Finance News and Headlines
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Auditors are repeatedly missing cash‑flow statement errors, prompting regulators such as the FRC to call for tighter scrutiny. In a Q&A, RSM UK Technical Director Hugh Morgan outlines how audit teams can improve cash‑flow audits, from assigning senior reviewers to confirming cash balances. He stresses the need for bank confirmations, avoiding self‑review threats, and linking cash‑flow testing to the broader financial‑statement audit. The guidance stems from a recent ICAEW webinar on common pitfalls and best practices.
UK audit firms face a critical compliance deadline of 1 April 2025, when new provisions on firm control and audit registration become mandatory. The regulations, jointly overseen by ICAEW, ICAS and CAI, also introduce later‑year changes, including a notification requirement for complex...
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants have released two complementary standards—ISS A 5000 and the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA)—to create a unified global framework for sustainability assurance. The new standards...
Effective 1 June 2025, ICAEW‑registered audit firms must notify ICAEW when they accept complex or high‑risk audits that meet specific turnover, fee or public‑interest thresholds. The notification must be submitted online within 21 business days of appointment, unless a waiver is granted...
ISQM 1 requires audit firms to maintain a continuous monitoring and remediation process as a core component of their system of quality management. The standard mandates systematic activities such as cold‑file reviews, root cause analysis, and timely remedial actions to address...
Auditors frequently overlook revenue‑related risks, leading to regulator criticism for inadequate challenge of management assumptions and insufficient testing of material streams. A robust audit must dissect revenue streams, focus on completeness and cut‑off assertions, and understand the entity’s recognition criteria...
The UK Financial Reporting Council has issued a 65‑page exposure draft Practice Note offering guidance on applying International Standards on Auditing (UK) to smaller and less complex entities. The draft, informed by an SME audit market study, proposes scalable, proportionate...
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standard Board for Accountants launched two new global sustainability assurance standards—ISSA 5000 and the IESSA—effective for engagements beginning 15 December 2026, with early adoption encouraged. ISSA 5000 provides a principles‑based framework covering all...
Audit firms must revamp revenue audit approaches for the 2025‑2026 reporting season as the revised FRS 102 five‑step model takes effect in 2026. The article outlines how auditors should engage early with management on contracts, performance obligations, and payment probability, and...
Audit & Beyond highlights the growing challenge for auditors to assess IT complexity in audited entities, especially after the ISA 315 revision effective December 2021. The ICAEW 2025 monitoring report shows many smaller firms fail to document understanding of ERP, AI,...
2025 saw regulators and professional bodies accelerate technology adoption in audit, highlighted by the FRC’s inaugural AI guidance and the launch of its Innovation and Improvement Hub. The IAASB moved beyond technology‑agnostic standards, issuing a Technology Position and preparing revised...
Graham Gardner’s article moves the focus of substantive analytical procedures (SAPs) from design to execution, highlighting disaggregation, threshold setting, and documentation. He explains how breaking balances into sub‑populations reduces noise and improves precision, while also introducing aggregation risk that must...
After 25 years at ICAEW, Nigel Sleigh‑Johnson reflects on the profession’s shift from paper‑based processes to a digitally enabled, hybrid work model. He highlights how the pandemic forced rapid adoption of remote auditing, electronic signatures, and new guidance such as...
FinCEN issued a March 30, 2026 Healthcare Fraud Advisory (FIN‑2026‑A001) that adds 24 new, healthcare‑specific red flags for banks to monitor. The guidance targets three core fraud schemes: shell companies posing as providers, false or inflated Medicare/Medicaid claims, and laundering of illicit...
A new study using administrative tax‑return data from 16 countries provides the first comparable estimates of corporate taxable‑income elasticities. The elasticity ranges from 0.075 to 1.9, averaging 0.79, indicating that a 10% rise in net‑of‑tax rate boosts reported taxable income...
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and three banking regulators unveiled a joint proposal to overhaul anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorist financing rules under the Bank Secrecy Act. The new framework shifts focus from volume‑based paperwork to risk‑based assessments, directing resources...
