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Financial controls, accounting, and audit have emerged as the most in-demand business skills in Heidrick & Struggles’ 2026 Skills Index, followed by project management, and financial planning, analysis, and modeling, as companies seek greater financial discipline and stability amid economic uncertainty, market volatility, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven change. While no AI-specific skill appears in the top 15, demand is surging for capabilities that support AI adoption, including advanced analytics, up 350%, database architecture and data management, up 150%, and process optimization and transformation, up 147%. The findings suggest companies increasingly view AI as an embedded operating capability rather than a standalone specialty, favoring leaders who can combine data, technology, and business expertise to improve performance. Finance executives are also playing a central role during periods of transition, with interim CFO positions accounting for 51% of all interim leadership requests.

 

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The Information reports that Anthropic has been preparing to give CEO Dario Amodei and other co-founders a class of stock with extra ​voting power to ensure they have greater say over the direction of their company and to insulate them from external shareholder pressure. Bloomberg notes that the share structure has become common in the tech industry: Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg and Snap’s Evan Spiegel also hold super voting rights. Anthropic is also planning to maintain its existing body of non-shareholder trustees with a special class of ​stock to elect a majority of members to its ​board of directors. The company is preparing for a potential ​initial public offering later this year, which is expected ​to be ⁠one of the biggest market debuts in history.

 

Crypto Briefing

Bloomberg

Reuters

The Information

U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed threatened 50% tariffs on around $20bn of Canadian imports for three days after saying the U.S. and Canada had reached the basis of a deal following intensive negotiations. The duties, which had been due to take effect on Wednesday, would have covered products including dairy, alcohol, furniture, industrial equipment, plastics and clothing, representing about 5% of the value of U.S. imports from Canada last year. Unlike some previous tariffs, goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would not have been exempt. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed that the tariffs had been postponed until the end of August 21st, saying substantial progress had been made but important work remained before an agreement could be finalized. Trump also suggested the negotiations could lead to the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, although he provided no further details. The proposed tariffs marked the latest escalation in a wider U.S.-Canada trade dispute, with Trump accusing Canada of restricting American exports and Canada previously retaliating against U.S. tariffs before rolling back most of its measures.

 

CNN

CBC News

New York Times

Toronto Star

Industrial production rose 0.2% in July, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in June, as manufacturing, mining, and utilities output all increased. The Federal Reserve report noted that actory output advanced 0.2%, supported by business investment and AI-related capital spending, with business equipment production up 0.8%, defense and space equipment up 1.8%, and computer and electronic products up 1.9%. Excluding motor vehicles, manufacturing output increased 0.4%, while auto production fell 2.1%, its largest decline since October. Factory capacity utilization edged up to 76%, while manufacturers continued to face higher input costs and supply challenges related to the Iran war.

 

Bloomberg

U.S. import prices fell 0.4% in July, following a downwardly revised 0.3% decline in June and contrasting with economists’ expectations for a 0.1% increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Petroleum import prices dropped 7.5%, more than offsetting a 0.3% increase in nonpetroleum import prices, while overall import prices remained 5.9% higher year over year. The figures exclude tariffs and transportation costs.

 

Wall Street Journal

Kerper Bowron and Irish Trinity have filed U.S. and international patent applications for the Kerper-Bowron Method, a contract-level approach to forecasting and accounting for service contract and manufacturer warranty liabilities. The method uses month-by-month probabilistic cash-flow projections rather than traditional aggregate earning curves, aligning with accounting standards including ASC 606, ASC 460, IAS 37, and IFRS 17. The developers say the approach can improve the precision and auditability of revenue recognition and reserve estimates, while creating potential applications in lending, collateralization, capital efficiency, and risk transfer. A peer-reviewed paper on the method has already been published, while a new study extending it to manufacturer warranty accruals and collateralization has been submitted for peer review.

 

Accounting Today

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Daniel Chu, Jerome Kollar, and Ameryn Seibold, the former CEO, CFO, and Senior Director of Finance, respectively, at Texas-based subprime auto lender Tricolor, for their roles in an alleged multi-year scheme to defraud investors by double pledging hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to multiple asset-backed securities (ABS) offerings and lenders. The SEC says that from at least 2020 through Tricolor’s bankruptcy in September 2025, Tricolor raised more than $1.9bn through ABS offerings while Tricolor, Chu, and Kollar made numerous false and misleading representations to investors about the lender’s overall financial health, portraying the company as financially sound despite knowing that Tricolor was facing significant liquidity constraints and struggling to fund its operations.

