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If you followed regulations in 2024, you may have gotten some whiplash.
Several high-profile regulations were passed, only to be rescinded within a matter of weeks or months after being challenged in court. The SEC climate rule was perhaps the most prominent of these bungee regs: It passed in March, only to be paused in April to give courts time to sort through the many lawsuits against it.
Likewise, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) overtime rule, which would have raised the salary threshold under which employers needed to pay overtime, was passed in April but was struck down by a federal judge in Texas in November. And an FTC rule banning noncompete agreements for most employees was passed in April but invalidated by a federal judge (again, in Texas) in August, the month before it was set to take effect.
The fate of those regs is up in the air. The SEC said in its stay order that it would “vigorously” defend the climate rule in court, but that may change once chair Gary Gensler steps down in January. The DOL could appeal the overtime rule, but the case would go to “the most conservative federal appeals court,” HR Brew reported, and could be struck down by the Trump administration even if it passes. The FTC has appealed the case against the noncompete rule, which will next be heard by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The regs that stuck: But some regs seem like they’re here to stay (for now, though agencies might want to keep an eye on those Texas courts). In January the SEC passed a rule bringing the treatment of SPACs closer to that of traditional IPOs. That same month, the DOL implemented a rule reclassifying independent contractors. And in August the FTC announced a final rule banning the buying and selling of fake product reviews.
Then there’s the PCAOB, which has been vigorously revamping auditing standards under the leadership of Chair Erica Williams. This year, we saw the passage of Auditing Standard (AS) 1000, a consolidation of standards that dealt with an auditor’s general responsibilities. AS 1000 also reduced the audit documentation period from 45 days to 14.
The PCAOB also passed Quality Control Standard 1000, which stipulated that firms must develop and report on procedures to mitigate risk. And it updated standards dealing with audit evidence, an auditor’s responsibilities regarding risks of material misstatement, and when auditors are held liable for contributing to their firms’ misconduct.