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Congress passes Trump tax bill

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House Republicans passed the wide-ranging Trump tax legislation dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, overcoming resistance from a group of GOP holdouts and united opposition from Democrats.

The bill passed by a vote of 218 to 214, mainly along party lines with only two no votes from Republicans, Thomas Masie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

The bill would extend the expiring tax breaks from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and make many of them permanent. A summary of the main provisions can be found here. Senate Republicans passed the bill on Tuesday after rejecting all of the amendments from Democrats, and President Trump is expected to sign it into law at 5 p.m. on Friday,

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, spoke out extensively against the bill, which he dubbed the “one big ugly bill” during a record-breaking marathon speech lasting over eight hours and 44 minutes in a last-ditch effort to delay the bill from being passed. He repeatedly denounced the cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to fund the tax cuts.

The legislation makes extensive tax changes and preserves the expiring tax breaks from the TCJA.

“It’s important that some of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act not be allowed to expire,” said Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals. “That’s part of what’s making the headlines. It’s really important legislation to get many of those provisions continued.”

Among the key provisions that have been under negotiation are the expansion of the so-called SALT cap for state and local tax deductions, which is going to be increased to $40,000 for five years. 

“That’s going to give people who have more than $10,000 in state and local taxes, local property taxes, etc, the ability to possibly benefit from that,” said O’Saben. “They’ve still got to get over the standard deduction, which is also increased in the One Big, Beautiful Bill, but not to the extent where standard deductions were basically doubled under the original Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It is possible that many taxpayers may still not benefit from the increase in the SALT limitation.”

“It’s generally looked at as a tax and spending bill, and that is a big portion of what it does,” said Casey Burgat, an assistant professor and director of legislative affairs at George Washington University. “On the tax side, it will obviously extend the Trump tax cuts passed in 2017. Those things will continue to benefit the wealthy disproportionately. It will explode the deficit, despite Republicans claiming that we’re going to grow our way out of this, and then there’s a lot of smaller provisions that will affect a lot of people’s everyday lives, especially those at the bottom of the income food chain.”

He believes the bill will give tax professionals plenty of work in the future to help their clients.

“I’d imagine that accountants and tax professionals will benefit from this, in that there’s going to be changes, and you need businesses to rely on you to explain what’s going on, to talk about the changes in regulations and what type of benefits or tax credits your company or an individual can qualify for,” said Burgat. “While this is an extension of the biggest piece of tax cuts with the Trump income tax brackets, there’s a lot of changes, including eliminating a lot of those tax credits, particularly on the green economy side that were included in the Inflation Reduction Act during the Biden administration.”

The legislation takes aim at the tax credits won for the renewable energy industry from the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Most of corporate America spent 2025 playing defense in Washington, trying to convince lawmakers not to raise their taxes,” said John Gimigliano, co-lead of the federal legislative and regulatory services group in the Washington National Tax at KPMG LLP, in a statement. “In the end, the business community comes away from the Senate bill avoiding most of their worst-case scenarios. One notable exception to this of course is the renewable sector. Wind and solar developers in particular would see a rapid phase out of the tax credits they rely on to support the economics of those investments. For many in that sector, this bill would represent their fears confirmed.”

Tax breaks for tips and overtime are also important tax considerations. “My concern was how that’s going to work, and I think that’s what tax professionals will be mostly interested in,” said O’Saben. “What do we do on Monday morning, July 7, when this becomes the law if you happen to be a company that does payroll, or you work with small businesses? It would appear that the deduction for tips or overtime will truly be at the individual employee level, meaning there’s going to be a deduction on the 1040. What we’re guessing at NATP is how that’s going to be handled. The challenge for employers or payroll services will be to identify on the W-2 when it’s issued at the end of the year on payroll reports as they go through the year as to what amount of cash tips did the employee incur, or what amount of overtime did they incur?”

While Trump’s campaign promises for tax breaks on overtime pay and tips are in the bill. the limits on Social Security aren’t fully there. “The other big proposal that I’m actually disappointed with is that the President talked about Social Security not being taxed, and in both the House and Senate versions, what they’ve come up with is a senior deduction,” sad O’Saben. “The original House version was $4,000 per person, so a grand total for a married couple of $8,000. The Senate version was $6,000, so that would be $12,000 for a married couple if they’re both age 65 or over. That’s a far cry from making Social Security benefits not taxable.”

“I’m a tax professional , and clients have said at least I don’t have to claim my Social Security benefits this year. Not so,” O’Saben cautioned. “You’re still going to have to claim your Social Security benefits, but if you’re a senior receiving Social Security benefits, then you’ll have this senior deduction.”

