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17th December 2025
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THE HOT STORY

House Speaker blocks vote extending ACA subsidies

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has ruled out allowing a House vote to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, despite pressure from moderate Republicans in swing districts. Those lawmakers had sought a vote to show constituents they were trying to prevent higher insurance premiums for millions of Americans starting January 1st. After initially signaling openness to debate, Mr. Johnson said Republicans could not agree on key details of an extension, including how to pay for it and whether abortion restrictions should apply. The House Rules Committee ultimately rejected the moderates’ proposal, clearing the way instead for a narrow Republican health care bill that allows the subsidies to lapse while making limited cost-focused changes. The decision angered centrist Republicans, some of whom called it “political malpractice,” and highlighted deep GOP divisions over health care policy. According to the Congressional Budget Office, failing to extend the subsidies could leave about 2m more Americans uninsured next year. With time running out before the end of the year, attention is shifting to potential Senate efforts in early 2026 to revive the subsidies through a bipartisan deal.

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FIRMS

KPMG sales rise at faster rate than Big Four rivals

KPMG reported global revenue of $39.8bn for the year ending September, marking a 5.4% increase, and outperforming its Big Four competitors. KPMG's tax business saw a 7.5% revenue increase as clients navigated global tax reforms. The assurance division also grew by 6%, attributed to enhanced audit quality and artificial intelligence (AI) investments. Global chair and chief executive Bill Thomas commented: "Our results show that the multibillion-dollar investments we've made are driving sustainable growth across KPMG globally." KPMG still trails behind its rivals in overall revenue.

Andersen Group valued at $1.75bn in IPO for consulting spin-off of Enron auditor

Andersen Group, the tax and consulting firm started by alumni of Enron’s collapsed accounting firm Arthur Andersen, is set to make its market debut today after raising $176m in an IPO. On Tuesday, the company sold 11m shares in its IPO at $16 apiece, compared with the marketed range of $14-$16 each, valuing the company at $1.75bn. Andersen reported a net income of $65.7m on revenue of $668.3m in the nine months ended September 30th, compared with a net income of $144.5m on revenue of $589.2m in the same period a year earlier.

Doeren Mayhew expands in Houston

Doeren Mayhew has expanded its Houston presence by acquiring TBK CPA, effective November 17th. The acquisition adds 35 professionals to Doeren Mayhew, with four individuals stepping into leadership roles. It marks Doeren Mayhew's ninth acquisition in 2025, following a capital infusion from Audax Private Equity in August 2024 to support further growth and service enhancement.

Yonda Tax skyrockets with funding boost

Yonda Tax, a global tax automation platform, has experienced over 100% year-on-year growth and doubled its workforce in the past year, reflecting a strong demand for accurate tax support. The company recently announced its first institutional funding round, raising $15m, led by Kennet Partners, with contributions from NYO Capital and Portfolio Ventures. The funding will enhance platform features and support expansion into new industries and tax jurisdictions.

INDUSTRY

SEC set to finalize 2026 taxonomies

The SEC is poised to finalize the 2026 GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy (GRT), the 2026 SEC Reporting Taxonomy (SRT), and the 2026 GAAP Employee Benefit Plan Taxonomy (EBPT) early next year. These taxonomies will include updates based on FASB accounting standards published in 2025. The 2026 DQC Rules Taxonomy (DQCRT) will focus on the XBRL U.S. Data Quality Committee's validation rules, while the 2026 GAAP Meta Model Relationships Taxonomy (MMT) will aid in proper element tagging for filings.

CFOs face talent crisis in accounting

The debate over CPA licensure has evolved into a significant concern for chief financial officers, impacting hiring, audit quality, and succession planning. As states like New York and Illinois introduce alternative pathways for licensure, the traditional 150-hour requirement is under scrutiny. With less than 50% of public company accounting staff holding CPA licenses, CFOs are reevaluating the value of this credential. As they prepare for 2026, decisions regarding hiring practices and credential prioritization will be crucial for maintaining audit quality and shaping future leadership in finance.

 
CFO

ECONOMY

Commerce Dept: Retail sales unchanged in October from September

The Commerce Department has reported that U.S. retail sales were unchanged in October from September, missing the 0.1% rise expected among economists polled by the Wall Street Journal. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, sales grew 0.8% in October. Sales at clothing and accessories stores rose 0.9%,department store revenues were 4.9% higher, business at furniture and home furnishing stores increased 2.3%, and there was a 1.8% uptick at onlline retailers. A separate report from the Commerce Department found that U.S. business inventories increased slightly more than expected in September, rising 0.2%, ahead of projections for them being 0.1% higher. On an annual basis, they increased 1.2%. Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, were flat for a second straight month.

