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Musk’s cost-cutting campaign is annoying Treasury staff

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2 years ago

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When Elon Musk and his team of young deputies gained access to the Treasury Department computer network that the U.S. government uses to pay its bills, and where private financial data of nearly every American is stored, it caused alarm across the country.

It also seemed to put Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the middle of a delicate standoff between bureaucrats at the agency he is charged with leading and President Donald Trump’s loudest advisor.

With Trump’s blessing, Musk, the world’s richest man and chief executive of automaker Tesla Inc., has been leading a tornadic campaign to remake the federal bureaucracy that some critics have called illegal.

Bessent, a figure of the traditional finance world, is more on board with the Musk crew’s mission than has been widely understood.

As Bessent was building out his team in December, he interviewed Tom Krause, who is now a member of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a person familiar with the matter. Krause is now digging into Treasury’s systems and data.

Among the topics they discussed during the interview was the very mission in which DOGE is now engaged, the person said.

A group of roughly half a dozen GOP senators reached out privately to the White House to object to Musk’s accessing of Treasury systems, according to people familiar with the conversations. The senators indicated that the moves went beyond DOGE’s stated mission to save the government money.

Yet the secretary they voted to confirm was involved in planning the moves now underway, even recommending Krause for the special government employee status he now is using to plumb Treasury’s servers.

A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.

Musk’s systematic provocation has put even some allies of the White House in uncomfortable positions. But the relationship with Bessent reflects how the symbiosis between Musk and Trump is holding — for now.

While Trump aides aren’t bothered by Musk’s efforts to reduce outlays, according to people familiar with the dynamic, the manner in which he is doing it is causing some heartburn, since he often plows ahead before the president has previewed his actions.

Overseeing Musk’s efforts has fallen to Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and the White House counsel, while other top Trump aides have tried to steer clear. Wiles and other Trump officials have also had to fix problems Musk created for some of the president’s Cabinet appointees.

So far, Trump has been pleased with the furor Musk has kicked up, people close to the president say, even if he has at times had to reiterate that he — and not the world’s richest man — occupies the Oval Office.

“Sometimes we won’t agree with it, and we’ll not go where he wants to go,” Trump said of Musk this week. “But I think he’s doing a great job.”

Invaluable access

Even if Trump eventually sours on Musk and his frantic effort to rein in federal spending, Musk, who entered government in a prime position to advance his business interests, will come out ahead, say former Trump officials.

By the time Trump tires of Musk, which most Trump advisors see as inevitable, the magnate will have enough information and access to the government to no longer need his compact with the president.

Musk’s rapid-fire moves to peel back financial data and payment systems could be invaluable in the long run, the people said, as it could shed light on pricing and payment data from Boeing Co., with which Musk’s SpaceX has competed for launch business, or tax information for automakers competing with Tesla.

The Treasury Department said in a letter Tuesday to Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, that Musk’s team only received permission to read Treasury data, not alter code. No valid agency payment requests have been denied, the department said.

Musk’s broad visibility into the government’s finances and operations poses serious questions about the potential for conflicts with his business empire, which in addition to Tesla and SpaceX includes social media platform X and brain-implant maker Neuralink, as well as The Boring Company, a tunneling business.

Musk is classified as a “special government employee,” a temporary designation that in theory limits his term of service to 130 days out of the year, while shielding him from financial disclosures and other ethics requirements imposed on regular federal hires. 

“Everyone is working as a team, led by President Trump and his highly respected Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and any speculation otherwise is pure fantasy pushed by people who have nothing better to do with their lives,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Disdaining diversity

Musk’s sweeping moves to downsize the government echo the views of other top Trump officials. The casual denigration of government service in emails that the DOGE team blasted out to encourage federal workers to resign recalled speeches given by Russ Vought, the president’s nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget. Vought has reportedly said his goal is for federal workers to dread coming to work, and to feel as if they are “villains.”

Musk and Trump also share a disdain for diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Among the new regime’s earliest moves was to convene a meeting of all the offices at the headquarters of the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a person briefed on the plan. The only section not invited to the meeting: the FAA’s Office of Civil Rights.

Behind the scenes, Trump officials have had to rein in Musk’s unruliness when it risked creating blowback for other parts of the administration.