Businesses will be able to benefit from the return of 100% bonus depreciation. “Bonus depreciation was phasing out, and in 2025, I believe, was down to about 40% of the cost of an item placed in the service during the year,” said O’Saben.

Another provision involves Trump savings accounts for children. “If there’s children under the age of five, born in 2025 to 2028, there’s going to be a savings account opened for babies fed by the government with $1,000 and then families or grandparents can add to these accounts to a limit of $5,000,” said O’Saben. “That might be an interesting thing to see to help spur some savings for children as time goes on.”

The NATP had worked with the AICPA on beating back a provision in the House version of the bill that would have limited the SALT deduction for pass-through businesses like accounting firms, and it wasn’t preserved in the Senate version of the bill that was passed by the House.

The American Institute of CPAs issued a statement lauding passage of the bill. “The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes a number of important provisions beneficial to the accounting profession, is a win for millions of businesses, taxpayers and tax practitioners across the country,” said AICPA president and CEO Mark Koziel in a statement. “Among the numerous provisions supported by the AICPA, this bill expands the use of section 529 accounts for costs associated with obtaining a post-secondary credential; repeals the lowered threshold for Form 1099-K; makes permanent 100 percent bonus depreciation; makes permanent the section 199A qualified business income deduction; extends and enhances the Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit; removes the restriction on the regulation of contingency fees; retains current rules around the excess business losses limitations; and removes the limit on pass-through businesses’ state and local tax (SALT) deductions.

“We are thankful to the members of Congress who supported millions of businesses’ ability to retain pass-through entity tax SALT deduction and our partners throughout the state CPA societies and other professional service businesses for their diligent advocacy on this important issue,” Koziel added. “No bill is perfect — however, there are many beneficial tax provisions in this bill that I believe support the business community and will help grow our economy. The tax provisions in this bill will help facilitate tax planning earlier in the year, which can help reduce the anxiety of the unknown for many taxpayers. We look forward to continuing our work with Congress and the Administration to improve these provisions as they are implemented.”

“It appears that the Senate heard the AICPA and they heard us in saying that we found that was not fair,” said O’Saben. “If your friend has a flower shop right next to you, and you’re an accountant in the next building, the flower shop qualifies for a higher SALT limitation, and you don’t, so that didn’t seem to make any sense.”

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Embedded AI and Automated Anomaly Detection Reshape Modern Corporate Accounting Frameworks

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Embedded AI and Automated Anomaly Detection Reshape Modern Corporate Accounting Frameworks

The accounting and audit landscape in 2026

The accounting and audit landscape in 2026 is defined by the full integration of artificial intelligence directly into core enterprise software platforms. Rather than operating as standalone third-party tools, generative AI, automated reconciliation, and continuous anomaly detection are now natively embedded within major ERP engines including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks, and Sage. This technology integration is transforming daily financial operations, internal reporting controls, and external audit workflows.

Recent industry benchmark surveys reveal a widening performance gap

Recent industry benchmark surveys reveal a widening performance gap between finance teams utilizing integrated AI automation and those relying on legacy manual processes. Organizations actively leveraging embedded AI report up to 37% higher revenue per employee, driven by automated invoice matching, instant ledger entries, and predictive cash flow modeling. Routine, high-volume transactional tasks that once required manual intervention are now executed in real time with continuous digital audit trails.

AI introduces new governance and control responsibilities

However, the widespread deployment of embedded AI introduces new governance and control responsibilities for accounting professionals. Auditing standards now mandate strict verification protocols for algorithmically generated journal entries and financial commentary. External auditors are evaluating enterprise AI governance frameworks, reviewing automated rule sets, testing data ingestion pipelines, and ensuring that financial controllers maintain human-in-the-loop oversight over automated system outputs.

Furthermore, cloud governance and data security have become core operational skills for modern CPAs and controllers. As financial ledgers and client data stream through interconnected cloud ecosystem APIs, accounting teams must implement multi-factor access controls, continuous data encryption, and strict data privacy compliance to protect sensitive financial records from cyber vulnerabilities.

The embedding of AI into enterprise accounting software redefines internal financial controls and career requirements for accounting professionals. Business owners and finance leaders must update governance protocols, invest in staff digital literacy, and ensure accounting systems maintain rigorous audit compliance to capture productivity gains safely.

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Mandatory ESG Reporting Standards Demand Standardized Non-Financial Audit Trails

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Mandatory ESG Reporting Standards Demand Standardized Non-Financial Audit Trails

Corporate accounting departments face an expanded regulatory mandate as mandatory sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting frameworks take full effect internationally. Governed by the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) IFRS S1 and S2 standards, enterprise financial controllers are now legally required to track, verify, and report non-financial data with the same internal controls and auditability as traditional financial statements.