Delayed jobs report reveals hiring slowdown in November

U.S. job growth slowed sharply in November, with only 64,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate rising from 4.4% in September to 4.6%, the highest in over four years. The Labor Department report, the publication of which was delayed due to the six-week federal government shutdown, also showed a net loss of 105,000 jobs in October, primarily due to federal workforce reductions. The slowdown has prompted the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates for the third time since September. Health care and construction were among the few sectors to add jobs, at 46,000 and 28,000 respectively, while manufacturing and hospitality saw losses. Wage growth remained modest at 3.5% year-on-year. “The U.S. economy is in a jobs recession,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “The nation has added a mere 100,000 in the past six months. The bulk of those jobs were in healthcare, an industry that is almost always hiring due to America’s aging population.”

U.S. growth slows as services and manufacturing cool in December

U.S. business activity decelerated in December, with S&P Global’s composite PMI falling to 53.0 from 54.2, marking the slowest pace since June. Both services and manufacturing sectors missed expectations, as new business demand hit a 20-month low and manufacturing orders declined for the first time in a year. Trade tensions, immigration policy shifts, and a prolonged government shutdown have dampened business confidence. GDP growth projections for year-end have been revised down to 2.5%, with rising input costs posing fresh challenges for the Federal Reserve. "A key concern is rising costs, with inflation jumping sharply to its highest since November 2022, which fed through to one of the steepest increases in selling charges for the past three years," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.  "Higher prices are again being widely blamed on tariffs, with an initial impact on manufacturing now increasingly spilling over to services to broaden the affordability problem."

CORPORATE

President Trump’s state capitalism redraws lines between business and government

Under President Donald Trump, a new model of state capitalism appears to be taking shape in the U.S., with the government taking equity stakes, revenue shares, and regulatory influence in exchange for market access and policy favors. Deals such as Nvidia’s permission to sell chips to China, on the condition of a 25% revenue share, reflect this shift, as do state-influenced mergers and federal investments in tech giants. While businesses benefit from regulatory rollbacks and favourable treatment, critics warn the approach risks sliding into cronyism, blurring public and private interests.

Blackstone leads investment in data security firm Cyera at $9bn valuation

Blackstone is leading a $400m investment in Israeli data security start-up Cyera that values the company at $9bn. Cyera, founded in 2021 and backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Accel, leverages artificial intelligence to protect companies from new security vulnerabilities introduced by AI. The novel security risks posed by AI have been a significant tailwind for Cyera, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Cyera’s focus on data security is the most critical capability the enterprise needs to adopt AI responsibly,” Cyera CEO Yotam Segev said in a June statement.

LEGAL

Judge reinstates former Starbucks CFO as defendant in ‘Triple Shot’ shareholder case

A U.S. federal judge has reinstated former Starbucks finance chief Rachel Ruggeri as a defendant in a shareholder lawsuit over alleged misleading statements tied to the company’s “Triple Shot” strategy. The court ruled Ruggeri could be considered a “controlling person” under Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, reversing her earlier dismissal. Shareholders allege Ruggeri and former chief executive Laxman Narasimhan misled investors about revenue projections and growth in China.

FRAUD

Older Americans may have lost up to $81.5bn to fraud in 2024, FTC warns

Older Americans reported $2.4bn in fraud losses in 2024, a fourfold increase since 2020, but actual losses could range from $10.1bn to $81.5bn due to underreporting, according to a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report. Large losses exceeding $100,000 accounted for 68% of total reported losses, while investment, tech support, and impersonation scams were the most financially damaging. The FTC highlighted social media as the top scam entry point by total losses and phone calls as the riskiest by median loss. 

TECHNOLOGY

U.S. government launches ‘Tech Force’ to hire AI talent

The U.S. government has launched an early career hiring and talent development program to bring more technology and artificial intelligence (AI) employees to the public sector. The “U.S. Tech Force” initiative is designed to address a technical and early career talent gap across the government, said Scott Kupor, the director of the Office of Personnel Management. Participants will commit to a two-year employment program working with teams that report directly to agency leaders in “collaboration with leading technology companies,” including Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google Public Sector, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce and others, according to an official government website. “If you’re thinking about, long term, a career in technology, there is no bigger and more complex set of problems than we face in the federal government,” Kupor said.

INTERNATIONAL

New OECD stats reveal tax dispute trends

The OECD's recent statistics on mutual agreement procedures (MAP) and advance pricing arrangements (APA) reveal significant trends in international tax disputes. The report indicates a 29% rise in transfer pricing MAP cases, totaling 2,525, alongside an 8% increase in other non-transfer pricing cases, reaching 2,928. Amanda Worcester Martin, a partner at Baker McKenzie, emphasizes that "dispute prevention through APAs compose more than half of the bilateral transfer pricing workload." However, the average resolution time for APAs has increased to 39.6 months, raising concerns about efficiency. The U.S. was recognized as the "most improved jurisdiction" for closing cases, despite challenges posed by the longest government shutdown in history. The OECD encourages tax authorities to streamline processes to enhance resolution times and taxpayer certainty.
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