Become more informed in minutes...

As corporate risk grows more complex, audit committees are increasingly seeking current and former CFOs for their financial expertise and oversight capabilities. These finance leaders are becoming key figures on audit committees across industries, with recent appointments at companies including Paychex, Align Technology, and Twinkl. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has launched a new Global Audit Committee Center to strengthen board-internal audit collaboration amid heightened scrutiny and technological disruption. AI and advanced analytics are now central tools for identifying and mitigating financial, cyber, regulatory, and operational risks - requiring committees to embrace emerging tech and challenge management assumptions. Experts stress the need for agile governance structures and ethical oversight as audit committees evolve into more proactive, tech-savvy guardians of corporate trust.

 

Fortune

Lease vs Buy Calculator in Excel  

Making a strategic capital decision requires more than a simple cash flow comparison; it demands a comprehensive analysis of how leasing versus buying will influence your balance sheet, debt covenants, and long-term compliance under ASC 842 or IFRS 16.
Our Lease vs Buy Calculator empowers CFOs to move beyond fragmented spreadsheets by modeling the precise financial impact of asset acquisitions, providing the clarity needed to optimize capital allocation and ensure audit-ready reporting from the moment a contract is signed.  

Get the Tool

 

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian exports to the U.S. if Canada proceeds with its recent trade agreement with China, intensifying tensions between the two allies. The limited deal, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney, includes the easing of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and agricultural goods, and the resumption of visa-free travel for Canadians. Trump, accusing Canada of jeopardising its relationship with the U.S., claimed such a deal would allow China to "devour" Canada. The threat comes amid a broader feud between Trump and Carney over foreign policy and military cooperation, including disagreements on NATO spending and Trump’s proposed missile-defense project over Greenland. Canadian officials deny any plan for a broader free trade deal with China and warn that retaliatory tariffs would harm U.S. consumers and industries.

 

CNBC	CPA Practice Advisor

Federal judges have declined to grant injunctions sought by DoorDash, Uber, and Instacart to block new New York City laws that require food delivery apps to offer customers the option to tip workers. U.S. District Judge George Daniels said the laws "advance the city's goals of enhancing cost transparency" and protecting delivery workers, while also rejecting Instacart's claim regarding state legislation prohibiting such mandates. The companies, which contend that the tipping requirements may harm their business, plan to appeal the decisions. DoorDash has voiced concerns about "tipping fatigue" among customers.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

An international group of plaintiffs is suing Meta Platforms in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, saying the company has made false claims about the privacy and security of its WhatsApp chat service. They claim that the company can “store, analyse, and can access virtually all of WhatsApp users’ purportedly ‘private’ communications” – allegedly defrauding the platform’s billions of users worldwide. So-called “end-to-end” encryption - meaning that a message is only accessible to the sender and recipient, but not the company - is a key part of WhatsApp’s feature set. A Meta spokesperson described the lawsuit as “frivolous” and said the company “will pursue sanctions against plaintiffs’ counsel.”

 

Bloomberg Law

PYMNTS.com

Straits Times

U.S. business activity was stable in January, with S&P Global’s Composite PMI edging slightly down to 52.8 from 52.7 in December, indicating modest growth across manufacturing and services. While new orders improved, the labour market stagnated, and business confidence dipped, amid concerns over rising costs and weak exports. Tariffs were widely cited as a major source of inflationary pressure, with firms continuing to face elevated input and output costs. Despite resilient consumer spending and solid GDP growth forecasts, ongoing price concerns and policy uncertainty are weighing on business sentiment.

 

Investing

Reuters

Revolut has scrapped plans to buy a U.S. lender and will instead apply for an American banking licence, betting that the Trump administration’s light-touch approach to approvals will be a faster route to growing its operations in the country. The fintech said last year that it was looking into acquiring a U.S. bank to accelerate its global expansion.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

U.S. consumer sentiment climbed to 56.4 in January, its highest level in five months, as Americans grew more optimistic about their finances and the broader economy, according to the University of Michigan. The 3.5-point monthly gain in the index, the largest since June, was seen across all income, age, and political groups, and beat economist forecasts. While sentiment remains over 20% below January 2025 levels, expectations for inflation over the next year fell to 4%, the lowest in a year. Despite ongoing concerns about prices and jobs, buying conditions for durable goods and personal financial expectations both improved notably.

