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PCAOB Looks to Ban Audit Firms From Misrepresenting Their Registration Status
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Crypto exchanges in recent years have increasingly hired auditors to provide proof-of-reserve reports, which can show the business is solvent and has enough assets to cover its liabilities. PHOTO: DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
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Good morning, CFOs. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wants to prohibit audit firms from misrepresenting the status or significance of their registration with the regulator, especially in reports they have increasingly issued that verify cryptocurrency companies’ reserves.
The board on Tuesday voted unanimously, 5-0, to propose barring registered firms and their staff from making false or misleading statements about the registration status or what the registration signifies. There are no existing rules clearly prohibiting this.
Audit firms have to register with the PCAOB before they can prepare an audit for a U.S. public company or broker-dealer. Any firm that performs at least 20% of the audit work based on hours or fees is required to register with the regulator. Registered firms have to adhere to audit standards and are subject to inspections and possible enforcement.
In some cases, the firm misrepresents the extent to which the PCAOB oversees the firm’s services. Almost half of the registered firms don’t perform any audit-related work that is subject to the PCAOB’s oversight, the watchdog said.
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Content from: DELOITTE
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What Generative AI Can Mean for the Tax Function
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The technology can create both challenges and opportunities for tax departments as they consider how it can be applied to create faster, real-time insights from data sourced across multiple platforms and systems. Keep Reading ›
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📆 Earnings
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Salesforce
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Snowflake
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Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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HP
📈 Economic indicators
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its second of three estimates for fourth-quarter gross domestic product.
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What Else Matters to CFOs
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A solar farm in Disputanta, Va. Solar is the most popular method to decarbonize, survey finds. PHOTO: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
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The pressure on companies to cut their carbon footprint is coming more from within the organizations themselves than from customers and regulators, according to a new report.
Three-quarters of business leaders from across the Group of 20 nations said the push to invest in renewable energy is being driven mainly by their own corporate boards, with 77% of U.S. business leaders saying the pressure was extreme or significant, according to a new survey conducted by law firm Ashurst.
The corporate call to decarbonize is intensifying, Ashurst said, with 30% of business leaders saying the pressure from their own boards was extreme, up from 25% in 2022.
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“We’re seeing that the energy transition is an area that is firmly embedded in the thinking of investors, corporates, governments and others, so there is a real emphasis on setting and acting on these plans now.”
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—Michael Burns, global co-head of energy at Ashurst
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Bumble plans to reduce its workforce by about 350 roles, joining the chorus of companies still rightsizing their employee headcounts.
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The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, owner of the nation’s biggest health insurer, a leading manager of drug benefits and a sprawling network of doctor groups.
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The maker of Bud Light hoped that the Super Bowl might turn things around for the struggling brand. It barely moved the needle.
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Macy’s new boss Tony Spring says the department-store chain needs to shrink, and it plans to close about 150 underperforming Macy’s stores over the next three years.
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BlackRock, Fidelity and other Wall Street firms have applied to launch ether ETFs.
📰 Other headlines
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22%
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The year-over-year increase in accounting and auditing enforcement actions initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fiscal year 2023, according to economic and financial research firm Cornerstone Research.
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March 5-6, 2024 | New York, New York
Request an invitation | Participants and program
The era of cheap money is behind us and CFOs must now grapple with how to operate in a high interest rate environment, how fast to invest in artificial intelligence, and how to manage geopolitical tensions and thorny labor relations. With U.S. elections on the horizon, the CFO Network will discuss–through both newsmaking interviews and peer-to-peer discussions–how finance executives are reading the markets, driving the push for greater corporate efficiency and managing the pushback on ESG and DEI. Join WSJ journalists and some of the biggest names in corporate finance to discuss, debate and make headlines.
Confirmed speakers include:
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Martin Small, Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Corporate Strategy and CFO, BlackRock
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Bori Cox, CFO, Consumer and Community Banking, JPMorgan Chase
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Paul Ryan, Vice Chairman, Teneo; 54th Speaker of the House
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Knight-Swift Transportation, a Phoenix-based diversified freight transportation company, promoted Andrew Hess to CFO, taking over from Adam Miller, who has been promoted to CEO. Miller had been serving as the company’s CFO and president of Swift Transportation, while Hess had been serving as senior vice president of M&A and senior vice president of finance for Swift Transportation.
Synaptics, the San Jose, Calif.-based provider of human interface semiconductor solutions, said CFO Dean Butler has resigned to pursue a new opportunity. Synaptics said that it will search to identify a new CFO, adding that Butler will remain with the company in an advisory role through April 5. Butler joined Synaptics as chief financial officer in October 2019.
Reticulate Micro, a Palm Bay, Fla.-based defense technology company, named Amit Shrestha as its new CFO, effective March 1. Shrestha most recently served as CFO of Microsoft Mexico.
—Colin Kellaher contributed to this newsletter.
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Content From Our Sponsor: DELOITTE
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Economic News and Analysis from Ira Kalish
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Deloitte Chief Global Economist Ira Kalish provides an in-depth view of the week’s most important economic reports from the U.S. and around the world, on the issues that matter to CFOs. Read more.
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The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics ranging from corporate tax accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy. Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team is reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew. You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.
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