The expansion shifts ESG compliance

This regulatory expansion shifts ESG compliance from marketing departments to corporate accounting offices. Financial managers are now responsible for gathering, consolidating, and verifying carbon emissions metrics, supply chain labor conditions, water usage, and climate risk exposures across multi-tiered corporate structures. These non-financial metrics must be integrated into standardized general ledgers to withstand rigorous third-party audit assurance processes.

To comply with these rigorous reporting mandates, accounting software providers have added dedicated ESG modules designed to aggregate data from IoT sensors, utility platforms, and vendor management systems. Controllers are implementing internal control frameworks—modeled after traditional COSO frameworks—to ensure the completeness, accuracy, and consistency of sustainability disclosures, protecting organizations against greenwashing penalties and litigation risks.

The transition requires significant cross-functional collaboration between accounting teams, legal counsel, and operational directors. Accounting professionals are expanding their technical expertise beyond financial ledgers to master carbon accounting methodologies, lifecycle assessment standards, and non-financial data governance protocols, fundamentally expanding the role of the modern corporate accountant.

Why This Information Matters
Mandatory ESG disclosures require companies to treat environmental and social metrics as audited financial records. Executives, accountants, and board members must institute formal tracking and assurance processes to satisfy legal mandates, maintain investor confidence, and mitigate regulatory non-compliance risks.

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SEC’s Semiannual Reporting Proposal Faces Investor Pushback: What CFOs Need to Know

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

A proposal from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to potentially shift some public companies away from quarterly financial reporting toward a semiannual model is drawing significant pushback from investors, even as it continues moving through the regulatory process. The debate has direct implications for corporate finance teams, auditors, and the broader transparency of U.S. capital markets.

What the SEC Proposed

According to a summary published by accounting advisory firm Cohen & Co., the SEC issued a proposed rule on May 19, 2026, aimed at simplifying financial reporting requirements for many U.S. public companies. The proposal would potentially reduce the frequency of certain mandatory disclosures from quarterly to semiannual, a structural change that has not been made to core U.S. reporting requirements in decades.

The proposal follows an extended debate within U.S. policy circles, with proponents arguing that reduced reporting frequency could lower compliance costs and free up management time for longer-term strategic planning rather than quarter-to-quarter results management.

Why Investors Are Pushing Back

Comment letters submitted in response to the proposal have been extensive, and according to Cohen & Co.’s review of the public record, investors “appear to be largely opposed” to the shift, viewing frequent interim reporting as a core benefit of U.S. capital markets relative to other jurisdictions.

Accounting and law firms have taken a more measured position, generally urging any changes to remain aligned with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), whose existing disclosure requirements and guidance are built around a quarterly reporting cadence. A shift to semiannual reporting without corresponding changes to FASB guidance could create friction between SEC filing requirements and GAAP-based disclosure expectations.

Lessons From the U.K. Experience

The debate is not without precedent. The United Kingdom moved away from mandatory quarterly reporting for listed companies in 2014, returning to a semiannual disclosure requirement. According to Cohen & Co.’s analysis, that experience offers a cautionary data point: there was no measurable increase in capital expenditure or R&D investment following the change, while analyst coverage of affected companies declined as reliable interim information became less available — a particular risk for smaller and newly public companies that rely on analyst coverage to maintain investor visibility.

Practical Implications for Finance Teams

Beyond the debate over disclosure philosophy, the proposal carries practical complications. Many companies have debt covenants and credit agreements structured around quarterly financial delivery; a shift to semiannual reporting could require renegotiating those terms. Reduced reporting frequency would also extend the “window of market silence” between disclosures, a factor that governance and investor-relations teams would need to manage carefully to avoid information asymmetry.

Separately, and unrelated to the reporting-frequency debate, the SEC and FASB have continued finalizing more routine updates this year. New Accounting Standards Updates are taking effect for December 31, 2026, fiscal year-ends covering income tax disclosures, credit loss measurement, induced debt conversions, and stock compensation, according to Eide Bailly’s review of 2026 ASU activity. Additional guidance on paid-in-kind dividends and environmental credits is also on the near-term horizon.

What to Watch Next

The semiannual reporting proposal remains in the comment and review phase, and no final rule has been adopted as of this writing. Finance leaders should monitor the SEC’s regulatory agenda for further movement, while treating the current quarterly reporting requirement as the operative standard until any final rule is issued and an effective date is set.

Given the extent of investor opposition documented in the comment file, a full shift to mandatory semiannual reporting appears more likely to result in either a scaled-back compromise or continued study rather than swift adoption — though the SEC’s ultimate direction remains uncertain.

 

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