 

Bloomberg

As earnings season unfolds, companies are expressing caution due to geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines highlighted potential impacts on travel demand, while consumer staples like Procter & Gamble and McCormick noted cautious shopper behavior. 3M reported disappointing results, reflecting a challenging macro environment. Despite 80% of S&P 500 companies exceeding expectations, Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, stated: "Policy uncertainty absolutely overshadows positive news." Executives face challenges in forecasting as political disruptions continue to shape the economic landscape.

 

Los Angeles Times

The SEC has approved a reduced budget of $362.1m for the PCAOB for 2026, marking a 9.4% decrease from last year's budget of $399.7m. This budget cut includes a 42% reduction in salaries for PCAOB board members and chair. SEC chair Paul Atkins emphasized the need for fiscal discipline, saying: "Both during my time as a commissioner and now as chairman, I have recognized . . . the importance of driving improvements in audit quality." The budget reduction follows a request for the resignation of former PCAOB chair Erica Williams and aims to ensure that the PCAOB remains effective while managing its resources responsibly. Despite the cuts, Mr. Atkins and SEC chief accountant Kurt Hohl are planning significant changes to enhance the PCAOB's inspection processes. Hohl remarked: "This year's budget decrease represents progress," as he highlighted ongoing initiatives for future improvements.

 

U.S. News

US News and World Report

Accounting Today

EY global vice chair Julie Teigland has told Reuters that firms are learning that artificial intelligence is not plug-and-play, and ROI requires organizational redesign and training, not just the deployment of tools. She cited work by EY indicating that intensive training can be linked to productivity improvements, observing that around 81 hours of training per employee could translate into roughly 14% weekly productivity gains, in concert with role redesign. AI's labor impact will be "multi-generational," changing entry-level positions and routine white-collar tasks, Teigland said, with employees needing to shift from "doing the task to supervising the task," and becoming "above the loop."

 

Reuters

Frank Bisignano is beginning his first tax filing season as the inaugural chief executive of the IRS, stepping into a newly created role designed to stabilize an agency that has been rocked by rapid leadership turnover and deep disruption. The IRS cycled through seven leaders in 2025, lost roughly a quarter of its workforce, and is now expected to administer complex new tax changes while Congress weighs further budget cuts. With more than 140m returns expected during the 10‑week season, Bisignano’s immediate priority is keeping filings and refunds flowing smoothly - particularly for lower-income taxpayers who rely heavily on refunds boosted by credits. He is running the IRS part time while also serving as commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and argues that better technology and tighter operations can offset staff losses. While some officials see his appointment as a move back toward professional stability, critics warn that staffing constraints and new tax rules could slow service and create delays, making this filing season a high-stakes proving ground for his “fix-it” approach.

 

New York Times

Pension industry leaders and investment chiefs from Finland, Sweden and Denmark have told Reuters that they are increasingly wary of the risks of holding U.S. assets amid U.S. foreign policy uncertainty and White House debt levels that they view as a threat to the dollar, U.S. Treasuries and stocks. "All of this turmoil is raising some questions about how exposed ⁠you should be to the U.S . . . that is ⁠what our members are professionally assessing," ​said Tom Vile Jensen, deputy director of trade body Insurance and Pensions Denmark.

 

Reuters

The U.K. is losing more jobs than it is creating because of artificial intelligence, and at a faster rate than international peers, according to research by Morgan Stanley. U.K. companies reported that AI led to 8% net job losses over the past 12 months, the study found. This was the highest level in a group that included German, American, Japanese and Australian companies, and twice the international average. British firms reported an average 11.5% productivity increase due to the adoption of AI; almost half experienced even greater boosts.

 

Straits Times

South Korea has introduced what it says is the world's first comprehensive set of laws regulating artificial intelligence. Under the terms of the AI Basic Act, companies must ensure there is human oversight in so-called "high-impact" AI such as that involving nuclear safety, the production of drinking water, transport, healthcare and some financial uses. Meanwhile, companies must give users prior notice about products or services that use high-impact or generative AI, and provide clear labeling when AI-generated output is difficult to distinguish from reality. Startups, however, complain that the laws' language is vague, and compliance will be burdensome.

 

The Japan Times Online