SEC cut the PCAOB’s budget by 9.4%:
The audit watchdog is tightening its belt (including compensation and accounting fees) amid political pressure to soften regulation.
Audit quality isn’t “free.”
But the SEC is pricing it like it should be.
The SEC just approved a 9.4% cut to the PCAOB’s 2026 budget (down to $362.1M).
It also slashed PCAOB leadership pay (-52% for the chair, -42% for other board members) and cut the accounting support fee by 18.4%.
What this really signals:
“Do more with less” is coming for regulators too.
Political pressure is real, and oversight priorities can swing fast.
If inspection intensity drops even slightly, your auditor risk doesn’t. (It shifts to you: audit committee, controls, documentation, judgment calls.)
CFOs and CISOs are fighting over cyber budgets:
A new Expel survey says many finance leaders want quantified risk reduction before approving bigger cybersecurity spend.
Translation: “Don’t show me tools. Show me risk off the table.”
What this trend really is:
Security teams talk in threats, alerts, and “best practice.”
Finance teams talk in dollars, odds, and downside.
So the budget meeting becomes:
CISO: “We need $X or we’re exposed.”
CFO: “Expose me to what, in money terms?”
If you’re a CFO, the new bar is simple:
No more ‘trust me’ spend. Bring
top 3 business risks (not 30 threats)
estimated loss range
how this spend reduces that loss
what you’ll stop buying if it doesn’t move the needle
Question for CFOs: do you fund cyber like insurance (pay to reduce downside), or like software (pay for ROI)?
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Nearly 40% of top execs considered quitting in the past year.
Not for “more money.” For a life.
A survey cited by CFO Dive found the top drivers were:
work-life balance (the #1 reason)
burnout
stress
needing a promotion
CFO takeaway: This is a leadership capacity problem.
When senior leaders churn:
strategy resets
decision speed drops
execution gets sloppy
talent below them starts looking too
What’s pushing execs out more right now, too much work, or too much work that doesn’t matter?
Paramount’s incoming CFO pay package:
Paramount’s new CFO is set to receive a base salary of at least $2.6M amid the company’s aggressive dealmaking posture.
Paramount’s new CFO isn’t getting a “welcome aboard” package.
He’s getting a war-time package.
According to a securities filing, incoming CFO Dennis Cinelli will earn a base salary of “no less than” $2.6M, plus a $1.1M target bonus (and additional equity/sign-on items reported in the filing coverage).
That number matters less than what it signals:
This isn’t a keep-the-lights-on CFO hire. It’s a dealmaking / high-stakes finance seat.
When a company is in “aggressive moves” mode, it pays for a CFO who can raise, defend, negotiate, and survive headlines.
Is a $2.6M+ base salary smart insurance in a messy moment, or just expensive confidence theater?
Hard drive makers are the surprise AI trade winners:
Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate surged in 2025 and are still ripping in early 2026 as AI demand collides with tight memory supply.
Everyone chased the “AI chip winners.”
Meanwhile, the most boring AI trade has been printing.
Hard drive + storage makers.
In 2025, Western Digital and Seagate were up 200%+ as AI demand slammed into tight storage supply. And in early 2026, they’re still moving, while SanDisk (spun out of WDC in 2025) has stayed red-hot.
Why this is happening:
AI doesn’t just need compute, it needs a place to park mountains of data
Supply is tight, so pricing power shows up fast
The “picks and shovels” aren’t only GPUs anymore, it’s storage
Hot take: AI isn’t just a chip story.
It’s a data hoarding story.
Accountants are feeling bleak about the economy:
A global ACCA/IMA survey shows North American finance pros’ confidence is weak by historical standards, with rising costs and a record-low regional employment index pointing to slowdown risk.
Accountants aren’t “cautious” right now.
They’re bleak.
The latest ACCA/IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey says North America confidence fell and is weak by historical standards.
And here’s the real gut-punch:
In North America, the Employment Index hit a record low in Q4 2025, even below the pandemic trough.
What’s driving it:
High operating costs still squeezing businesses
Policy uncertainty + tariffs + high rates dragging sentiment
Translation for CFOs: Finance teams aren’t just “vibing cautious.” They’re seeing slowdown risk in the inputs that usually move first: hiring + capex.
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