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Accountancy Slice
USA
14th August 2026
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THE HOT STORY

Big Four audit quality improves sharply as PCAOB considers inspection overhaul

Audit quality among the largest U.S. accounting firms improved significantly in 2025, with the overall deficiency rate falling to 12.5%, about half the level recorded in 2024, according to the PCAOB. EY and Deloitte posted the strongest results, with deficiencies identified in just 5% of inspected audits, while PwC’s rate fell below 10%, and KPMG improved for a third consecutive year to 13%. EY attributed its gains partly to investments in technology, standardized audit methods, AI-backed tools, advanced analytics, and stronger governance. Mid-tier firms continued to lag, although they also improved, with deficiency rates of 34% at BDO and 33% at Grant Thornton. The stronger results come at a time when PCAOB Chair Demetrios Logothetis is planning to redesign the inspection process to place greater emphasis on firms’ internal quality controls, a proposal that investor advocates warn could reduce transparency by subjecting fewer individual audits to regulatory scrutiny.

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TAX

NYC 'pied-à-terre' tax rollout can continue as legal challenge proceeds

A New York appeals court has temporarily allowed the city to continue implementing its new "pied-à-terre" tax, putting on hold a lower court order that had blocked the rollout amid a lawsuit from homeowners. The tax, signed into law in May, targets second homes, including single-family properties worth at least $5m and apartments worth at least $1m. Plaintiffs argue that the city created confusion by potentially misidentifying properties subject to the levy and improperly requiring homeowners to apply for exemptions, while the city says it is processing applications quickly. New York has received 4,300 exemption applications so far, with nearly half already approved, after mailing 17,000 notices to potentially affected property owners. The exemption deadline has been extended to September 18th, while the legal dispute over the tax’s implementation continues.

Washington raises revenue forecast for new high-earner income tax

Washington state has increased its estimate of revenue from a new 9.9% tax on individual and household wage income above $1m, forecasting $3.1bn in its initial fiscal year and roughly $8.3bn in the 2029-31 biennium, up from earlier projections of $2.7bn and $6.9bn, respectively. The Department of Revenue now expects about 25,000 households to pay the tax, compared with the previous estimate of 21,000, citing stronger forecasts for wages, personal income, dividends, and stock income. The additional revenue could ease pressure on Washington’s strained budget, but it is not yet included in the state’s official revenue forecast. The tax is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2028, but its future remains uncertain as voters will consider Initiative 645, which would repeal it, in November, while a separate legal challenge contests its constitutionality.

FIRMS

Andersen to acquire UK Andersen and SPR Consulting in $60m revenue expansion

Andersen Group has agreed to acquire UK Andersen LLP and Chicago-based SPR Consulting, with both transactions expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The acquisitions will add approximately $60m in annualized revenue and strengthen Andersen’s U.K. tax advisory and U.S. technology consulting capabilities, including AI, data and analytics, cloud, custom software, and mobile development. Together with 14 other acquisitions announced in 2026, the deals will bring approximately $134m in annualized revenue to Andersen, which has pursued an active acquisition strategy since its December 2025 IPO. U.K. Andersen has approximately 47 employees, while SPR Consulting has more than 400, adding to Andersen Group’s workforce of approximately 3,600.

ECONOMY

Jobless claims rise more than expected to 209,000

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that initial U.S. unemployment claims increased by 9,000 to 209,000 in the week ended August 8th, exceeding economists’ expectations of 202,000, but remaining near historically low levels. Continuing claims, reported with a one-week lag, fell to 1.78m, while the four-week moving average of new claims held steady at 199,000. Economists cautioned that the increase could reflect typical summer volatility and will likely require several weeks of data to determine whether it signals a broader shift in the labor market.

U.S. producer prices hold steady in July as energy costs decline

The U.S. producer-price index was unchanged in July, according to the Labor Department after declining 0.1% in June, coming in below economists’ expectations for a 0.2% increase as energy prices edged lower. The softer-than-expected wholesale inflation reading follows data showing a slight decline in annual consumer inflation and will feed into estimates for the Federal Reserve’s preferred personal-consumption expenditures price index. Economists currently estimate that core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2% to 0.3% in July, with the official report due later in August.

LEGAL

U.S. trade court upholds closure of 'de minimis' import exemption

A U.S. federal trade court has upheld President Donald Trump’s elimination of the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free, rejecting a challenge that argued he lacked the authority to end it under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The decision maintains a significant change for e-commerce retailers such as Shein and Temu, which have relied heavily on direct low-value shipments to U.S. consumers, potentially increasing the cost of their cross-border business models.

Trump sued over paid early access to Truth Social posts

Two media entities have sued President Donald Trump over his social media platform’s $100,000-a-month program that offers paid early access to his Truth Social posts. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by nonprofit newsroom The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, alleges the practice “is extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional.” The plaintiffs also say the program violates their First Amendment rights to access presidential statements “on equal terms with other members of the press and public.”

REGULATORY

JPMorgan debanked Polymarket over regulatory concerns

JPMorgan Chase ended its banking relationship with Polymarket last year over regulatory concerns, underscoring persisting cautious sentiment towards prediction markets. Polymarket is now working with an unidentified new lender.

WORKFORCE

TIGTA finds gaps in employee drug testing and reporting

The IRS failed to properly test some employees suspected of drug use and did not consistently meet federal workplace drug-testing requirements, resulting in inaccurate reporting about whether its workforce was drug-free, according to TIGTA. The watchdog found that the agency missed random-testing requirements, failed to notify some employees that they were subject to testing, and did not always reschedule tests promptly. In 2024, five employees were suspected of drug use, but none were tested, while from 2022 through April 2025, the IRS received allegations involving 78 employees, investigated 22, and referred 11 to the Department of Justice for prosecution, although the DOJ declined to prosecute. TIGTA issued seven recommendations, including improvements to manager training and reasonable-suspicion testing, all of which the IRS accepted.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Silver Lake in talks to buy Workday, sources say

Reuters reports that private equity firm Silver ‌Lake is in ongoing talks to acquire human resources and financial management software company Workday in a deal that would be among the largest software buyouts in history. Workday shares had fallen about 15% this year, as ​investors questioned the durability of traditional software amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

INTERNATIONAL

Korea's crypto regulation at crossroads

The Korea Times reports that Korea's cryptocurrency regulatory framework is at a crossroads, with an expansion of rules planned as efforts proceed to delay taxation on investment gains. Financial regulators want to tighten the “travel rule” for crypto transactions to cover all transfers, mandating exchanges to collect and provide transaction information, while also bolstering registration and screening requirements for virtual asset service providers. Meanwhile, a bill has been proposed to postpone the planned taxation of crypto investment gains by three years.
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