Wealthspire’s Fiducient Advisors unit is acquiring Indianapolis‑based Axia Advisory, adding roughly $1.9 billion in retirement‑plan assets and expanding its institutional capabilities. Mercer Advisors is buying New Jersey firm Personal Financial Solutions, bringing about $150 million in client assets and deepening its regional footprint....
Block unveiled Managerbot, an AI agent embedded in Square that proactively monitors small‑business metrics and suggests actions across inventory, staffing and marketing. Built on OpenAI’s GPT and Anthropic’s Sonnet models, the tool leverages Block’s proprietary “agent harness” to coordinate hundreds...
Since the Iran conflict erupted in late February, U.S. equities have drifted lower but have not suffered a sharp sell‑off. Corporate bond spreads have stayed relatively narrow, and long‑term inflation expectations have risen only modestly. Wall Street analysts find the...
Santander U.S. and Webster Financial have appointed post‑merger leaders as they await regulatory clearance for their $12.3 billion acquisition. The leadership slate mixes current Santander executives with Webster veterans, while two senior Santander managers will exit by June 30. If approved, the combined...
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management has submitted a $64 billion offer to acquire Universal Music Group, representing a 78% premium over the current market price. The proposal would relocate UMG’s listing from Amsterdam to New York and reincorporate the company...
House Democrats sent a letter to CFTC Chair Michael Selig urging the agency to crack down on offshore prediction‑market bets tied to war and other government actions, citing alleged insider trading on contracts about Venezuela and Iran. They argue the...
Marathon Asset Management CEO Bruce Richards warned that direct lending, especially to software companies, is heading for a sharp correction, projecting a 15% default rate and recoveries as low as 20‑30 cents on the dollar. He criticized the 8‑10x leverage...
Levi Strauss & Co. reported $1.7 billion revenue for the quarter ending March 1, beating analyst forecasts and prompting an upgrade to its full‑year organic and net‑revenue outlook as well as adjusted EPS guidance. CEO Michelle Gass highlighted resilient consumer demand and...
Pershing Square has lodged a €55.8 billion cash‑and‑stock offer for Universal Music Group, pricing shares at €30.4 each – a 78% premium to the recent close. The proposal combines €9.4 billion in cash with 0.77 new shares per existing share and calls...
Municipal bonds held steady with modest gains in select sectors on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump warned of a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The market’s calmness contrasted with heightened volatility in Treasury yields and...
Delta Air Lines will report its Q2 results on April 8, with the stock trading about 14% below its February peak of $76.39. The carrier’s full‑year EPS guidance stays in the $6.50‑$7.50 range, a key metric that will shape investor sentiment....
Financial fraud surged in Q1 2026, with over 7,000 accounts linked to scams across nine major South Korean banks—more than double the previous year. iM Bank reported the highest count at 1,653 fraudulent accounts, prompting tighter limits on new accounts and...
Neurocrine Biosciences announced a $2.9 billion cash acquisition of Soleno Therapeutics, adding the FDA‑approved Vykat XR for Prader‑Willi syndrome to its portfolio. The deal also brings together Neurocrine’s existing marketed drugs Ingrezza and Crenessity, which together generated roughly $2.8 billion in 2025 sales....
The SEC announced its FY 2025 enforcement results, filing 456 actions that generated $17.9 billion in monetary relief, including $10.8 billion in disgorgement and $7.2 billion in civil penalties. The Commission emphasized a strategic shift toward fraud‑centric cases, individual accountability, and protecting retail investors,...
The UAE Ministry of Finance has pre‑approved SAP as an e‑invoicing service provider, making it the first major ERP vendor on the government’s list. The pre‑approval precedes a phased rollout that begins with a pilot in July 2026 and becomes...
Hightower has agreed to acquire Lexington Wealth Management, adding roughly $3.2 billion in assets under management to its Signature Wealth platform. The deal pushes Signature Wealth AUM past $29 billion across more than 25 locations. This marks Hightower's second external acquisition for...
Merit Financial Advisors has acquired Strategic Retirement Plans, marking its first advisor presence in Wyoming and adding roughly $582 million in client assets. The acquisition brings the 10‑person SRP team, including founders Gabe Lapito and Ryan Gomendi, into Merit’s expanding network....
