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The IMF has raised its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1%, from 3.0%, as strong AI investment offsets economic disruption from the Middle East conflict and oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel. Growth is expected to reach 3.4% in 2027, although widening economic disparities and mounting debt threaten stability. The US economy is forecast to grow 2.3%, China 4.5% and India 7.0% in 2026, while several Gulf economies face deep recessions. IMF chief economist Silvana Tenreyro warned that global economic resilience is "reaching its limits." The IMF also highlighted risks from prolonged energy disruption, higher borrowing costs and disappointing AI returns, urging governments to rebuild fiscal buffers.

 

Reuters

The 2026 benchmark for AI in accounting is here

AI adoption is accelerating across accounting, but not every team is seeing the same results.

Independent research commissioned by FloQast among accounting and finance professionals in the US and UK reveals a profession in transition. Six in ten accountants still spend 40% or more of their time on manual work, while some organisations are already seeing meaningful benefits from AI.

So what are the most AI-mature accounting organisations doing differently?

The State of Accounting AI 2026 report benchmarks where the market stands today, explores what separates the organisations pulling ahead, and highlights the leadership practices supporting more mature AI adoption.

For accounting and finance leaders, it offers a useful benchmark for assessing where their organisation sits today and what could help move it forward.

Download the report

 

AI-driven changes in productivity, climate resilience and energy constraints are altering potential output and make capacity utilization and price pressures harder to gauge, according to a study from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) which also identified potential financial stability risks from the technology. BIS researchers Leonardo Gambacorta and Salvatore Polizzi observed: “Ultimately, AI is neither inherently a climate solution nor inherently a climate problem . . . The coming decade will be critical in determining whether AI becomes a force that accelerates the transition to a more sustainable economy or one that intensifies existing environmental pressures.”

 

Bloomberg

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appointed Judy Shelton as a counselor to advise on currency policy, with a particular focus on evaluating financial conditions in China. The role places Shelton inside Treasury's assessment of the world's second-largest economy, although she is not known as a China specialist. The Senate previously blocked President Donald Trump's nomination of Shelton to the Federal Reserve because of controversy surrounding her economic ideas. She will now support Bessent's currency-policy work and China-focused financial analysis. Shelton wrote "The Coming Soviet Crash" in 1989 and "Money Meltdown," which advocated a unified international monetary regime, in 1994.

 

CNBC

Lee Henderson, EY Americas Center for Board Matters leader, argues that corporate boards should reassess whether technology oversight belongs within the audit committee or requires a dedicated technology committee. The oversight remit has expanded across artificial intelligence, associated risks, technology-enabled product innovation and emerging business models. Rapid advances in AI are making traditional board approaches less effective for governing increasingly complex technology decisions. Boards are therefore being pressed to take decisive action both to capture technology opportunities and mitigate related risks. The proposed governance review centers on committee structure and the board's role, rather than treating technology solely as an audit-committee risk responsibility.

 

Wall Street Journal

Women's representation in C-suite and board roles has stalled at roughly 30%, with board participation declining for the first time in more than a decade. The plateau spans both executive leadership and corporate governance, leaving women well short of parity despite years of efforts to strengthen the leadership pipeline. The slowdown reflects barriers beyond the supply of qualified women, requiring companies to maintain pressure on promotion, succession and board recruitment. Any retreat risks further reversals: "If you take your foot off the pedal at all, you will start to stall."

 

Fortune

Jeremy Klaperman has left Automattic less than a month after becoming interim finance chief. He was appointed after CFO Mark Davies was dismissed following a failed board effort to place founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg on paid leave and install Davies as interim CEO. Mullenweg returned within days, participating directors departed, and the board reportedly never legally approved Klaperman's title. Automattic will assess candidates for the permanent CFO role as its governance dispute continues.