Last week, Wiles helped direct efforts to clean up after Musk responded to Senator Todd Young’s reported doubts about the nomination of former Representative Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

“Todd Young is a deep state puppet,” Musk declared on X. He then walked back the comment two hours later, posting that he and Young had an “excellent” conversation. Young voted to advance Gabbard’s nomination on Tuesday.

Familiar roles

Some of Musk’s DOGE staff have been brought on to do work that echoes tasks they carried out for his companies. 

Nicole Hollander, the romantic partner of a Musk lieutenant named Steve Davis, is embedded at the General Services Administration, working on terminating leases for federal office space. Hollander, who has worked in real estate for over a decade, currently serves as real estate director at X Corp., where she similarly aided Musk’s mission of reducing the social media company’s physical footprint. 

In coordination with DOGE staffers, GSA’s public buildings commissioner this week directed agency employees to terminate 300 federal leases a day until they reach 3,000, part of DOGE’s plan to “right size” the government portfolio, according to two people familiar with the mandate. 

That fast-paced effort will likely put GSA and DOGE on a collision course with lawmakers, who have historically rejected efforts to get rid of buildings in their districts.

Democrats appeared dazed by DOGE’s initial strikes. That was changing this week, as lawmakers joined federal workers rallying outside government office buildings. Increasingly, they are trying to turn Trump against Musk by painting him as a threat to the president’s primacy.

“We don’t pledge allegiance to Elon Musk,” said Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut. “We don’t pledge allegiance to the creepy 22-year-olds working for Elon Musk.”

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Accounting

Global ESG Reporting Standards and Double Materiality Compliance

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6 days ago

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August 9, 2026

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Corporate accounting departments face expanding reporting expectations as international sustainability disclosure standards achieve regulatory enforcement across major global jurisdictions. Chief Accounting Officers (CAOs) and corporate controllers are establishing rigorous internal accounting controls to treat Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics with the same data precision, auditability, and governance as traditional financial statements.

Regulatory Harmonization Under Global Sustainability Frameworks
The implementation of standardized sustainability reporting frameworks—notably rules established by international sustainability accounting boards—has created unified expectations for public and large private enterprises. Corporations must report standardized metrics covering greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and material Scope 3), energy utilization, workforce demographics, and supply chain governance.

In Europe and other participating international jurisdictions, double materiality principles are mandatory. Under double materiality, organizations must report both how external sustainability risks impact corporate financial performance, and how internal corporate operations affect surrounding environmental and social structures.

Integrating Sustainability Metrics into Core ERP Systems
To provide auditable non-financial data, enterprise organizations are integrating specialized carbon accounting and ESG management platforms directly into core ERP systems. Automated data collectors capture energy utility invoices, logistics fuel consumption metrics, and vendor compliance records in real time.

Establishing automated, traceable data pipelines ensures that non-financial reporting is supported by clear audit trails. This structured approach allows external financial auditors to provide reasonable assurance on sustainability disclosures during annual corporate reporting cycles.

Financial Impacts and Capital Market Disclosure
Accurate ESG reporting directly influences corporate cost of capital and institutional credit ratings. Commercial lenders and institutional asset managers systematically incorporate sustainability metrics into risk pricing models. Companies that demonstrate transparent, verifiable progress in operational energy efficiency and climate risk mitigation benefit from expanded access to green bond markets and lower debt pricing.

Action Steps for Accounting Leadership
1. Implement Double Materiality Frameworks: Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify material financial and operational sustainability metrics.
2. Build Auditable Non-Financial Data Pipelines: Automate ESG data collection within core accounting software to ensure data integrity.
3. Align Sustainability with Annual Financial Filings: Prepare non-financial disclosures concurrently with financial statements to satisfy regulatory audit expectations.

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Accounting

Modernizing Internal Controls: Machine Learning and Continuous Monitoring in Auditing

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1 week ago

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August 5, 2026

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Internal audit departments and corporate risk managers are modernizing internal control frameworks by shifting from periodic sampling techniques to continuous monitoring and machine learning analytics. As operational data volumes increase across enterprise organizations, automated control testing ensures financial integrity, prevents corporate fraud, and streamlines annual audit engagements.

