ACCOUNTING

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CPA firms say managing changes sparked by technology and AI will be their biggest challenge in the coming years, according to an AICPA survey conducted between late April and late May, with responses from nearly 630 participants.

Accounting firms across the board—from solo practitioners to those with 500-plus employees—identified “change management due to technology and AI” as their top issue over the next five years, according to the latest installment of the association’s biennial CPA Firm Top Issues Survey. Technology change management was also a top three current issue across the six groupings of CPA firms, based on number of employees.

“The top issues for firms tie into the transformation we’re seeing in technology, people skills and operating models,” Lisa Simpson, AICPA’s VP of firm services, said in a statement.

Firms in the two largest categories—101–500 employees and 500-plus employees—identified technology adoption and integration as one of their top current issues. Both groups said shifting job skills was their second-biggest challenge over the next five years.

Talent issues weighed heavily on smaller and midsize firms. Accounting firms with 31–100 employees identified finding the next generation of leadership as their top current issue. Firms with 11–30 employees said hiring experienced staff was their biggest immediate challenge. Over the next five years, firms in both categories identified staff retention and recruitment as their second- and third-largest issues.

The business will still be all about people and partnerships.—AZ

      

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COMPLIANCE

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Some of the messages are simple: “Keep it QUARTERLY!!”

When the Securities and Exchange Commission released its proposal to make quarterly reporting optional, it included a standard but easily overlooked tidbit: There was going to be a public comment period.

For the gossip-inclined among us, that should’ve been the real news. Give. Us. Drama!!

When the proposal was announced in May, the comment period was slated to last for 60 days. Now, we’re getting a sense of what those comments look like, and admittedly, most don’t sound like a catty Succession monologue. They sound more like: “Keep it quarterly” and “Keep it quarterly.”

Nearly all (99%) of letters submitted through July 6 were from those who opposed the SEC’s proposal, according to a tracker overseen by Ohio State University accounting professor Tzachi Zach.

One assistant controller told CFO Brew in April that the risk of a negative market reaction outweighs “any benefit we would get from not going through the couple-week process of getting our 10-Q ready to be filed with the SEC.” Moreover, securities experts have cautioned that a change in reporting cadence could put CFOs at a greater risk of violating disclosure laws.

There are more effective channels than 10-Qs for disclosing information to investors, CFO Neil Hansen says.—NP

      

COST-CUTTING

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“You have to spend money to make money” is one of the most painful adages in business.

Oracle’s recent layoffs are especially exemplary of this paradox.

The enterprise software giant disclosed last month via an annual regulatory filing that its global workforce had fallen by 21,000 from May 2025 to May 2026, to around 141,000. It previously announced in late March plans to lay off 20,000 to 30,000 workers.

The company also disclosed that restructuring costs, including employee severance, contract terminations, and other exit costs, had nearly quadrupled, from $374 million in FY2025 to $1.8 billion in FY2026, as Oracle implemented a new restructuring plan during that period. Total costs are estimated to be as high as $2.1 billion as the company continues restructuring.

The restructuring plan was, according to the filing, approved and implemented to “improve operational efficiencies.” But also to increase its liquidity: It accumulated around $130 billion in debt as of the end of May, with reported capital expenditures of around $56 billion in its last fiscal year—a 162% increase from the prior year—and expects expenditures to reach $95 billion in FY2027 as it ramps up its AI infrastructure investments. Oracle brought in $67.4 billion in revenue in FY2026.

Oracle’s struggling with its much-touted 2022 acquisition of Cerner, HR Brew reports.—PM

      

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market forces

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat: 3.7%. That’s the rate of inflation consumers expect over the next year, according to a New York Fed survey. That’s the highest level since September 2023. (Marketplace)

Quote: “A lot of people are talking about one rate increase. The committee does not generally do that. I mean, what’s the point of that?”—Jim Bullard, former president of the St. Louis Fed (CNBC)

Read: Bank of America at first declined to do business with OpenAI. Now, as the AI giant nears an IPO, the bank has reversed course, granting it a $520 million line of credit. This “marks a notable pivot” in how the second-biggest US lender views AI startups. (Bloomberg)

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Jobs

Skip the noise and cut to the jobs that matter. CollabWORK curates openings from top employers and shares them directly in trusted spaces like CFO Brew—click here to see the full list for readers like you.

• Controller at Tutor Perini
• Corporate Controller at Continental Resources
• Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer - Office of the President at Carnegie Mellon University
• Financial Analyst at Ralliant
• Controller at Crane Aerospace & Electronics