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Audit
NOCLAR Has Only Been Put on Hold [CPA Journal]
The NOCLAR proposal is currently listed as a “Short-Term Standard Setting Project” on the PCAOB’S website (PCAOB, n.d., “Standard-Setting, Research, and Rulemaking Projects,” Accessed Aug. 27, 2025). It should be noted, however, that two of the PCAOB’s proposals aimed at increasing audit regulation, which had been submitted to the SEC for consideration in November 2024, “Firm Reporting” and “Firm and Engagement Metrics,” were formally withdrawn on February 11, 2025. The NOCLAR proposal was not withdrawn, however–it was only put on hold, where it remains at press time. This article will present a brief overview of the proposed NOCLAR standard and its potential impact on various aspects of the accounting profession—public and private practice, higher education, and the CPA Exam—should it be moved out of hibernation.
Analysis: Rudeness is hurting auditors’ ability to protect the public — here’s how [McMaster University]
You guys need to read this research, it’s amazing.
We found that auditors don’t experience incivility from time-to-time — they experience it a lot. Ninety per cent of auditors said they had encountered negative client behaviour at some point in their careers. Seventy-seven per cent said clients had rudely told them how to do their jobs or questioned their procedures. More than 60 per cent had their skills or abilities questioned and more than 50 per cent had been ignored or faced hostility when approaching a client. One-third reported being bullied — a more serious form of incivility — at some point in their career.
Navigating the ethics and regulation of AI in audit [AccountancyAge]
Beyond regulation, the ethical dimension of using AI in audit is paramount. Since AI models learn from historical data, they inherently risk perpetuating historical human biases.
Companies’ Internal Audit Teams Lack Resources, Survey Finds [Bloomberg Tax]
Corporate teams that assess risk management, internal controls, and governance procedures are being starved of resources in an era of “hypervolatility,” according to a new report. Spending on these internal auditors is falling or flat at a majority of companies, according the results of a survey that risk-management platform AuditBoard published Wednesday.
Tax
Inflation adjustments to retirement account limits issued for 2026 [Journal of Accountancy]
The IRS announced the 2026 benefit and contribution limits for qualified retirement plans, including contribution limits for Sec. 401(k) plans and individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) Thursday, increasing the limit for 401(k) plans by $1,000. Notice 2025-67 includes updates to dollar limits for a range of qualified retirement plans and accounts, including traditional and Roth IRAs.
Firm Watch
Accounting firm launches investment banking division [South Florida Business Journal]
Miami-based Kaufman Rossin launched Mary Street Capital, led by managing directors James Wolcott and Alex Rattner. The investment bank will target industries in manufacturing and industrials, health care, consumer products, business services, technology, media, telecommunications, and transportation and logistics.
Big 4
I made partner at Deloitte at 34, but quit after my body broke down. Success isn’t real if you don’t have your health. [Business Insider]
“Looking back, my superpower wasn’t that I was smarter than anyone else; it was that I could outwork almost anyone.”
EY survey reveals companies are missing out on up to 40% of AI productivity gains due to gaps in talent strategy [EY]
88% of employees use AI at work but primarily limited to basic tasks such as search and summarization according to the EY 2025 Work Reimagined Survey. 37% of surveyed employees worry that overreliance on AI could erode their skills and expertise. 64% of surveyed employees report a perceived increase in workloads over the past year, yet only 5% are maximizing AI to transform their work.
Consultants slash grad hiring by nearly half. But don’t blame AI [Financial Review]
Ctrl+F of this article doesn’t reveal the REAL reason (starts with off and ends in shoring), otherwise a good piece with some scary data.
At the big consulting firms, partners are clear about the reason for the drop in recruitment, and that’s the soft market for advisory services. “The reduction in graduates is more a reflection of market conditions than anything else – AI has had very little or no impact,” says one partner not authorised to speak about staff matters. “What it does is change the type of work they do, it changes the quality of the work they do. A lot of stuff in a big four firm still needs domain knowledge. As economic conditions improve, grad hiring will lift again.”
PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 [PwC]
PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025 indicates AI’s impact is growing and that optimism about its potential greatly outweighs anxiety.
Local
Report shows scandal-plagued Ohio utility made $108M in errors. It wants customers to pay [Mahoning Matters]
As it was in the midst of financing a $61 million bribery scheme, Akron-based FirstEnergy also improperly claimed millions in construction expenses, according to a new report. The company classified lobbying and donations as construction expenses at the same time that it funded the bribery scandal, although it’s not clear if any of that money was paid in bribes. Now that $108 million in such errors have been found, the utility is asking Ohio regulators for permission to charge its customers for them. Otherwise, they’ll be billed to FirstEnergy shareholders — which prominently include the company’s own executives.
Baxter mayor encourages city to move forward after audit implicates former city employees [KCCI (Iowa)]
The mayor of Baxter is encouraging people in town to move forward after a state audit found three former city employees improperly spent $90,000. Specifically, he cited the controversy the audit caused in Mitchellville. One of Baxter’s former employees named in the audit, William Daggett, was serving as Mitchellville’s interim city administrator and police chief.
Florida DOGE audit results could be released soon, CFO Blaise Ingoglia says [WFLX]
The audit, conducted by the Florida Department of Financial Services, examined Palm Beach County’s financial records as part of a statewide initiative to identify wasteful government spending. “I think it’s quite shocking … over 10 jurisdictions so far that we reviewed, we found $1.5 billion … of excessive and wasteful spending,” Ingoglia said. “That is an exercise to show people that local governments do have the ability to cut their budgets and still fund our first responders.”