The Limitation of Periodic Audit Sampling
Historically, internal and external auditors evaluated internal controls by reviewing random samples of financial transactions—often analyzing less than five percent of total ledger entries. In complex enterprise environments, periodic sampling methods carry inherent risks of overlooking localized financial misstatements, unauthorized disbursements, or operational control breakdowns.

In 2026, progressive internal audit functions are utilizing automated continuous monitoring platforms that evaluate one hundred percent of financial transactions in real time. Continuous control auditing systems continuously monitor general ledger entries, procurement approvals, and expense reimbursements across all operating subsidiaries.

AI-Powered Fraud Detection and Anomaly Identification
Machine learning models trained on historical corporate financial data excel at identifying subtle transactional anomalies that indicate potential fraud or operational error. Automated systems instantly flag duplicate invoice payments, unapproved vendor creation, unusual journal entry timing, and unauthorized override of authority thresholds.

When an anomaly is detected, the automated auditing platform generates an instant risk alert, allowing internal audit teams to investigate root causes immediately. Early detection prevents minor operational errors from escalating into material weaknesses in financial reporting.

Streamlining External Audit Preparation
Continuous internal control monitoring delivers significant benefits during annual external financial audits. External audit firms can review continuous audit logs and automated control testing documentation, reducing the time required for manual field testing.

This integrated approach lowers overall audit compliance fees, reduces administrative burdens on corporate accounting staff, and provides senior management and audit committees with real-time visibility into the organization’s overall risk profile.

Core Implementation Guidelines
1. Transition to 100% Data Testing: Replace legacy sampling methods with automated continuous audit monitoring systems.
2. Deploy Anomaly Detection Algorithms: Implement machine learning models to identify unauthorized transactions and operational control overrides.
3. Align Internal and External Audit Workflows: Coordinate continuous control testing protocols with external auditors to optimize annual compliance cycles.

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Accounting

Automated Tax Compliance and Global Regulatory Harmonization in 2026

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1 week ago

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August 5, 2026

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Corporate tax accounting departments are navigating an era of unprecedented regulatory complexity as global tax harmonization frameworks take full effect alongside real-time digital tax reporting mandates. Tax directors and accounting teams are adopting cloud-based tax compliance automation tools to manage multi-jurisdictional tax liabilities and satisfy stringent reporting rules across international jurisdictions.

Implementation of Global Minimum Tax Provisions
The implementation of international tax reform agreements—notably the Pillar Two global minimum tax framework—has reshaped multinational corporate tax planning. Multinational enterprises with consolidated revenues exceeding established thresholds must ensure an effective tax rate of at least 15% across every jurisdiction in which they operate.

Accounting teams are implementing specialized tax calculation modules integrated directly into enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. These automated tools calculate effective tax rates per country, identify top-up tax liabilities, and generate standardized compliance documentation required by national tax authorities.

Real-Time Digital Invoicing and E-Reporting Mandates
Tax authorities across Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific have enacted mandatory electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) and continuous transaction controls (CTC). Under these systems, corporate transaction data must be submitted electronically to government portals in real time at the point of sale or invoice issuance.

This shift toward continuous digital tax reporting eliminates traditional annual tax audits in favor of ongoing automated compliance monitoring. Accounting departments are upgrading invoicing software to ensure seamless XML data formatting, digital signature authentication, and real-time validation against tax authority databases.

Automation and Data Analytics in Corporate Tax Strategy
To keep pace with dynamic tax legislation, tax departments are transitioning from reactive compliance teams to proactive strategic advisors. Machine learning algorithms analyze corporate transactional data to identify tax credits, research and development (R&D) incentives, and cross-border transfer pricing adjustments.

By automating routine tax return filings and calculations, corporate tax directors can focus on long-term capital structuring, evaluating the tax implications of corporate mergers, and optimizing international supply chain networks.

Strategic Priorities for Tax Executives
1. ERP System Upgrades: Ensure enterprise software is capable of generating real-time, granular tax data required for global minimum tax compliance.
2. E-Invoicing Integration: Implement scalable e-invoicing platforms to satisfy regional continuous transaction control regulations.
3. Strategic Tax Analytics: Utilize predictive tax modeling tools to evaluate structural changes in corporate operations and cross-border trade.

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