 

CNN

SEC.gov

Meta is facing a federal bellwether trial brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey, which allege that the owner of Instagram and Facebook designed addictive products that harmed children, misrepresented their safety, and violated federal child privacy and state consumer protection laws. If successful, the states intend to seek close to $200bn in damages and changes to Meta’s platforms, including restrictions on infinite scrolling, autoplay, “like” buttons, beauty filters and engagement-driven algorithms for younger users. The case represents a significant legal threat following earlier losses for Meta, including nearly $1bn of damages awarded in a New Mexico case this month. Meta, which spent more than $2bn on legal expenses related to social media addiction trials and other litigation in its latest quarter, rejects the allegations and argues that it has introduced safeguards for teenagers and is being unfairly singled out for challenges affecting the wider internet industry. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, with Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg among the planned witnesses

 

CNBC

NPR

New York Times

Politico

The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI’s revenue rose 18% from the first quarter to $6.7bn in the second quarter, disappointing some investors as its operating loss widened from $9.3bn to $12.3bn. Rival Anthropic more than doubled its revenue to $11.6bn, surpassing OpenAI’s sales for the first time, while also reporting a small adjusted operating profit. The weaker performance comes as ChatGPT’s growth has slowed, corporate customers have become more cautious about AI spending, and cheaper Chinese models have gained traction. OpenAI has responded with leadership changes and new products, including a “super app” combining ChatGPT, Codex, and a web browser, and has told investors that growth accelerated following new model launches in July.

 

Wall Street Journal

German companies cut their investments in the United States to ‌the lowest ​level since 2023 in the first half of this year, according to the German Economic Institute (IW). Direct investments in the first-half fell by nearly two-thirds year-on-year to €4.3bn ($5bn). "This continues the downward trend that has been evident since ​the start of Donald Trump's second term in January 2025," IW researcher Samina Sultan told Reuters.

 

Reuters

Apple has announced a new fee structure for apps distributed in the European Union as it seeks to comply with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act and resolve disagreements with regulators. From October 1st, Apple will charge a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital transactions for apps distributed through alternative marketplaces or the web, replacing its previous Core Technology Fee and eliminating separate acquisition and store services fees. Apps distributed through Apple’s App Store but using alternative payment processing will face a 20% commission, falling to 10% for developers participating in its small business program. Apple said the changes will create a single set of EU developer terms similar to those offered in markets including Japan and Brazil. The European Commission has welcomed the changes and will monitor their implementation. However, Epic Games, which has long challenged Apple’s App Store practices, criticized the new commission as a “junk fee” and argued that the changes do not go far enough to promote competition.

 

CNBC

New York Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The PCAOB has published its first Canadian audit inspection reports of 2026, finding no significant deficiencies in the audits it reviewed at Deloitte Canada and Vancouver-based De Visser Gray. The U.S. watchdog inspected five Deloitte audits, focusing primarily on revenue and related areas, and three De Visser Gray audits, focusing on cash, cash equivalents, and long-lived assets. Deloitte voluntarily disclosed potential independence issues involving an audit team member’s investments in audit clients and prohibited bookkeeping services provided to an affiliate of an issuer audit client, but said its objectivity and impartiality were not impaired. The findings broadly align with recent favorable inspections by Canada’s audit regulator, the Canadian Public Accountability Board. The reports come as the PCAOB operates with fewer resources following a 9% budget reduction and an approximately 5% staff reduction. Its accounting support fee has fallen 18.4% to $306m, while a newly established Inspections Modernization Council is considering changes including greater use of automation and artificial intelligence, and an increased focus on firms’ quality control systems.

 

Canadian Accountant

Canada has launched the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Alliance to address workforce shortages in the manufacturing sector. Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu announced the initiative in Guelph, Ont., saying that many workers lack the necessary skills for current manufacturing demands. The alliance will unite manufacturers, unions, educators, and underrepresented groups to identify workforce gaps and develop training solutions. Jayson Myers, chief executive of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), said the future of advanced manufacturing ultimately comes down to people: "Advanced manufacturing may involve artificial intelligence, robotics, leading-edge technology, engineering and production processes, and supply chain resilience . . . [but] at the heart of it, it's all about people," he said.

 

CBC News

The Globe and Mail