Capital markets continue to react to the steps taken by the Trump administration to advance its regulatory agenda, including shakeups at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Whether it’s the impact of tariffs or tax reform, public companies are faced with a dynamic financial reporting environment as we move into the back half of 2025.

Learn more about what these changes mean for public companies below.

What’s Happening at the SEC?

On April 21, 2025, Paul Atkins was sworn into office as the new chairman of the SEC. He succeeds Mark Uyeda, who had been serving as acting chairman since Gary Gensler stepped down from the role earlier this year.

Atkins has a lot of experience with the SEC. He previously served as a commissioner from 2002 to 2008. Notably, Commissioners Hester Peirce and Uyeda both previously served as counsel to Atkins during his original term as a commissioner. Since being named chairman, he’s emphasized that the SEC will prioritize innovation and capital formation moving forward, returning to the SEC’s core principles, and moving away from a perceived approach of regulation through enforcement.

The SEC also named Kurt Hohl as its chief accountant effective July 7, 2025. Like Atkins, Hohl is an SEC veteran, having served in the Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) from 1989 to 1997.

In the midst of these changes, the SEC took a number of actions over the past few months, consistent with Chairman Atkins’ priorities:

• Crypto. Corp Fin issued a statement on April 4 clarifying the staff’s view that certain covered stablecoins are not securities under federal securities law, followed by a statement on May 9 clarifying the staff’s view that certain protocol staking activities don’t involve the offer or sale of securities. Corp Fin issued another statement on July 1 describing the staff’s views on disclosures made by issuers of crypto asset exchange-traded products (ETPs).
• Executive compensation. The SEC hosted a roundtable on June 26 to review the effectiveness of executive compensation disclosures. In public statements, Chairman Atkins and certain other commissioners signaled their views that the cost of the current requirements may not be justified.
• Regulation A. The Division of Economic Risk and Analysis published a report on the use of Regulation A by companies and the SEC Small Business Advisory Committee discussed potential improvements to Regulation A that could broaden its use.
• Withdrawal of rule proposals. On June 14, the SEC announced the withdrawal of 14 previously proposed rules under former Chairman Gensler.

What Do These Changes Mean for Public Companies?

Chairman Atkins has consistently emphasized that it’s “a new day at the SEC.” The early actions taken under his leadership have demonstrated that the SEC is going to focus on promoting innovation and reducing regulatory roadblocks for companies accessing the public markets.

Moving forward, most stakeholders expect to see a more collaborative and business-friendly posture from the SEC when interacting with public companies, as compared to the prior administration.

Amidst these changes, it’s also worth noting what isn’t changing. The core mission of the SEC remains the same: to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. While the pendulum is swinging heavily towards the facilitation of capital formation, Chairman Atkins has also highlighted the importance of providing investors with disclosures that are meaningful to their investment decisions.

How Do These Changes Affect Auditors?

An interesting provision included in the early drafts of the federal tax reconciliation bill, formerly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, would have eliminated the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and transferred its responsibilities to the SEC.

The PCAOB is an independent entity created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies. Atkins had been a critical of the PCAOB dating back to his original term as a commissioner and, as chairman, indicated that he thought the SEC was capable of taking on the PCAOB’s work if it were eliminated.

The provisions that would have eliminated the PCAOB were ultimately removed from the final bill because the Senate parliamentarian determined they would be subject to the Byrd rule.

Even though the PCAOB survived the bill, on July 15, Atkins announced that he had accepted the resignation of PCAOB Chair Erica Williams. This was not a surprising move as the prior two PCAOB chairs were also replaced after changes in leadership at the SEC. It’s worth keeping an eye on the shaky political footing surrounding the PCAOB in the months to come, including whether there is turnover in the other board members.

What Should Public Companies Focus on Related to Financial Reporting?

Tariffs

Certain businesses may be more significantly impacted by the imposition of tariffs on products and services than others. Companies affected by tariffs and other economic uncertainties would be wise to thoughtfully consider their accounting impact, including on areas like revenue recognition, impairment of inventory or other nonfinancial assets, as well as risk disclosures and MD&A.

Taxes

Now that the tax reconciliation bill has been signed into law, companies should consider the financial statement impact of the legislation under ASC 740. It’s important to note US GAAP requires the effect of changes in tax laws on deferred tax assets and liabilities to be recognized in the period of enactment. In the case of the current tax reconciliation bill, this would be the period that includes July 4, 2025.

FASB Standards

The comment period for the FASB’s most recent agenda consultation closed on June 30, 2025. The feedback received from stakeholders on this project will steer the future priorities of the board and influence which projects they pursue for future standard-setting. The invitation to comment explicitly asked for feedback on a range of topics, including crypto assets, the equity method of accounting, and distinguishing liabilities from equity, among others. The FASB will review the feedback received over the next few months.

Other accounting standards companies should keep top of mind, include:

• Income Tax Disclosures. ASU 2023-09 expands the income tax rate reconciliation disclosure, disclosures of income taxes paid, and certain other items. The standard is effective for the 2025 annual financial statements for calendar year-end public companies.
• Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (DISE). ASU 2024-03 will require companies to disclose more granular information about the nature of amounts included in existing expense categories. The standard isn’t effective for calendar year-end public companies until 2027 but may require companies to use new systems or processes to gather the necessary information.

We’re Here to Help

If you have questions about the changes happening at the SEC or other regulatory and financial reporting changes, contact your firm professional.

Additional Resources

• Public Company Accounting Services
• Accounting for Income Tax Services (ASC 740)