal experts recommend that companies enhance compliance efforts and adopt proactive monitoring.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed on June 23 that Joshua Weiss, former CFO of ad fraud detection company Kubient, has agreed to pay a $30,000 civil penalty and accept a three-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a public company over charges of misleading investors. Weiss consented to the judgment on July 8 without admitting to the allegations. Previously, in September 2024, the SEC filed a fraud lawsuit against Weiss, audit committee chair Grainne Coen, and former CEO Paul Roberts, alleging they inflated revenue and misled auditors.
Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled to deny the motion by Anosh Ahmed, former CFO and COO of Loreto Hospital in Chicago, to dismiss fraud charges. Ahmed is accused of participating in submitting fraudulent COVID-19 test claims exceeding $800 million and is currently detained in Belgrade, Serbia. The judge acknowledged misconduct by the government but emphasized that Ahmed's refusal to return to the U.S. for trial precludes him from seeking judicial relief in absentia.
Judge Michael Nachmanoff of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the Trump administration violated the law last year when it fired former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) CFO Mary Comans by failing to provide the procedural protections afforded to career federal employees. The court did not directly reinstate Comans but ruled she is entitled to a clarification hearing and ordered both parties to submit a joint proposal within 14 days. The ruling could have broad implications for other federal employees fired under presidential power theories.
The legal dispute surrounding Uncle Nearest's former CFO Michael Senzaki entered a new phase this month. Court documents filed on July 10 show that receiver Phillip Young Jr. fired the founder and accused the primary lender Farm Credit Mid-America of failing to detect warning signs related to Senzaki's alleged misconduct. Documents filed days earlier also revealed subpoenas from federal agencies. The receiver reported that the company has signed a letter of intent to sell most of its operating assets and continues to incur losses.
The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced fines of approximately $4.4 million against PwC and its audit partner John Waters for multiple breaches in the audits of Babcock International Group for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years. The FRC noted that the audit team failed to maintain sufficient professional skepticism and obtain adequate and appropriate audit evidence regarding matters such as the net presentation of cash pools, financial arrangements for overseas contracts, and goodwill impairment assessments. PwC and Waters received reductions in fines for cooperating with the investigation, but the FRC emphasized that audit quality must meet standards.
Australian regulators are planning comprehensive reforms to the Big Four accounting firms following a series of scandals, covering major issues such as audit rotation and the divestiture of consulting businesses; meanwhile, Deloitte New Zealand's latest survey shows that the expectations of the younger generation regarding career paths are changing, and the Big Four face the dual challenge of rebuilding regulatory trust and attracting the next generation of talent.
The UK government will raise the entry threshold for financial leaders in further education colleges. According to the 2026 College Financial Handbook issued by the Department for Education, from August 1, 2027, chief financial officers (CFOs) of further education colleges with more than 3,000 students must hold relevant accounting qualifications awarded by recognized professional accounting bodies. If a college wishes to appoint a CFO without such qualifications, it must obtain approval from the Department for Education. The new regulation comes as educational institutions in the UK and the US face increasingly severe financial pressures.
At the roundtable discussion hosted by the SEC on Monday, legal and capital market participants showed a tepid reaction to the proposal allowing listed companies to file semi-annual reports, viewing it as not a key driver for companies to go public or maintain their listing status. In contrast, participants were more favorable toward other proposed reforms, such as expanding the use of Form S-3 and relaxing auditor attestation requirements.