The White House’s FY2027 budget request proposes a 7.7% increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs, lifting its total to a record $488 billion. The plan allocates $205.6 billion in discretionary spending and $282.6 billion in mandatory funds, funding new facilities, a medical...
Vertex announced a new phase of its innovation strategy, embedding AI directly into the Vertex Cloud platform to streamline enterprise compliance. The AI layer lets tax, finance and IT teams express intent in plain language, detect anomalies early, and maintain...
Millennial and Gen Z entrepreneurs are turning tax planning into a proactive growth tool, using AI-driven loss harvesting and real‑time accounting to cut liabilities before year‑end. They favor S‑corporations or LLCs taxed as S‑corps to lower self‑employment taxes and gain pass‑through...
Eli Lilly announced a $1.5 billion acquisition of a biotech portfolio centered on orexin‑targeting therapeutics. The deal adds late‑stage candidates for insomnia, narcolepsy and metabolic disorders to Lilly’s central‑nervous‑system pipeline. Analysts estimate the combined market for orexin drugs could surpass $10 billion by...
Michael Fleisher, former Wayfair CFO and ex‑Gartner CEO, has been appointed chair of the audit committee on Faire’s board. He stresses an "engaged" board model that goes beyond quarterly oversight, aiming to help the wholesale‑retail platform scale its $550 million annualized...
The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability projects $3.2 billion in bond issuances for FY2027, pushing total outstanding debt to $29.9 billion. Improved credit ratings have lowered true interest costs to about 4.95% for taxable bonds, down from 5.35% earlier in...
FINRA imposed a $3.25 million fine on J.P. Morgan Securities for failing to adequately supervise a broker who pushed leveraged, high‑yield positions from 2016 to 2020, a strategy that hurt clients during the March 2020 market shock. The regulator also levied a $1.4 million...
GA Group, a provider of advisory, valuation, field exam, liquidation and real estate services, announced the acquisition of G2 Capital Advisors. The deal is backed by private‑equity firm Oaktree Capital, underscoring its confidence in GA Group’s growth strategy. By integrating...
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has been condemned by a nine‑month ASIC inquiry for systemic, cultural flaws that have led to repeated technology outages and costly mix‑ups. Holding 81.5% of domestic turnover, the ASX enjoys near‑monopoly status with only Cboe...
Houston Treasurer Vernon Lewis announced the city will attempt to re‑enter the market with a speculative‑grade United Airlines bond issuance worth roughly $400 million. The deal, originally slated for November, was shelved twice—first due to weak investor interest and later because...
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has unveiled a multi‑billion‑dollar bid for Universal, offering a premium that exceeds the current market valuation. The proposal targets Universal’s music‑streaming, publishing and recorded‑music divisions, which Ackman argues are undervalued. The bid, if accepted, would represent...
Digits, the AI‑native accounting platform, launched an outcome‑based pricing model that charges firms only when it achieves at least 95% zero‑touch transaction automation. The model ties Digits’ revenue to measurable reductions in manual work, letting firms pay solely for proven...
Private credit in the Gulf is moving from a niche to a fast‑growing asset class, with the market expected to reach $11‑20 billion by 2030. A $250 billion financing gap for SMEs is driving sovereign wealth funds and regional managers to supply...
Barings Business Development Company (BDC) announced it will gate investor redemptions after receiving redemption requests totaling 11.3% of net asset value. The move aligns with recent actions by peer BDCs seeking to preserve portfolio integrity amid heightened withdrawal pressure. Barings...
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued proposed regulations that clarify ERISA fiduciary duties when selecting alternative‑asset options for participant‑directed 401(k) and 403(b) plans. The rule creates a safe‑harbor framework but retains the requirement that fiduciaries exercise prudence and continuously...
The latest analysis shows the P/E10 ratio has surged to 37.1, well above its historical average of 17.7, while inflation sits at 2.66%—inside the long‑standing “sweet spot” of 1.4%‑3.0%. At the same time, the 10‑year Treasury yield has risen to...
Billing disputes in professional‑services firms signal a misalignment between delivery, pricing, and financial recording. The article outlines how vague scopes, out‑of‑scope work, delayed invoicing, and poor revenue‑recognition links fuel late payments and audit friction. It proposes precise engagement terms, milestone‑based...
