Good morning, CFOs. Ernst & Young partners to vote to approve a new leader of its U.S. unit; more from our interview with OpenAI’s CFO; and Verizon to cut about 15,000 jobs.

A few exclusives to close out the week...

First, Ernst & Young nominated the executive behind its recent U.S. audit cleanup efforts as the new leader of its U.S. unit as the accounting giant navigates greater use of artificial intelligence, Mark Maurer writes.

The governing board nominated Dante D’Egidio as U.S. managing partner from a slate of candidates, with partners expected to vote to approve his appointment in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said. The firm informed partners of the nomination Thursday.

Who is D’Egidio?

• Vice chair for assurance for EY Americas since 2023
• He oversees more than 30,000 people in the U.S. audit business
• He also has led the effort to reduce the firm’s U.S. auditing deficiencies

EY expects to achieve its lowest U.S. auditing shortfall rate in 16 years, at or below 9% this year, as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wraps up its inspections process for the Big Four accounting firms.

EY has chipped away at the rate, from 46% in 2022, then 37% and 28% in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The firm had the highest deficiency rate among the Big Four—which also includes Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG—in the U.S. in those three years.

Meanwhile, new bids for Warner Bros. Discovery as the deadline approaches, and Amazon.com joins Microsoft in supporting legislation that threatens to limit Nvidia’s ability to export to China; plus, telecoms company Verizon is looking to reduce costs as it works to stem customer losses. Read on below for details on its plans to cut about 15,000 jobs…

AI’s rapid expansion has raised all sorts of profound questions for users, from the mundane to the existential. Two of the most immediate ones: Will AI destroy a lot of jobs, and how to avoid some of the risks of AI’s ability to get personal?

In case you missed this interview, Wall Street Journal tech and media editor Sarah Krouse spoke with OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, to get insights into how the AI giant views those two questions. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation at the 2025 WSJ Tech Live conference in Napa Valley, Calif. Read on here.

(News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, has a content deal with OpenAI.)

Verizon Communications is planning to cut roughly 15,000 jobs, looking to reduce costs as it contends with increased competition for both wireless service and home internet customers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The cuts, the largest ever for the carrier, are set to take place in the next week, the people said. The majority of the reduction is expected to be made through layoffs.

Verizon also plans to transition about 200 stores into franchised operations, which will shift employees off its payroll, one of the people said.

• Inside the Frantic Push to Reverse Verizon’s Decline

📰 Other headlines

• Exclusive: Paramount, Comcast, Netflix Prepare Bids for Warner as Deadline Approaches
• Exclusive: Amazon and Microsoft Back Effort That Would Restrict Nvidia’s Exports to China
• Exclusive: Chinese Hackers Used Anthropic’s AI to Automate Cyberattacks
• Boeing Defense Workers Approve New Five-Year Contract
• Why Every Company Suddenly Wants to Become a Bank
• Who Will Pay for the AI Revolution? Retirees
• The California Campaign to Introduce a First-of-Its-Kind Billionaire’s Tax
• What to Know as the Government Reopens

📈 Earnings wrapup

• Disney Stock Drops as Revenue Disappoints
• Allianz Sees 2025 Earnings at Top End of Target Range, Maybe Higher
• Siemens Energy Shares Jump on Lifted 2028 Targets
• Swiss Re Says Low Natural-Catastrophe Losses Lift Results
• Cartier-Owner Richemont’s Sales Accelerate as Jewelry Continues to Shine

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Malibu Boats, the Loudon, Tenn.-based maker of recreational power boats, said its top finance executive, Bruce Beckman, is leaving the company after roughly two years on the job and that David Black, previously vice president of finance, succeeds Beckman as CFO. Beckman has resigned as CFO but will remain as a consultant through the end of the year. Beckman joined Malibu Boats as finance chief in late 2023. Black, 43 years old, joined Malibu Boats in 2017 and previously served as interim finance chief from April to November 2023. Black will receive an annual base salary of $400,000 and will be eligible for an annual bonus with a target of 75% of his base pay.

—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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