 

CFO

Micron Technology, Inc. is grappling with a substantial $9bn tax charge due to the global minimum tax, which has significantly diminished its incentive benefits. According to the company's 10-K report, Micron set aside this amount to cover a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in Singapore, following previous tax incentive arrangements that had lowered its income tax provision by $11.2bn. The global minimum tax, established by the OECD, mandates that large corporations pay a minimum tax rate of 15% on their income, a requirement that Singapore has adopted with its own QDMTT.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Chris Puglia, the newly appointed Chief Product Officer of Deloitte Tax, is spearheading a shift towards commercialization of the firm's technology offerings. He emphasizes that while "we're not looking to make ourselves a software company overnight," the firm is adapting to the rapid advancements in technology. Puglia's role aims to enhance service delivery by integrating technology assets into client services, creating what he calls "service plus" products. Deloitte plans to invest significantly in technology to develop new assets, focusing on how clients will consume these innovations. Puglia envisions a future where clients may license products directly, although he acknowledges that the firm will always maintain a service component.

 

Accounting Today

Alphabet President Ruth Porat said Google will spend about $200bn on its AI buildout in 2026, confirming the scale of the company's capital commitment. She added that investment has not yet peaked, leaving further increases in infrastructure funding around the corner even after this year's outlay. Google is financing the expansion to secure a long-term position in AI rather than optimize near-term spending, Porat told Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit on Monday. Her comments signal sustained pressure on capital allocation as Alphabet weighs the buildout against the biggest risks facing its AI strategy.

 

Fortune

Kroger is to eliminate about 3,000 roles across various functions over the next three years, according to a memo, as the Cincinnati-based supermarket group  seeks to simplify operations and compete more effectively under new CEO Greg Foran. “Simplifying means making faster decisions and deploying more resources where they matter most,” Foran wrote in the memo to staff following a companywide call. Details about the job cuts, which ​would ⁠affect about 37% of the grocer's 8,200 corporate employees, would be shared in the coming months, he wrote.

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

GSK plans to invest more than $800m to expand its Upper Merion, Pennsylvania site into ​a new biopharmaceutical manufacturing and research ‌hub, creating over 300 jobs in the next five years. The drugmaker said construction, which is planned to begin next year, will ​help accelerate the development and supply of future medicines.

 

Reuters

Chinese automotive giant BYD has said a hiring spree in Europe is being planned to increase the company's workforce in the region to about 40,000 people by the end of the decade. “BYD’s commitment in Europe is very deep, and it is long term,” Executive Vice President Stella Li, who heads BYD’s overseas business, said at the Paris Motor Show. Asked specifically about the company’s European employment plans, Li said separately that its workforce in Europe would be “absolutely over 40,000 in 2030.” The company will soon have more than 10,000 people, she added.

 

Bloomberg

Amazon is in talks to acquire AI startup Decart for around $7bn. Decart's ​Lucy model can ​edit live video in real time, and the startup has also ​developed Oasis, a model that generates simulated ​environments to train and test robotics and autonomous-driving systems. The company was founded in 2023 by three Israeli engineers, brothers Dean and Orian Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev. 

 

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Private equity firm KKR is eliminating non-compete agreements for 800,000 workers earning less than $100,000 across its portfolio companies. The voluntary policy spans hundreds of KKR-backed businesses and covers both agreements already signed and restrictions that employers might otherwise impose through new contracts. Rather than limiting the change to KKR's own workforce, the private equity firm is applying the wage-based standard across a broad group of portfolio companies. Existing agreements for covered employees will be voided, while those businesses will be prohibited from requiring new non-competes for workers below the $100,000 threshold.

 

Inc.

The CHIPS Act has allocated $280bn in federal grants for U.S. semiconductor fabs, but the accounting treatment varies significantly between companies reporting under U.S. GAAP and IFRS. While international firms like Samsung and TSMC follow IAS 20, U.S. companies lack a clear standard, leading to inconsistent reporting methods. Micron, for instance, received a $6.1bn award but does not specify its accounting approach in its filings. The FASB aims to address these discrepancies with ASU 2025-10, which will standardize recognition and classification of government grants. However, this new standard won't be mandatory until after December 15, 2028, leaving current reporting under the old system.

 

Accounting Today