Good morning, CFOs. Companies will get U.S. rules on accounting for government aid for the first time; global dealmaking falls to a 20-year low; and Shell is in early talks to acquire rival BP.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to establish requirements on how companies account for government grants in their financial reports, following awards provided in recent years as pandemic-related and other relief.

The standard-setter on Wednesday voted 4-3 to require U.S. public and private companies to record the value of grants they’ve received. Most companies already voluntarily do this by applying an existing standard on government-aid accounting from the FASB’s international counterpart, the London-based International Accounting Standards Board.

Governments sometimes offer companies incentives to help them pay for things like employee training, machinery purchases or overcoming natural disasters or economic downswings such as the pandemic.

The new rule focuses on the transfer of both monetary assets like cash and loans expected to be forgiven as well as physical assets such as buildings, land and equipment between a government and a company. The rule borrows heavily from the IASB standard, which has gone largely unchanged since 1983.

📆 Earnings

• McCormick
• Nike
• Walgreens Boots Alliance

📈 Economic Indicators

• The Census Bureau releases the durable goods report for May.
• The BEA releases its third and final estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product growth.
• The NAR releases its Pending Home Sales Index for May.

Accounting firms Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young were fined a combined $8.5 million for widespread cheating on training exams in the Netherlands, according to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The firms' Dutch units failed to adequately prevent or detect answer-sharing on mandatory tests for training from 2018 to 2022. Hundreds of firm professionals, including partners, participated, with the misconduct extending up to the level of senior leaders at the PwC and Deloitte units. The exams covered topics such as audit requirements, integrity and independence.

The PCAOB and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets conducted parallel investigations.

EY and PwC's Dutch units said they have taken extensive action to address the issues identified by the regulators. Deloitte didn't respond to a request for comment.

                                                                              —Mark Maurer

Global dealmaking in the first half of the year fell to a two-decade low as tariffs, high interest rates, a choppy market and uncertainty around the Trump administration’s policies stalled a rebound in M&A activity.

The worldwide tally of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings and joint ventures so far in 2025 was down 16% year-over-year at 16,663, its lowest level since 2005, according to financial data company Mergermarket.

📰 Other headlines

• Trump Considers Naming Next Fed Chair Early in Bid to Undermine Powell
• U.S. Regulators Move to Ease Financial Crisis-Era Bank Capital Rules
• Exclusive: Shell in Early Talks to Acquire Rival BP
• Bumble Cuts 30% of Staff as Online Dating Hits ‘Inflection Point’
• General Mills Expects Challenges to Continue as Consumer Spending Shifts
• Exclusive: Mediator Proposes $20 Million Settlement in Trump’s CBS Suit
• Conagra Brands to Remove Certain Color Additives Across Portfolio
• Worldline Sheds Over $500 Million in Market Value After Reports of Fraud Coverup
• The Big Loser From the ‘Genius Act’ Is $156 Billion Crypto Giant Tether
• Prediction Market Kalshi Hits $2 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round
• Wall Street Panics Over Prospect of a Socialist Running New York City

Ulta Beauty, the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based cosmetics retailer, said its top finance executive, Paula Oyibo, has left. Ulta didn’t specify a reason for the departure of Oyibo, who joined the company in 2019 and had been CFO since April 2024. Ulta said it has launched an external search for a new chief financial officer, adding that Chris Lialios, who has been senior vice president and controller since 2018, is stepping in as interim finance chief.

                              —Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

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