Skadden Discusses Major Changes To Federal Proxy Rules

The SEC has announced the creation of a new enforcement team focused on auditing-related misconduct, signaling heightened scrutiny of auditors and potential SOX violations.

The SEC Staff has issued new guidance addressing fair value measurement and disclosure practices for private credit and other illiquid assets held by registered funds and business development companies. As private credit portfolios have grown nearly 60% since 2020, reaching $270 billion, regulators emphasize the critical importance of robust valuation methodologies, transparent disclosure of significant judgments, and careful application of accounting standards when market prices are unavailable.

In a July 23, 2026 Memorandum, President Trump announced the final tariff rates for the 60 countries included in USTR’s Section 301 investigation into those countries’ efforts to prohibit importation of goods made with forced labor

The CAS Board has raised contract thresholds to $35 million and eliminated CAS 407, fundamentally changing cost accounting requirements for federal contractors. At the same time, the Department of War is demanding unprecedented cost and pricing transparency through new memoranda requiring actual cost information for negotiations valued at $10 million or more, creating a complex landscape where contractors face fewer formal CAS requirements but heightened scrutiny of their pricing data.

On August 18, 2026, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a proposed accounting standards update (“ASU”) titled Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Cash Equivalents—Disclosure Enhancement and Evaluation of Certain Digital Assets. The proposed ASU seeks to clarify whether certain digital assets meet the definition of “cash equivalents” on the balance sheet, and to increase the transparency of the significant components of “cash equivalents.”

The US National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Statutory Accounting Principles Working Group convened in August 2026 to address critical reforms to the Interest Maintenance Reserve framework...

Finance teams face critical implementation challenges as new GAAP amendments take effect for 2026, requiring immediate attention to accounting policies, documentation standards, and system readiness. Are your financial reporting processes prepared to handle expanded disclosure requirements, CECL practical expedients, and internal-use software accounting changes before year-end audit fieldwork begins?

“Can I safely hire this self-employed person?” This has been a frequent client question in recent years.

An HHS Office of Inspector General audit of Methodist Hospital in San Antonio reveals how a review of just 100 claims led to a $12.4 million overpayment recommendation through statistical extrapolation. The audit targeted specific high-risk billing areas including Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility claims, certain diagnosis-related groups, and outpatient billing patterns, uncovering documentation and coding compliance issues that hospital leadership should examine within their own Medicare claims.

The SEC has established a new Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit within its Division of Enforcement, consolidating nationwide resources to investigate public company accounting and financial reporting issues. This organizational shift signals heightened scrutiny of complex accounting matters, non-GAAP measures, and disclosure practices.